Hi again, wise and noble listers
Yesterday I acquired a set of five ancient-looking 15x5" 8-spoke
"Silverstone" or "V387" wheels for my TR4. Upon closer inspection (in
daylight), I discovered that only two of them are magnesium... The other three
are aluminum.
Is anybody out there familiar with these wheels?
They look almost exactly like the mag wheels, except that the spokes on the
aluminum wheels are a little narrower, especially near the hub. The
mushroom-shaped indentations between lug holes on the backs of the aluminum
wheels are shaped a little different from the ones on the magnesium wheels, and
the number stamped there on the mags (61550) is absent. In fact, there don't
seem to be any markings at all on the aluminum wheels.
Are these just aftermarket copies, or are they something else? Made by
American Racing Equipment, or...? They do have the machined threads for
"Nokofs" - two righties and a lefty.
There is a photo on pg. 53 of Richard Newton's "Illustrated Triumph Buyer's
Guide" showing very similar-looking wheels (minus the black paint) on a TR3A
with the caption, "This is a rare item. This alloy wheel is an original TR3
option."
Which leads to my next question... Were there aluminum "alloy" 8-spoke wheels
before the magnesium ones? I thought the magnesium wheels were introduced on
the TR4.
Tell me I've got something rare and valuable, but not so rare that I'll never
find a fourth matching wheel (and not so valuable that I couldn't afford it if
I did!).
- Nick
nwolf@u.washington.edu
1962 TR4 - powder blue
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