Mag wheels are significantly lighter, when they oxidize they turn dark grey and if you slice a sliver of magnesium off and light it, the metal burns very nicely...and you won't be able to put it out. RichardD, get back to work on that Corvair, I want to see progress.
I rolled it out of the garage today, didn't you see? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542558
the wheels are american racing lemans. i tried burning a sample of the material at one time but it did not burn. i think i needed a long sliver of the material to get it to burn.
I think they may be real mags. From Roadsters.com http://www.roadsters.com/wheels/#Other "Many styles of American magnesium racing wheels were produced. One was the Le Mans, which was cast so it looked like a Torq-Thrust that had been faced off in a lathe, with the outer surfaces of the spokes being completely flat, similar to the 1970s Pontiac wheels that they inspired."
I've never seen an American Lemans made out of aluminum. If you have a pair they are VERY RARE. Of course, the magnesium ones are rare also.
I was told in welding cl***, if you run a wire brush over aluminum, it will turn silver and shiney, if it's magnesium, it'll turn grey
This is the best test of all because it is a true chemical test, and does not depend on just trying to judge the slightly different colour.
Agreed - I had a pair I was unsure of. Sanded spot clean, then one drop vinegar turned it black and bubbled immediately. The other way to tell is part numers cast into the back of the spoke. These can be cross-referenced to the early 1960's catalogs.
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