Swap meets, maybe parts section of old car trader, alloy wheel refinishers -a bunch do trades - send in your old wheels, they send a different set of refinished. Would seem like a good deal - they could make a profit without having to do the work.
Swap meets, maybe parts section of old car trader, alloy wheel refinishers -a bunch do trades - send in your old wheels, they send a different set of refinished. Would seem like a good deal - they could make a profit without having to do the work.
I haven't been to a swap meet in a long time. How common is it to find people selling complete sets of vintage wheels?
It's pretty common at the larger ones. I'm spoiled with Carlisle & Hershey being in my back yard.
Something to keep in mind, American Racing reintroduced the Torque Thrust D in the early '90's. So the early reissues are old enough to have some patina, but should be cheaper than the '60's/70's original versions.
I think Vintage Wheel Works released theirs somewhere around that same time, give or take a couple years.
Might try some of the SCCA forums classifieds. I see used wheels there, occasionally.
bravenrace wrote: Can you ever make it through a thread without making some smart ass comment? No, I'm not the only one, that's why they are expensive.Maybe, just maybe, you don't know everything. Something to consider...
Who pissed in your cereal? You wanted help, we tried, but you don't listen. No need to be a Bob Costas about it.
Out
Turnabout is fair play.
Javelin wrote:bravenrace wrote: Can you ever make it through a thread without making some smart ass comment? No, I'm not the only one, that's why they are expensive.Who pissed in your cereal? You wanted help, we tried, but you don't listen. No need to be a Bob Costas about it. Out
You attempt to mock me because I'm looking for wheels that will look correct on my car (that you've never seen in person), but never actually help me get an answer to my question and wonder who pissed in my cereal? You did.
Here's something that may be a new concept to you. You can't make ass hat comments to people and not expect them to say something in return.
BTW, thanks to all of you who have actually been helpful. I appreciate it!
I'm waiting for a quote from AKH, another source I found via Ebay, and a GRM'r that has some wheels. If those don't work out and I don't get any more leads, I'm headed to the swap meets.
In reply to bravenrace:
Show me the "smart ass" comments. Man, you are way too wound up. Yeah, no links were provided (outside of eBay which you won't use for some reason), because you have no berking idea what you want. You say you want "aged" wheels, then say you want aluminum. Those don't match!
You do realize that physics keeps aluminum from aging to a patina like magnesium, right? You can buy brand new TT's, throw some salt on there, and leave them outside for a week, and they'd look identical to a set that's been outside for 40 years. Okay? Got it now? That's why you can't find what you're looking for!!
For cripes sake, if you can't understand that, and have to resort to such petty, name-calling, accusatory crap, you really shouldn't bother at all. If I hated you or thought you were a moron, I wouldn't have responded to your thread or spent time finding pics of the wheels, or a link of the good price on the used mags!
I can give you quite a few resources for used, vintage magnesium wheels. I can give you quite a few resources for new reproduction magnesium or aluminum wheels. I can give you dozens of resources for restored vintage aluminum wheels. I CAN'T give you used aluminum wheel dealers. They don't patina, there's no demand, and you can "make" them corrode in literally no time, so the dealers restore the wheels, because that's what sells. Understand?
It's not personal, I'm not claiming to be smarter than you or any such BS; it's just pure, simple physics and supply/demand here brave, get over it. If you still absolutely insist on having "aged" aluminum wheels I'll gladly show you how you can do it yourself to a new one, okay?
Recap:
New Magnesium? Yes
Used Magnesium? Yes
New Aluminum? Yes
Used Aluminum? No
"Well you are pretty much the only person on the planet who wants aged aluminum wheels, so there is no demand, and thus, no source. All of the vintage wheel outfits that dabble in aluminum restore them. You'll have to find a set of pitted, corroded ones in some hillbillies backyard. Good luck."
I'm not wound up. I just don't like ass hats making comments like the above when all I did was ask for leads on sources for old wheels. Even in your reply above you are still trying to educate me on something I learned 35 years ago. WTF?
You need to stop assuming that everyone you reply to is an idiot.
Michael,
He's asking for vintage un-restored wheels, and he's made it clear that he doesn't care if they're aluminum. He's made it clear that he is NOT interested in buying new wheels and making them look old. It's a pretty plain and clear request.
