Halibrand Wheels

[MARC212]

I was thrilled to see the cover the latest Avanti Magazine with Randy Rapp's amazing first production R3 on the cover. Randy's car had the correct reproduction Halibrand wheels from Real Rodders and they looked spectacular. We all remember for how many years so many of us looked for a set of the original wheels (of which I have a set), but even after acquiring them, could not use them since the magnesium was likely to be brittle.
I was instrumental in having these wheels reproduced. Real Rodders is nearing the end of the run that was made and there will not likely be another production run. Soon, these wheels too will be collectors items.

[BobPalma]

Randy's car was stunning at last weekend's Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals, too. Be sure to check out the excellent photos of it at the show in that thread. BP

[MARC212]

I guess these wheels were offered for models other than the Avanti. Attached is an ad from the day.

[StudeMichael]

I was thrilled to see the cover the latest Avanti Magazine with Randy Rapp's amazing first production R3 on the cover. Randy's car had the correct reproduction Halibrand wheels from Real Rodders and they looked spectacular. We all remember for how many years so many of us looked for a set of the original wheels (of which I have a set), but even after acquiring them, could not use them since the magnesium was likely to be brittle.
I was instrumental in having these wheels reproduced. Real Rodders is nearing the end of the run that was made and there will not likely be another production run. Soon, these wheels too will be collectors items.

Many of us who have originals never take them off of the car and have driven on them for many years. There are no documented cases of there ever being a problem.

Here is an article by someone with many years of experience that states in 25 years Halibrands have never failed but the reproduction wheels have.

Quoted: "5. Now for some anecdotal evidence: Over the past 25 years, I have placed nearly 100 original Halibrand wheels on vintage race cars. Not one has ever failed. Conversely, I have seen two failures with reproduction wheels: one of which did catastrophic damage to the vehicle (and thank God) not the driver. Ask any tech inspector today and they will tell you there are more problems with repro cast wheels than with original Halibrands".

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c1-and-c2-parts/974724-rare-halibrand-wheels-on-ebay.html

[bezhawk]

There were three other cars there with real magnesium wheels, as well as the Reproductions on Randys car

[Warren Webb]

Quoted: "5. Now for some anecdotal evidence: Over the past 25 years, I have placed nearly 100 original Halibrand wheels on vintage race cars. Not one has ever failed. Conversely, I have seen two failures with reproduction wheels: one of which did catastrophic damage to the vehicle (and thank God) not the driver. Ask any tech inspector today and they will tell you there are more problems with repro cast wheels than with original Halibrands".

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...s-on-ebay.html

I'd like to know if the failures were from the Real Rodders wheels or some other repo company. I was thinking about getting a set for my 59 wagon but perhaps I should stick with the Keystone Kustomag Klassics instead.

[Mohr HP]

I can't imagine that this guy is referring to Real Rodders wheels, I have a set of their kidney bean wheels and they are extremely high quality.

[packardHawk58]

I guess these wheels were offered for models other than the Avanti. Attached is an ad from the day.

Well they certainly lifted the look of this R1 Superlark.

[M15 Trucker]

I was thrilled to see the cover the latest Avanti Magazine with Randy Rapp's amazing first production R3 on the cover. Randy's car had the correct reproduction Halibrand wheels from Real Rodders and they looked spectacular. We all remember for how many years so many of us looked for a set of the original wheels (of which I have a set), but even after acquiring them, could not use them since the magnesium was likely to be brittle.
I was instrumental in having these wheels reproduced. Real Rodders is nearing the end of the run that was made and there will not likely be another production run. Soon, these wheels too will be collectors items.

Marc,

Do you remember the time (date) you first contacted Pat O'Brien at Real Rodders Wheels

[Bo Markham]

I was thrilled to see the cover the latest Avanti Magazine with Randy Rapp's amazing first production R3 on the cover. Randy's car had the correct reproduction Halibrand wheels from Real Rodders and they looked spectacular. We all remember for how many years so many of us looked for a set of the original wheels (of which I have a set), but even after acquiring them, could not use them since the magnesium was likely to be brittle.
I was instrumental in having these wheels reproduced. Real Rodders is nearing the end of the run that was made and there will not likely be another production run. Soon, these wheels too will be collectors items.

I'd be glad to take those old junky, useless, unusable Halibrand rims off your hands. No sense in them just sitting around cluttering up your garage and being in the way all the time. I'd even go a little better then scrape price. How about $125.00 for all of them? Oh, and don't forget those junky ole spinners, too. They might make good paper weights, huh!

[kmul221]

I'm not a lark lover but that Super Lark with the mag wheels is the BOMB !

[qsanford]

I'm not a lark lover but that Super Lark with the mag wheels is the BOMB !

The wheels are nice, but, the new for '64 wheel covers are pretty darn slick, too!

[MARC212]

Marc,

Do you remember the time (date) you first contacted Pat O'Brien at Real Rodders Wheels

Pat O'Brien and I started talking in February or March of 2014. Why do you ask?

[MARC212]

I'd like to know if the failures were from the Real Rodders wheels or some other repo company. I was thinking about getting a set for my 59 wagon but perhaps I should stick with the Keystone Kustomag Klassics instead.

The Real Rodders wheels are made in USA and according to Pat meet all safety standards.

[M15 Trucker]

Pat O'Brien and I started talking in February or March of 2014. Why do you ask?

I E-mailed him in Feb of 2010 and asked if he had thought about producing a copy of the Avanti mags in aluminum as he couldn't find a foundry that could produce Magnesium wheels with high enough quality and at a reasonable price. I also attached a photo of the wheels I copied off of Jon Myer's web page. I just wondered if he tried to get more info about them or waited for more interest in them to do anything.