|
Cobra Wheels
Looking at pictures of the early Cobra race cars, it appears that they used a "kidney bean" style mag wheel. Anyone know the manufacturer? I've seen wire, kidney bean, Torq Thrust D's and Halibrands on the original cars, were there any others?
|
Sunburst...
|
FIA wheels. I believe the kidney beans were made by Halibrand as well.
(this is a replica FIA from Trigo) http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...igoFia-med.jpg |
Story is when Halibrand couldn't keep up with the supply of the "Cobra" wheels, Pete Brock designed these "Sunburst" wheels and yes, Halibrand did end up making them!
just my 2 cents Mark |
The Sunburst wheels were a little different from the FIA wheels. They were only 7.5" wide - even on the rear. As far as I know, nobody is making new Sunbursts - too bad 'cause I like the look myself.
As far as the Kidney Bean wheels, I've seen the pictures too, but no other details. They were on very early 289 race cars. http://www.erareplicas.com/427/sunburst.jpg SUNBURST WHEEL |
Kidney Bean
I was just noticing how much the kidney bean wheels as seen on the early comp cars:
http://www.chuckbrandt.com/kidney.jpg look a lot like this wheel from American Racing. http://www.americanracing.com/dealer...ckbig/b470.jpg I wonder if anyone has ever talked to them about the possibility of making a 6 pin knock off wheel from those? They sure would look great on an early comp car. Chuck BrandtAmerican Racing Salt Flat Painted |
I have the bolt on hubs on my ERA 2097. I have been waiting for Torq Thrust D's since Nov. 04, so in the meantime, I asked American Racing for a set of Kidney Bean wheels (took less than 3 weeks) which are now on the car (see gallery). The spinners are also on their way but not here yet.
My wheels are 17" (to clear the big brakes - Wilwood calipers). I've been told that American Racing is also willing to make the Torq Thrust D's but, so far, I'm still waiting for a set from PS Engineering. |
Nice looking car!
Yes I've heard that the trigo fia in 15" and wilwood caliper is a really tight fit on the ERA. I guess it doesn't surprise me the salt flats don't fit in that size. Too bad.
Your car looks nice though. Probably would look nice with torque thrusts too. Chuck |
I've been waiting for the Torq Thrust Ds to arrive for a long time and when the car was finished ready to drive I could wait no longer, so rather than order a 2nd set of "Ds" from American Racing, I ordered a set of Kidney Bean (same size, offset, etc.).
Last time I talked to PS they were still waiting for castings so they could make the "Ds" but I'm keeping my order in and when those arrive I'll post some pictures for comparison. In the meantime, I have the ARs and eventually will have 4 spare wheels (for street and track?). |
I have the PSE kindneys on my ERA. They are a nice looking wheel. When I get my car on the road I was going to make a trip back down to see Phil at PSE to have him custom size a set of 15" FIA wheels for my car also. I want a set of 15" for the original look & I want them to be as wide as possible. Phil said it would be best to bring the car down so he could take some measurements. It would be great to have the best of both worlds...15" & 17"
|
I originally ordered a set of 15" "Ds" , but in Nov 04 , I was told they will not fit with the Wilwood calipers (won't clear-no way no how).
So, I ordered a set of 17" Ds as replacements. The car got here in December 04 w/o wheels. But, of course, finishing it was months away so I wasn't worried. Then, in March, as we got closer to finishing the car and still no wheels or any idea when they'd be built, Bumpsteer (member) told me that American Racing had just gone back into production on the Ds and other Cobra wheels. So, rather than have the finished car sit on the dollies 'til summer. I ordered the Kidney Bean from AR. I got these wheels from AR within 3 weeks of the order just as the car was ready to be put on the road. |
I had no idea!
I had no idea Phil made kidney bean ones, that would be cheaper / easier than trying to get AR to make pin drive ones.
I'm going to have to get his catalog some time. I'm sure he makes other ones that I'm unware of too. Thanks, Chuck |
I have a catalog. It's not bad but not all that exiting either. Not that his wheels aren't great, just that the catalog wasn't of the knock your socks off variety. If anyone is interested email me & I'll scan it for you. It's really not that bad :cool:
|
Just noticed that the wheels on "Hey, Little Cobra" (the album) were Kidney Bean. Guess in the early years there were only wire or Kidney Bean wheels on the cars. With the AR spinners on them, the AR bolt on wheels can only be distinguished from the pin drive in the picture when the car's standing still and the AR's are about 1/4th $$$.
|
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:35 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
The representations expressed are the representations and opinions of the clubcobra.com forum members and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the site owners, moderators, Shelby American, any other replica manufacturer, Ford Motor Company. This website has been planned and developed by clubcobra.com and its forum members and should not be construed as being endorsed by Ford Motor Company, or Shelby American or any other manufacturer unless expressly noted by that entity. "Cobra" and the Cobra logo are registered trademarks for Ford Motor Co., Inc. clubcobra.com forum members agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyrighted material is owned by you. Although we do not and cannot review the messages posted and are not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we reserve the right to delete any message for any reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). Thank you for visiting clubcobra.com. For full policy documentation refer to the following link: