Halibrand Wheels: The Original Mag

The Term “Mag” gets thrown around quite a bit, as it’s almost become a generic term for any solid wheels. Outside of the hot rod and vintage racing world, not enough credit is given to Ted Halibrand as the originator. History lesson: Ted started out as a mechanic for midget racers in the 30s before buying his own car and ultimately building midgets for many great racers before the War. It was during WWII that he was exposed to aircraft technology while working for Douglas as a service rep overseas. Once back from the War, Halibrand applied some of the aviation tech he learned to midgets: Magnesium alloy as a light weight yet high-stress replacement for aluminum components. This lead to casting a one-off set of wheels in 1946 that proved so successful that he formed Halibrand Engineering Company in Culver City, California the following year. The pin drive wheels went from midgets to sprints to Indy cars (equipped on dozens of Indy 500 winners in the late 40s and early 50s, sometimes found on more than half the cars on the grid), and ultimately to the coolest of ‘Sports Jobs’ like the Doane Spencer ’57 Thunderbird and the early Shelby Cobras. The earliest examples were smooth faced with ribbing on the back side, with Halibrand’s ‘second design’ 5-slot wheels followed in 1955. Lets see yours…