https://www.holley.com/products/wheels/wheels/vintage/halibrand_15_sprint_wheels/parts/HB008-016 Folks, Thinking about grabbing a set of 15" Halibrand Sprints in the anthracite finish for the rear of my 57 Chevy Gasser project. Thoughts on this finish (quality, durability, color, texture, gloss...) for anyone who has seen it or ran them?? Look similar to the originals or way different in appearance? Probably go with unpolished Rocket Launcher skinnies up front. Patina paint.
Although.... The Halibrand wheels in skinnies would look pretty bitchin on the 57 too.... https://www.holley.com/products/wheels/wheels/vintage/halibrand_15_sprint_wheels/parts/HB008-009
I was putting the following post together when you put that one up^ I couldn’t agree more. I can’t comment on the quality, etc., but they are a great choice for your ‘57 Chevy. On the other hand the Launcher wheels are out of place if you are looking to recreate an era. Those ten spoke, lug mounted wheels never existed BITD. How about 15 x 4.5 Sprints on the front? JMO.
Yea man totally respect your feedback, thank you! I always had those spoke wheels in my head because I admittedly do enjoy the look of them but also understand the disconnect with the era. Did anything similar hit the track? And do you know what brought the popularity forward with these 10-spoke wheels, you sure see a ton of them on nose up gasser/street freak builds? A match set of Halibrands would be a great look too.
I guess some think Launchers give the look of a gasser but in reality the original design was a 12 spoke, spindle mount wheel, for use on altereds and dragsters, so no front brakes. Eventually guys did add disc brakes to 12 spoke wheels but that was a much later development and for street cars, not the strip. Launchers with their lugs are naturally more easily used with front brakes but not being spindle mounts is what brands them as poser equipment. This is an early ad from American, the original 12 spoke design was by Romeo Palamides who sold them under his name until his business partner bought him out and renamed the company American Racing Wheels.
Those spoked wheels were used on lightweight altereds of the period, not the heavier gassers, but it's your car!
@KrucksGarage In my opinion part of what drove the popularity of the bolt on ten spoke wheels was that the Team lll Gasser Wheel capitalized on the growing trend of gassers or gasser looking cars being built. To those that didn’t live through the era or haven’t studied it, if you name the wheel Gasser then it is a gasser (period correct style) wheel. The Launcher Wheel is very similar to the Team III Gasser Wheel. As posted above it was probably inspired by the twelve spoke spindle mount magnesium wheel that was mainly used on Altered and some on Dragsters. Early on for a car to be a legal gas class car it had to have front brakes. If not it would be bumped into another class besides gas class. There were no provisions for front brakes on the spindle mount wheels and a bolt on version of these wheels was never made back in the day. That’s why they are often viewed as poser wheels by those that really know. Between those two choices, I would definitely go with the Halibrand Skinnys on the front or another wheel that looks very similar to a wheel that was actually run on gassers in the mid 60s which is the heyday of the nose up stance but it’s your car and your choice.
Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate knowing a deeper level of what wheels were used and for what cars. I like the Halibrands and their history, but I'll look around a bit more as well.
