IceMan Collections Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Did the 56 Ford come with wire wheels as an option from the factory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 No. Ford did offer a set of wire wheel covers that snapped onto a regular wheel. The center was left open, showing the standard Ford hubcap underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Collections Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thanks for the info. I'll google that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I believe that Ford offered the Kellsy Hays wire wheels as an option on the Thunderbird only. I would have to believe that Ford dealers would put them on anything else if you wanted to pay for it. The hub cap setup that Scott mentioned was a pretty common option on the Fairlanes of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I believe that Ford offered the Kellsy Hays wire wheels as an option on the Thunderbird only. I would have to believe that Ford dealers would put them on anything else if you wanted to pay for it. The hub cap setup that Scott mentioned was a pretty common option on the Fairlanes of the day.Nope, 2-seater Thunderbird "wire wheels" were simply the wheelcovers described by Scott. The first post-1935 Ford to be built with true wire wheels was the 1953 Ford Crestline Convertible that was used as the Pace Car for the 1953 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. That car was given to winner Bill Vukovich Sr. as part of his winnings, and wound up, of course, in California. Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels were of course, an option on the 1962-63 Thunderbirds though.Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 The Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels we see so often on restored Thunderbirds today were not offered until 1962 with the debut of the Sports Roadster option with the fibreglass tonneau cover. As they became a popular retrofit for the two-seat T-birds, the restorer clubs approved them for restored cars even though they were not an original option in '55-'57. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Nope, 2-seater Thunderbird "wire wheels" were simply the wheelcovers described by Scott. The first post-1935 Ford to be built with true wire wheels was the 1953 Ford Crestline Convertible that was used as the Pace Car for the 1953 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. That car was given to winner Bill Vukovich Sr. as part of his winnings, and wound up, of course, in California. Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels were of course, an option on the 1962-63 Thunderbirds though.ArtTo carry this a bit further, into the realm of trivia: Ford wanted the '53 Pace Car to be unique, as it was part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Ford Motor Company. They approached Kelsey Hayes (who by the way produced all of Ford's "wire wheels" from 1926-35, they being not "wire" but forged steel spokes, resistance welded to the rims and hubs for a very strong yet light wheel for the era), who were making wire wheels for the then-new Buick Skylarks. K-H responded by creating center hubs to match Ford's lug bolt pattern, but with the same rims and spoke pattern as the wheels being done for the Skylarks. Just one set of 4 was made (the "spare" wheel attachment for the trunk lid used a faux wire wheel trim piece). The late Bill Harrison from Monta Vista CA (name should be familiar to older modelers in the San Francisco Bay Area) told me of going to a parts swap meet in the Bay Area back in the 1990's with a friend, who just happened to have bought that Pace Car, and was in the process of restoring it, BUT the car was missing one of those 4 very exclusive wire wheels. They were scoping out a display of parts and wheels in a swap space, and Bill happened to spot a worn K-H wire wheel. Bill's story to me was that upon questioning the dealer, they were told that it was an odd wheel, looked like a Skylark wheel, but it wouldn't bolt up to a Buick brake drum--and THAT was the missing wheel from the Pace Car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motor City Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Art,So was he able to buy the missing wheel and restore the car?The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn has had one in their collection for decades. It has the wire wheels and is proclaimed to be the actual Pace Car. According to this link, 2000 replicas were built, making this probably the first Indy Pace Car replica offered to the public.http://collections.thehenryford.org/Collection.aspx?keywords=1953+Ford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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