hey quite new to the site but not new to our fav rides...G Bodys of course. i wanted to start a thread topic that may or may not have been discused on GBF before. the origin of lifted cars and big wheels. i have spent some time over the past couple days searching the forums to see if it has been a topic in the past but didnt see anything so i figure it was fair game. if it has been brought up before sorry if i missed it. at the very least i can interject my opinions and observations about this trend. so at the risk of being redundant...here goes.
the purpose of this thread is discus the origins of lifted cars and big wheels and not to get into the debate involed with this trend. we all have our own tastes and opinions (myself included). part of the reason i wanted to bring up this subject is to possibly educate some of the younger members about the roots of the trend and to find out if lifted cars originated in my native area ( southeast MI/Detriot) back in the mid 80's or if it the style was popular in other areas around the same time or if maybe it started somewhere else and made its way to the detriot area. my hope is that other memers(prob you older guys) will be able to back me up and share what you remem. this is somethin that i have been thinkin about for a while. all trends/styles/fads start somewhere. everyone that knows anything about cars knows that hot rods,customs and lowriders have deep roots in southern calif.
i'm 38 and from the metro detriot area(pontiac,waterford,and auburn hills more specificly) but have lived alot of other places....northwest arizona,central kentucky,las vegas,and now northwest ohio. when i was a kid,around 12-13, i really started to pay closer attn to cars and learning what cars were what,customizing terms,all that stuff. i keanly remember seeing lifted cars(mostly G Bodys) in the pontiac/waterford area as far back as 86-87. the usual "look" was a 2-3" lift with 15" wheels and large diameter tires,usually 225/75 or 235/75 15's depending on the car and amount of lift. the wheels of chioce were typicly 'vette rallys or something in a satin aluminum like american racing outlaws or outlaw II's. this was a style that was the norm all over the metro area and not just an "urban" thing. tho most cars were g bodys other cars that were popular were 73-77 regals,cutlass' ,grand prix's and monte's. full size gm's like impala/caprice and buick lesabres and bonnevilles were also lifted but not quite as popular. as mentioned this wasnt just an urban thing and in the later 80's lifted cars began to appear regularly at "hot rod" shows(my moms cousin had an 86 SS that was lifted with 15x8 outlaw II's that he showed regularly) after finishing jr high in 89,i was 15, i found myself bouncing back and fouth between AZ,Vegas and KY for the next few years till i wound back up in pontiac in late 95. over the years in other areas not once do i recal seeing a lifted car like those back home. and after returning to the area i noticed that this style wasnt realy a "trend" and was more popular than ever. it was after coming back to pontiac i got my 1st g body,an 80 malibu 4 door i bought from an inlaw for $1,seriously. in 96 i moved just inside detriot city limits (never realy been there before) it seemed to me that damn near everything with rear coils was lifted(incl fords/mercs). as i mentioned I had not been to detriot before 96 so i cant say if lifted cars appeared there before or after 86-87. i would guess before. in 97 i picked up my 81 malibu wagon. it had a 2.5-3" lift by way of heavy springs borrowed from a 73-75 A body wagon( so i was told by a guy that knew the prev owner) it was rollin on steel wheels with gm wire covers and 205/75's. it was around 01-02 when i started to see 20's on cars that were already lifted. one week i would see a cutlass or monte with 15's then that same car with 18's or 20's the next.
altho i was have no clue of what started this style i would guess it had something to do with lifted cars handling better in snow,or riding a bit better on shitty MI roads,or maybe that was the only way to get the very popular 15x8 'vette rallys to fit. it could aslo be a style carried over from the 60's. i have a few vintage car mags and alot of cars were lifted back then too (not just gassers)but i think it had more to do with drag racing than being a style.
anyway thats what i know and remember about the whole "lifted car & big wheel" thing. I attached a few pics that i took at the woodward cruise just last weekend and other pics i found online that are realy good examples of the old school look before big wheels. and some pics of cars with big wheels and a mild lift to show how one led to the other. again this isnt to start a debate about big wheels but to share personal exp and gather info from other members to help establish a timeline and origin of a style that has spread like wildfire over the past few years.