"...but not being spindle mounts is what brands them as poser equipment." Hello, The era of the high front end and gas tank showing in front was after the 1320 rules committee designated the Moon Tanks to all be removed from within the cab of any car. They were to be put in the trunk or as someone suggested, for FED and competition race cars, front was the only option for them... Not street cars or street legal cars. Can you imagine a public street intersection collision with the Moon Tank in front? The style did show up in the early 70s and faded out fast on the Westcoast as well as elsewhere. The constant stopping by the CHP in So Cal led to enforcement of safety rules for all cars, including “poser drag race” looking cars. No bumper, gas tank sitting out in front as the first collision protection, and the height well over legal limits all led to a look, but were given tickets and tow away experiences just to make it safe for normal street driving. Now, if you had a drag racing hot rod only to be used at the drags, then yes, put that gas tank where you want. In a crash, it is the first thing to go up in flames… so, that is your decision. But, as FED race cars had no other option, the rules committee relented to gas tanks in front. Jnaki But, one of the most prolific Gas Coupes of the time of real Gas Coupe Competition was the SWC Black Willys Coupe. They had the tank in the rear. And still was well known and won a lot of races. But, as you can see, this was 1964 and the power lifted the front end up. So, the cars began their phase of raising the front to see if that would help. 1964 The era of the high front end, gas tanks in the front were copied and used on the streets after the end of the real Gas Coupe and Sedan classes, as well as any street legal racing classes. The FED fuel cars and funny cars took over and everything else went into eliminator classes until they all disappeared. Here is a point that people who think a raised up chassis or car is good for speed. What do the Bonneville/El Mirage racers know that others do not? Why do the latest contraptions from 60s racer, John Force sit so low that they scrape at times? On the other hand, we would all be watching a rerun of a giant 4x4 race car built for stadium racing events (Grave Digger) at Bonneville and at the drags. As far as wheels, the era of 1964-65 were the last era of normal looking race car parts used on street legal cars for the drags. Check out the coupes of that time period. The small sector of raised up cars can have any wheels, but as it is always said... the choice is yours. The Halibrands are very good looking and are timeless... If you have to get your car inspected by the local DMV, that gas tank, as well as height from the ground, will not be approved, if that matters. YRMV
Agreed! That's an obvious source of some legit old school knowledge right there. I could BS for hours with these guys haha!.... Here's the link on the site here for my 57 build..... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/57-chevy-belair-gasser-build.1282920/
I just picked up a set for either my wife's Lark or my Commander. Looks good, especially for the money. They take the really long mag style nut. The centers are 1.5" thick. With tires on I'm not sure if I love the polished lip. Tempted to fog them one color. Possibly something flat to imitate magnesium, or Dupli-Color cast iron gray engine enamel which is similar to the anthracite color in the center. If I really lost my mind I would be tempted to blast or oven cleaner them, followed by linseed oil to darken and seal them.
Thanks for that feedback, yea I was wondering about the machined lip too, I'd rather see them in full grey color on the anthracite option. Keep me posted, I'll be interested to know what you decide or if you run them as is.
Oh I know, I've seen you around haha, it's all good, or as it looks like you would say (it is what it is....) haha
Checked out the website that's cool, I'd be curious to know the pricing, have to call for price quote. That's for sharing!
Here these are with tires mounted up. 15x6 with 205/75's and 15x7 with 235/75's. These are just an around the town set of wheels and tires. Should work nicely for the time being. Someone else will have to chime in with some pie crust slicks and skinnies mounted. I think these would look really good in front paired with a Steelie in the rear -or- these in the rear with ET Vintage V or similar in the front. I like the look of mismatched front and rear wheels on period drag cars, but the front wheel should be visually 'lighter' than the rear wheel. Also here is my suggested paint to make it one color without trying to make it something it's not. Dark grey, small metallic flakes, has some nice subtle gold, brown, and purple hues buried in the color. Holds up well on a wheel.
Thats great Holly acquired Halibrand, I tried to purchase from the previous Halibrand owner's but they were a clown show. Hard to go wrong with a Halibrand wheel decision.
FYI-- The unpolished wheels are all selling Cheap on the holly web site and some on e bay, around $100 per wheel and free shipping. Looks like they are discontinued?? . Not much left. I bought several sets of wheels. The 15 by 4 1/2" are all gone.
Just ordered spares for my setup. The Holley rep said that the polished versions are NOT going away. His guess was that the painted versions were going away because of availability of paint. Nothing to do with demand.
I’m really leaning to these wheel in 5 or 6” width. I would like them without the lip machined. Would have been great to see the Studie like that.
It's crazy what's happening in the paint industry, lots of downstream product affect due to the changes, and shortages.
I went another direction for my 57, got these torque thrust originals from a friend, picked up two 15x8.5's for the rear and one 15x5 (last one on the US apparently) from summit. Had to order the fourth wheel from a warehouse supplier in Canada and pay duty shipping at $59 to get it to WA. Wheel Pros, owner of American racing said 90+ days out of they get more (China). I'm pretty sure I got the last one in the world. Man this stuff is getting sketch.... If it's not bad enough American racing is no longer American racing you have to get stuff from China..... Maybe.... If they make more..... In China. Still, cool classic wheel. At least the rears are legit originals. I'll run studs on these. New ones are tapered acorn lug nut seat.
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