Folks,
Thanks to all who answered... Yes, Larry, Bugeyes never had wire
wheels...8-( And I think I'll follow Trevor and David's advice- I'll go the
safe route and buy new rims as I first planned. I would have to buy the set
of original Minilites unseen (except on photos), and I don't know enough to
examine the wheels for fatigue or other weaknesses other than obvious cracks
anyway. On top of that, nobody seems to know what they are worth!
Mike- the maximum width allowed is 5.5" for VARA... If my memory serves me
right, the rule book says you can go 2" over the original equipment width,
and the Bugeye came with 3.5" pressed discs...so that's 5.5".
The minilite Web site www.minilitewheels.com lists 5" X 13" alloy wheels at
$178 each and 5.5" x 13 at $187. They don't give the weight though, and I
bought my racing "ultralite" Panasport 7" X 13" rims for my Mazda "Spec 7"
cheaper through a local performance shop... Minilite says "e-mail for
detail" next to a photo of their new "magnesium wheels". That means they are
probably very expensive!
The only Panasport site I could find http://www.panasport.com/racing.html
shows pictures of different style of wheels but gives no details of sizes
available or prices. The very basic site (two static pages with no links)
gives the address/Tel # of a shop in Torrance, CA- that's it!
I have been told K&N makes Minilites replicas too, and they are supposed to
be cheaper than the new Panasports or Minilites... I checked their web site
http://www.magandturbo.com/contents.html, but could not find wheels even
remotely looking like Minilites.
Jacques "searching for the right wheels" Le Clainche
1960 VARA vintage racing "Bugeye" Sprite.
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