Can you all help me. I saw a ad somewhere for a company that makes stock looking Ford wheels from aluminum. But I don't remember where I saw it and can't find them on the Internet. Do any of you know who that is or know anything about these. Thank you all.
Ok I'll bite it hasn't been too long ago that it was popular with the high dollar street rod crowd to get wheels milled from a block of billet. A CNC machine, and 80 pound block of billet and 75 or so pounds of chips later you had a wheel. I cannot imagine that the companies that were doing that are still doing it or that it is their main focus of business as the cost is way up there per unit.
With aluminum weighing in at about 170 pounds per cubic foot, as porknbeaner mentioned, that's got to be an expensive ordeal no matter how you look at it.
Sorry I was not more clear. Not billet, these were rolled aluminum like steel wheels a outer rim and a inner center welded together. Billet is not my thing
That sounds like a Weld Wheel deal. I know that when they were a local company still you could get stock looking wheels from them with a cold forged rim. Maybe contact them and see what they have to offer.
which ford style rim you looking for that would whittle it down a little . I know Circle racing was making some but they were oversized and looked like hot wheelz rims on a car .. most of the aluminum OEm repos were 18"r's
It did not say in the ad, but the pictures were normal size looking like a 15" or 16" wheels from the 40s, 50s, 60s
Ford made some 14-16 inch stock style wheels but they were for spare tire width only , and they were late models ( 80's- present ) for the mid size cars and crown vic . 60's style ( magnums and gt's which are O/t ) was the one I listed . Forties and fifty would be hub cab style rims . do not know who would waste time making something like that .
I believe this is what you're looking for: http://circleracing.com/108oe.htm They list 17, 18's and so on, but they will make anything you want.
If you were looking to go "period correct" , you would have to round up some Streamlite aero trailer wheels. Dick Lewis usta run a set on his '32; but he told me they were hard to keep air in them and they are pretty soft.
it seems to me that Alcoa used to make some aluminum wheels way back when. I think I have seen some on salt cars at one time or another.
I have only seen these once, but a swap meet seller had a couple of stock style aluminum wheels that he said were shipped with cars as spares. Pretty sure they were Ford and 5 on 4.5" pattern. 3/20/16 Found a pic of the wheel I was talking about. Still cannot remember what cars it was available on.
Late 80's thunderbird turbo coupe had these 15 inch space saver spares. Mustang guys would run them as cheap front skinny's. The 4 bolt pattern isnt right on these rims for turbocoupes, so there must be other applications. Google image space saver spares, you can get 15 x skinny that might look ok on a period build, they will be very plain or solid centers. 15x4 or 15x5 I'm guessing. Most are steel. I have a set of 4 dual chevy ford pattern that I keep for mock up, took a while to find a complete set in dual pattern
The ones I was referring to were made in the late 40's early 50's. I believe they were only to be had in early Ford 5&1/2" pattern.
The Jalopy Journal