the purpose of this thread is discus the origins of lifted cars and big wheels and not to get into the debate involed with this trend. we all have our own tastes and opinions (myself included). part of the reason i wanted to bring up this subject is to possibly educate some of the younger members about the roots of the trend and to find out if lifted cars originated in my native area ( southeast MI/Detriot) back in the mid 80's or if it the style was popular in other areas around the same time or if maybe it started somewhere else and made its way to the detriot area. my hope is that other memers(prob you older guys) will be able to back me up and share what you remem. this is somethin that i have been thinkin about for a while. all trends/styles/fads start somewhere. everyone that knows anything about cars knows that hot rods,customs and lowriders have deep roots in southern calif.
i'm 38 and from the metro detriot area(pontiac,waterford,and auburn hills more specificly) but have lived alot of other places....northwest arizona,central kentucky,las vegas,and now northwest ohio. when i was a kid,around 12-13, i really started to pay closer attn to cars and learning what cars were what,customizing terms,all that stuff. i keanly remember seeing lifted cars(mostly G Bodys) in the pontiac/waterford area as far back as 86-87. the usual "look" was a 2-3" lift with 15" wheels and large diameter tires,usually 225/75 or 235/75 15's depending on the car and amount of lift. the wheels of chioce were typicly 'vette rallys or something in a satin aluminum like american racing outlaws or outlaw II's. this was a style that was the norm all over the metro area and not just an "urban" thing. tho most cars were g bodys other cars that were popular were 73-77 regals,cutlass' ,grand prix's and monte's. full size gm's like impala/caprice and buick lesabres and bonnevilles were also lifted but not quite as popular. as mentioned this wasnt just an urban thing and in the later 80's lifted cars began to appear regularly at "hot rod" shows(my moms cousin had an 86 SS that was lifted with 15x8 outlaw II's that he showed regularly) after finishing jr high in 89,i was 15, i found myself bouncing back and fouth between AZ,Vegas and KY for the next few years till i wound back up in pontiac in late 95. over the years in other areas not once do i recal seeing a lifted car like those back home. and after returning to the area i noticed that this style wasnt realy a "trend" and was more popular than ever. it was after coming back to pontiac i got my 1st g body,an 80 malibu 4 door i bought from an inlaw for $1,seriously. in 96 i moved just inside detriot city limits (never realy been there before) it seemed to me that damn near everything with rear coils was lifted(incl fords/mercs). as i mentioned I had not been to detriot before 96 so i cant say if lifted cars appeared there before or after 86-87. i would guess before. in 97 i picked up my 81 malibu wagon. it had a 2.5-3" lift by way of heavy springs borrowed from a 73-75 A body wagon( so i was told by a guy that knew the prev owner) it was rollin on steel wheels with gm wire covers and 205/75's. it was around 01-02 when i started to see 20's on cars that were already lifted. one week i would see a cutlass or monte with 15's then that same car with 18's or 20's the next.
altho i was have no clue of what started this style i would guess it had something to do with lifted cars handling better in snow,or riding a bit better on shitty MI roads,or maybe that was the only way to get the very popular 15x8 'vette rallys to fit. it could aslo be a style carried over from the 60's. i have a few vintage car mags and alot of cars were lifted back then too (not just gassers)but i think it had more to do with drag racing than being a style.
anyway thats what i know and remember about the whole "lifted car & big wheel" thing. I attached a few pics that i took at the woodward cruise just last weekend and other pics i found online that are realy good examples of the old school look before big wheels. and some pics of cars with big wheels and a mild lift to show how one led to the other. again this isnt to start a debate about big wheels but to share personal exp and gather info from other members to help establish a timeline and origin of a style that has spread like wildfire over the past few years.
maybe its just that i havnt seen a factory stock hieght g body in so long i dont remember how they look :lol: but hopefully you are flattered that i used your ride for a positive ref? as far as g bodys riding higher cuz they were new back then i cant be sure of. maybe its cuz the taller tires made the car sit higher,giving the appearance of a lift. but i do remember my boy randy's dad worked on cars in the neighborhood and he mentioned the use of cup shims and/or swapped springs quite often. 