There is no sense in arguing about it. He's an intelligent man and figured out what he wants. What do you have to gain by telling him he's wrong for wanting what he wants?
Sources:
New magnesium wheels are available from Vintage Engineering, including the original TT and the Minilite. These are the wheels you see on the Trans Am and Can Am cars at Monterey, the Mitty, etc.
Torque Thrust:
Minilite:
For new aluminum reproductions, Vintage Wheel Works does the best job, including larger and smaller sizes.
V40 (straight spoke, like the original Torq Thrust):
V45 (curved spoke, like the modern Torque Thrust and the original TT D):
V48 (minilite style, in 16" and larger):
For used magnesium wheels, AKH is a great source. Note that over 90% of their aluminum wheels are restored. One of the few sets that's as-is includes the pic I linked for you earlier:
Which is even in your bolt pattern. These guys are in the same state as me and I've been looking at their inventory for a year trying to decide on wheels for my Javelin, which is how I learned about the whole aluminum/magnesium thing in the first place. You can learn a whole lot about all things vintage wheels here. The most important page, including discussions on magnesium aging, corrosion, and links to the various manufacturers, is here.
Yeah Jav, calm down. He was very clear about what he wants. That you for some reason think he's an idiot for wanting it doesn't mean you should pick on him for it.
It's really pretty dumb of you to claim that there's no way to get used aluminum wheels when they're all over the place. Sure there's no high falutin' race shop out there that specialized in them but the wheels are around and he can get them he's just looking for a source.
It would have been more helpful if you just stayed out once you felt his quest wasn't what you endorse.
In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:
I'm sorry Ben, I thought I read where he wanted aluminum. I don't care if he wants it or not, I was trying to explain why he can't find it. Just because he wants it doesn't mean there's a supplier for it. I tried to link him to vintage magnesium wheels, but he's not willing to spend $2000 on them (with damn good reason).
Dude, he's said at least three different times: NO new wheels, NO reproductions, NO magnesium. He wants used unrestored Aluminum wheels. That's not hard to understand and not some bizarre request.
In reply to bravenrace:
And you need to stop assuming that every comment made at you is a put-down. This board is light-hearted, if the post isn't an actual fact, it's a 99.99% chance that it's a joke, hyperbole, and extreme exaggeration, or some other such hilarity. The hillbilly backyard comment was meant to be ha-ha funny. Maybe I should have added a few of these: 
There's a lot of things that people on this board want that has no demand anywhere else, and thus no source. How you can take that as an ass hat comment in a board where we typically say it (since most questions are like how do I put a Subaru motor in a Wartburg, et al) is beyond me. Stop reading like we're pissy at you and start reading like we're your friend who's ribbing you because it's funny.
In reply to dculberson:
Read the flipping giant post! The last link is to place that has USED ALUMINUM WHEELS. The other sources are there for posterity in case anybody else has the same idea but can't stomach a challenge car as their wheel budget.
In reply to Javelin:
You are really not worth dealing with.
In reply to bravenrace:
And neither are you.
WoooEE. Don't know whether to flounder, canoe or watergate this thread.
Javelin wrote: ...in some hillbillies backyard.
We prefer the term Appalacian Americans.
In reply to dimarra:
Also, Dude, "hillbilly" is not the preferred nomenclature. "Appalacian American", please.
In reply to dimarra:
See, he continues to offend people with every statement he makes.
Y'all damn stoooopid Yankees keep forgettin' that I'm from the dirty Souf! They ain't none of dem fancy Appalakan mountains here, d'are hills.
Get 'em Crushinator.
/moonfarmer
(My backyard currently has 3 rusty wheels in it for full disclosure, no joke).
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: In reply to bravenrace: I think it was said earlier in the thread that you're best bet to find a full set of old mags or aluminum wheels are swap meets. I did some searching and I found this site: http://www.akhwheels.com/ They don't have a great selection, but it's probably a good place to start. Aside from Ebay, I'm not seeing much offered on the net, I've tried a few different keywords and not much is coming up.
I just checked my bookmarks, and this was the site I had contacted. Like I'd said, they didn't have what I needed, but the response was professional and timely.
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