A guy wanted to do exactly that with one of mine. I just said 'I'll think about it". I'm not sure repops would ruin the 'market'. As Kevin said, there is not a big enough market for 'em. Well, not yet anyway. Josh
Hey that sure beats the $3500 for a set 4 years ago, even if they are repops.......crazy *** prices past few years for stuff like that
Nice. And very cool of the guy(s) who put all of the work into this to offer them at a completely reasonable price. Can't imagine there is a very big margin there.
The wheels do look nice for what they are, an aftermarket aluminum wheel, but thats it. The whole purpose of making a repop is to fill a demand, it should be an exacct copy, or VERY close to the origonal. What if instead of repop steel 32 grill shells they were cast aluminum? What if repop 32 rails didn't have the reveal because the tooling was too much work/money to do and they said, oh it doesn't matter. I know it would take $$$$ to make steel ones, but the rim part is available on the cheap, so you would only have to reproduce the center. They made steel dies way back then, it's now 60 some years later and manufacturing techniques are much more advanced....just my opinion.
Looks a lot like a Porsche spare... I'm surprised these aren't showing up more often, especially since we're back to skinny tires. There's actually a wide variety in steel and aluminum, and they all have that kinda "vintage" look.
While I applaud the effort.....if a fella is building a "period car", those lack the details of an OG "milk truck" wheel.... The price seems reasonable. I should have kept mine.....
The price definitely seems reasonable but those things look very different then an authentic Kelsey Hayes milk truck wheel. The valve stem dimple is much different then spokes are different. I'll try to post a picture off of their website and do a side by side comparison with a real one that I have. By the way. Milk truck wheels are not $3,500 wheels anymore, more like $1,500/$2,000 depending on condition for a pair.
The centers, where the lugs go, lack the "bumps" or triangles...and since these are a one-piece wheel, it doesn't have the same "look" as originals, since the centers aren't riveted... Those are pretty minor..... The biggest thing they lack is the CHARACTER of old, beat up steel wheels....
The lip on the tim also looks very thick compared to an original Ford wheel. I do give them thumbs up though, looks like a nice alternitive
Editing my post purely out of respect for TV. I love the idea of these wheels being available. I view them as modern speed equipment with a HEAVY nod to tradition. Real hotrod parts from real hot rodders.
I can understand the frustration of the guy who made these rims. I was looking into repopping the Pontiac 71-76 Honeycomb rims, but in aluminum. The response we got was a bit eye opening to say the least.
Tom and Kevin Vaughn who race a vintage 4 banger 27 roadster at Elmo and Bonneville had the milk truck wheels made. They used my original seen in the photo to copy. I have a set of both steel and aluminum wheels and other than the wider version it's nearly impossible to tell the difference, particularly once the trim ring and hub cap are in place (I understand Tom and Kevin are working on a stainless trim ring). One major difference is the weight, the originals literally weight 30 pounds each! Now that I have a set in aluminum it's doubtful that I would ever run the steel version. I suspect the would really look outstanding in raw aluminum or polished. Geoffrey
There is alot of differences in the original and repop. Good try but try again.With the new machinery today repops should be identical,especially in aluminum.
define "A LOT"? ....other than what has been pointed out already. how would you go about implementing fixes? be mindful of budget and their usage (so drag racers and land speed racers can run them using contemporary high speed tires/slicks) keep in mind repop magnesium wheels are $4000.00 and up. those appear to be EXACT replicas. if painted with a trim ring and hubcap i doubt people would detect a copy.
The Jalopy Journal
