Hi Listers,
I was reading the Silverstone Wheel thread with interest, I
knew my Canadian friend had raced his TR4A very successfully in the
mid to late 1960s so I asked him if he could shed any light on the
thread. His reply is just below, should help on the Wheels and is a
neat commentary on racing in that Era.
Hope you enjoy
,.
Yes, I have a set of these wheels; in fact they are on the car right now. I
bought mine in the states on the East coast about 1967. I believe that they
were listed in the TR factory list of competition accessories, but they were
unavailable in Canada at that time. The wheels were definitely manufactured
by American Racing and were cast magnesium; very light. I believe that I
obtained mine directly from an American Racing outlet, but it could have been
from Bob Tullius. They cost a lot of money for back in 1967. I know that we
drove the car down into the States and got them. Interesting convincing
Canadian Customs that we had not purchased anything when they were two extra
wheels and tires in the trunk and two more tied onto the luggage rack!
My wheels bolted on and had imitation knock-off caps. I believe that SCCA
banned true knock-off wheels sometime in the 60s. However, I seem to
remember that knock-off versions of these wheels could be purchased. Do not
assume that just because you see the knock-off cap in a picture that they are
"knock-off wheels."
I used these wheels on the street and for Slaloms, Hillclimbs, etc., for a
number of years with street tires. I believe that they were 5 inch wide rims
(one half inch wider than the original equipment steel rims). Later, I used
Dunlop greenspots on British Magnesium rims originally designed for TVRs (one
half inch wider but a lot heavier), and put Michelin XAS's on the narrower
American Racing Mags for wet weather.
When I started using the low profile cantilevered Goodyears, I got another
set of American Racing Mags from Kastner in California which looked somewhat
the same, but had a different offset, no knock-off caps, and were the maximum
legal six inches wide. These were the rims on my car when it won the various
regional and national championships.
I still have all these rims along with all my other stuff. For a while, I
was considering using the rims and tires as coffee tables and end tables in a
rec room.
I have seen the narrower, earlier American Racing Mags on competition
prepared TR-3s. I believe that they could use these wheels on the TR-3s but
could not legally use the wider ones because the original TR-3 steel wheel
was narrower. However, it was a long time ago and I could be mistaken. I am
forgetting more every day.
Going a way back in my memory, I believe that there was a team of early TR-4s
(not 4As) that were prepared by the Triumph factory for Lemans. I believe
that these cars were refereed to as "Silverstones." I think that these cars
had the early American Racing Mag rims. Perhaps this explains the name? The
Triumph factory also prepared a team of special Italian bodied TRs a year or
two prior to the TR-4 team. I believe that they were TR-3Bs with the special
body. This body was the basis for the production TR-4. I seem to remember
mag wheels on these cars as well. We are now really back in the deep recess
of consciousness. I don't go there much anymore.
These are very pretty rims but you have to look after them. They need to be
constantly polished and waxed to keep them from oxidizing. American Racing
used to make special products for this purpose. Like every thing else, I
probably have some somewhere. If you where racing seriously (high speed and
putting a lot of cornering force on the wheels) you needed to get them dye
tested and magnifluxed for cracks regularly. However, they were very strong
for their weight. One time when I was low on tires, I borrowed a set of
wheels and tires from a friend of mine who ran a fully prepared Ford V8 TVR
(I forget the model, but it was the early very short body with the Mustang
V-8). The wheels were steel wheels specially built for the TVR by a stock
car racing wheel outfit (reinforced centers, double welding, etc.) The
wheels and racing tires fit my TR-4 fine, but I tore the centers out of two
of them on a high speed corner on the third lap. Interesting little ride;
but no damage. Thus, the mag wheels were strong!
If I were going to buy a set of these wheels now; I would want them
professionally tested. They will now be quite old and could have been
abused. The most dangerous crack start around the bolt holes, often on the
inside. You cannot see them with your naked eye; unless the wheel is just
totally falling apart.
I hope that this helps.
John Westlake
--
Bill Pugh
1957 TR-3
aka Casper
TS16765L
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