wire wheels

Bryan Fuller is a well known hot rodder and motorcycle builder. He's been on TV, he's built a lot of killer vehicles and he always has a presence at the SEMA Show. This year, he has a few vehicles on display, and one of them struck a chord with us. It's a 1934 Ford sedan delivery, and it's in the OTC Tools booth in the North Hall. Right around the mid 1930's OTC (originally known as Owatonna Tool Company) sold direct to customers, using sedan delivery vehicles with custom display boards to showcase their products. The company grew, and eventually grew out of this grass roots sales approach, but it never forgot the humble beginnings, even after being added into the Bosch brands fold in 2012. To commemorate the company's history, OTC commissioned Bryan Fuller to build a 1934 Ford sedan delivery to replicate some of those early delivery vehicles.

It's tough to cross over from old school to modern technology without losing a classic car's character and style. We often see modern engines in place of stockers, but it's typically in something performance-oriented, like a muscle car. At this year's SEMA Show, we spotted an immaculate 1958 Chevy Impala that features old school looks with a very powerful engine under the hood. Greg Smith's 1958 Chevy Impala breaks the stereotype that Lowriders are built to be "low and slow" by utilizing a twin turbocharged LS1 engine. Greg is from Las Vegas, and owns TKO Kustumz. The Impala is one of his creations, and he built it for his daughter. The bodywork, finish and interior are flawless, and the lowdown Impala rides on a set of custom painted and chrome-plated wire wheels, equipped with a set of our Premium Sport 5.20-13 tires with a thin whitewall. Greg's Impala was one of the most subtle lowriders at the SEMA Show, and we're happy to see that it was rolling on Coker products. Check it out!

[caption id="attachment_6365" align="alignleft" width="720"] The classic hot rod profile of a '32 Ford three-window coupe is accentuated by a big-n-little whitewall tire combination with steelies painted to match the red accents.[/caption] The '32 Ford is an iconic hot rod platform, and boy did we see some good ones at the 2015 NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky! Folks have often said that it's tough to make a '32 Ford stand out because there are so many out there, but we picked out 11 (because we just couldn't narrow it down to 10) of our favorites. Of course, all 11 Deuces are rolling on Coker Tire products, and we'll give you some more details in each photo caption. Continue reading to see 11 awesome '32 Ford hot rods, and find out why they're cool.

When SEMA created National Collector Car Appreciation Day, car guys (and gals) rejoiced. We love having an excuse to drive an old car to work and an excuse to hang out with like-minded folks who also want to celebrate. Friday, July 10th, 2015 was the day, and the place was our headquarters here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We invited our local friends for a free hot dog lunch, and encouraged everyone to get out and drive their collector car. Many Coker Tire and Honest Charley employees drove their collector cars, and we had numerous guests stop by in old cars during lunch time. We even had a special visitor from Texas with an wildly customized Cadillac, which rolls on a set of our new American Classic bias look radial whitewalls and Cadillac wire wheels. Corky and Theresa Coker also stopped by to join the fun and welcome the participants and on-lookers to Coker Tire. A big thank you goes out to Jason White and Aaron Wolfe for cooking the hot dogs, and the rest of the Coker Tire Marketing staff and Facilities staff for helping put it together. It was a great time and we hope everyone enjoyed our celebration of National Collector Car Appreciation Day!

When you're around old cars 24/7, you start to become immune to the cool factor that old cars provide. And while we appreciate each and every old car out there, sometimes we just glaze over because it's "just another day in the office". A couple weeks ago, we had a group of visitors that shook us out of our day-to-day routine and made us think about the major cool factor of our jobs. Twelve, count 'em, REAL Shelby Cobras came to the Coker Tire headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee to hang out for the evening. This is once in a lifetime stuff for a car nut, and we took lots of pictures to capture the evening.

With car show and cruise in season in full swing, we're on the road every weekend to events across the country. We set up our tractor trailer rigs at many national events throughout the year, but sometimes we go to local events for the fun of it. Sliding behind the wheel of an old car and mingling with like-minded folks is always a relaxing way to spend a sunny Saturday, and we did just that a couple weeks ago at the Main Street Cruise In, just up the road, in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Here at Coker Tire, we have a lot of customers who opt for the complete tire and wheel package when it's time to put new shoes on their collector vehicle. It's a great value and it ensures the customer the trueness and perfect balance that we can achieve when combining a new tire with a new wheel. We also offer authentic accessories, such as hubcaps, trim rings and even lug nuts! That means you can complete the tire and wheel package, and give your collector vehicle the right look.

