Gallery>>famoso Wheelhunting

You guys seemed to enjoy my Wheelhunting post from the Rennsport Reunion, so last weekend during my visit to Famoso Raceway for the California Hot Rod Reunion I figured I should do the same.

Much like what we saw in the Rennsport post, a walk through the pits at the Hot Rod Reunion shows a huge variety in wheels.

Whether they are mounted on an old Japanese machine, a classic European race car, or a Hot Rod – I sure fancy myself some vintage wheels. Needless to say, the CHRR is the place to be if you dig classic drag wheels.

Here's a set of ET mags with M&H Racemaster slicks mounted on a Mercury Comet A/FX car.

Then of course you have the old rail dragsters and their bike wheels mounted up front. The lighter and skinnier, the better.

It doesn't get much simpler than the set of factory steel wheels mounted on this Fairlane.

A set of very original looking American Racing mags on a Willys pickup. Skinny up front…

…wide in the rear.

These ET mags might be retro, but the brakes behind them look to be a modern improvement.

Wide U.S. slotted mags and Firestone slicks fill the rear fenders of this '55 Chevy.

Moon discs are used primarily by land speed racers, but you also see quite a few sets mounted on early drag cars.

No way to leave out the classic Cragar S/S here. A hugely popular wheel in the '60s and '70s and still a good choice to this day.

Anyone else think of old Ferrari race cars when they see gold mags like this?

Cool five-spokes and VW style tires mounted on the front of the Jungle Jim Nova Funny Car.

The classic chrome reversed wheel.

Bike wheels with some half covers for added aerodynamics.

While they might not have old school cred, modern lightweight drag wheels are still seen on lots of cars at the CHRR.

Love the old Halibrand mags on this Cyclone.

A look at the front rollers on Tom McEwen's Duster II Funny Car.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek at some of the greatest wheels America has ever produced.

Tomorrow I'll continue my Hot Rod Reunion coverage with a look at some of the paint and lettering found on these old race cars. There's some pretty cool stuff to show, so make sure you check it out.

-Mike Garrett

California Hot Rod Reunion 2011 Pt.1

California Hot Rod Reunion 2011 Pt.2

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1

Had cragar ss's on my 78 Monte, but unfortunately the new wheel design is a unilug design... and eventually they'll bore the holes and start to hop. Mine were so bad they were bending my studs and were deemed unsafe to drive on. haha. Shame though, they looked sick! Tons of great wheels here, nice post.

2

Once again, an awesome column. Guess I'm just a wheel freak. Wheels are always the first thing I check out on mountain bikes and even moreso on cars and trucks. Thank you.

3

chances are the "half bike wheel with added aero" is really just to help trip the staging lights.

4

American Racing mags are todays over-used typical generic muscle car rim of choice. They are pretty dumb. I see them on all the terrible "retro muscle cars" of today. I see them on every other classic car. Too played out to be any good

5

America is a continent, not a country.

6

love this post.. we just don't get enought of this type of coverage in the UK!

7

Digging this. More please! Old school JDM preferably.

8

If you dont like 'merica you can just GIT OUT

9

The Michelin X 125R15 are actually the tires made for the Citroën 2 CV, not for the Beetle, which had more likely 145R15 tires.

10

Yesterday we took a look at some of the cool vintage wheels I found at the California Hot Rod Reunion. Today I want to continue on a similar theme with a gallery showcasing some of the lettering and paintjobs on these old drag cars.

11

Another great wheel post, thanks!

12

I feel so much happier now I undesrtnad all this. Thanks!

13

While walking through the Essen Auto Show the other week, Rod and I started talking about the recent

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