|
Torq Thrust Wheels
The original torq thrust wheels were made by a drag racer in the 50s named Romeo Palimedes. He made some wheels for himself and the other drag racers saw them and asked if he could make them some. That is how American Racing Equipment was started.
|
American Racing The Original Torq Thrust
3 Attachment(s)
The first wheels were made out of magnesium, the aluminum wheels did not show up until latter on. The first wheels used a rounded spoke. The more common style spoke did not show up until the early 60s. A trademark of the Americans is the beveled edge near the spokes. Some of the magnesium wheels do not say American Racing Equipement on the back side of the wheel. The 15X6 wheels do not say Torq Thrust on the back side.
|
Trade Mark Beveled Edge
3 Attachment(s)
...
|
The Copies
Torq thrust wheels are probably the most copied wheel ever made. Some of the copies have names on them and some don't. There are ways to identify all the copies. Some of the copies were made in Japan.
|
Sema Spec
1 Attachment(s)
I don't know when the Sema Spec started showing up on some of the after market wheels, I think it may have been the second half of the sixties. SEMA was started in 1963 and at first there were no Government regulations.
|
Fenton Hustler
1 Attachment(s)
14X7 Someone repainted the wheel, the original color of the spokes was black.
|
I will post more in the next few days.
|
I love these wheels! Im gonna run a set on my 69 ta with the centers painted the stripe blue color. I cant wait.
|
ET
1 Attachment(s)
Uses uni-lug, says ET on the front of the wheel.
|
Keystone
2 Attachment(s)
No numbers or letters on the front or backside. Uses rounded spokes
|
US Wheel
3 Attachment(s)
No name front or back. Edge near the spokes is flat. Made with a thick pad on the back of the wheel in the lug nut area. The pad is made to be machined to change the offset of the wheel. Some wheels have the pad already machined down and some don't.
|
Appliance
2 Attachment(s)
Close copy of the Americans. Has JAPAN on the back side of the wheel
|
Why is this a sticky?
|
Caps
1 Attachment(s)
The picture is a reproduction cap. It will fit all of the above wheels. The untrained eye will assume the wheel is an American because of the cap. The cap that fits the vintage torq thrust wheels, will not fit the reproduction American Racing D wheels.
|
1 Attachment(s)
The lug nut on the left is refered to as a peanut lug, it fits the earlier American Racing and ET wheels with uni-lug. The other lug nuts will fit the latter Americans and most of the copies.
|
14X6 Wheel and A body Disc Brakes
4 Attachment(s)
A 14X6 wheel will fit disc brakes and turn. It's a tight fit. You can have problems using the stick on wheel weights that are required to balance the wheel.
|
14X6 wheel on 79 A-G Body Disc Brake
4 Attachment(s)
The G body-S10 brakes use a smaller rotor than the 69-72 A body factory disc brakes.
|
As a matter of fact I'm looking for a set of the these wheels for my '68 firebird. 15 x 8's - Are the knock offs the same quality? Where can I find a set? How much would I expext to pay for everything complete American vs. Knockoffs?
|
15X8.5 might not fit inside the wheel wells of a 68 Firebird. You don't get a lot of selection on the offsets, they are one piece wheels. It's hard to give a price on used vintage wheels, it depends where you get them from.
|
I believe the quality of the vintage American Racing wheels is better than the reproductions.
|
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:42 AM. |