We love a good ol' car guy adventure. We do stuff like the Great Race, the Driven Dirty Tour and other road trip adventures on a regular basis, but we encountered a slightly different approach to the standard old car road trip this week. Apparently, a group of guys from California flew to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the AACA Fall Meet with a pocket full of cash, in search of a classic car. The goal was to buy a car at Hershey and drive it back home to California, with Coker Tire being a pit stop along the way. Ok, you have our attention!

How many times have you been on a road trip, and you decide to take a detour just for the fun of it? Sometimes, it might upset your significant other, or it might burn through a few more gallons of gas, but it's almost always worth it. In the case of a bunch of hot rodders from the Northeast, they decided to make a stop here at Coker Tire on their way back from the Lonestar Round-Up in Austin, Texas. We're glad they came by and you'll be glad to see their awesome machines--check it out!

We often get opportunities to see great automobiles, but anytime a Packard pulls into the parking lot, we take notice. This one in particular caught our attention because it has a set of our tires and wheels on it! George Hubbert is the proud owner and drove it up from Duluth, Georgia to have a couple of new tires installed on the car. While he was here in Chattanooga, we took the opportunity to take pictures of his car and he even let us take it for a spin around the block.

There's nothing like a good ole road trip with a few buddies, especially if you're behind the wheel of a vintage car! It's certainly an adventure, with the lack of technology, and the lack of horsepower, compared to our modern vehicles, but it's a lot of fun. A group of diehard Model A enthusiasts formed the "Crankin' A's of Daytona" club and they love having fun with old cars. They set out from Daytona Beach, Florida on October 16th, heading north, and they happened to stop by our place yesterday afternoon for a visit. [caption id="attachment_2243" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The Crankin' A's of Daytona invade Coker Tire!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2244" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Two coupes, a Tudor, a Fordor and a Delivery...these guys have some cool cars!"][/caption] Our resident tour guide extraordinaire, Raime took the group through the Coker Tire facility, showing them our lobby, machine shop, service center and museum along the way. One of the guys even bought a set of tires while he was here, so we definitely appreciate that! These guys really know how to have fun with their vintage Fords, and we love seeing these long haulers because that means they're wearing out TIRES!!! We hope they come back and visit us again, but for now, let's take a look at their cars!

We get lots of feedback from our customers, so we just wanted to share an email we got from a happy customer this week. Check it out: Hello Raime: I want to thank you for your help getting me the tubes I needed last week for my car (1934 Packard Coupe/Roadster, Series 1104, Super 8). I was able to get the custom made (duplicating the original) chrome wire wheels on to my car last week. I purchased the car from a dealer in California and what's interesting is the car was originally sold and delivered to PACKARD PITTSBURGH PA in 1934. The original Packard building is still in existence and is a Mercedes dealership today. The same dealership I purchase my Benzs from and have for many years. I haven't finished the car yet - will be changing the top to a brown color - but I think It's quite presentable at this time, let me know what you think. Best personal regards, Don Grossi [caption id="attachment_2146" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Now THAT is an

People give us feedback all the time, so it's easy for us to see how our tires are put to use. Some folks race, some folks do the car show routine, and some people simply drive the wheels off their old car (not literally, of course). One particular customer is Bob Simonds, owner of a 1966 Alfa Romeo, and he likes to show his sporty roadster at various shows, but also likes to drive it frequently. Last week, Bob made the trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to participate in the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) National Convention. Part of the festivities was the Concours, where Bob's car placed 3rd in his division, which was packed with a great deal of highly-restored '66-69 Alfa Romeo Duettos and 1750 Spiders. He says the 3rd place finish is a high honor and it wouldn't have been possible without the OEM wheels and the period correct styling of the Vredestein tires! He gave us a peek at the award, and it's way cool...he even pulled up to the shop in his Alfa Romeo!

...flock together. And that was exactly the case today, as the Mockingbird Run came through Chattanooga, Tennessee and stopped at Coker Tire Company. These guys and gals are dedicated Thunderbird enthusiasts, and they braved some hard rain to get here, and braved it again as soon as they pulled into the Coker compound. Perry Anthony puts this run together, and has a Thunderbird of his own!