Can you indenify these rims?

[Evolution1980]

Anyone know who manufactured these rims?
What would I need to bring them back like new???
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(Note: Mitch is asking the question, not me Evolution1980. I just started this thread for Mitch.)
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I
don't know who made them. Probably aren't in business any longer! hahahah.... I'll post a new thread for ya.

As for cleaning up those rims? I can tell you it will be a royal PITA. (Pain in the...)
You'll need a good aluminum polish and probably one of those "Mothers Polishing Balls". I've never used those, but people seem to swear by them. (For the price, they damn well ought to!) When I had my old aluminum wheels, I did it all by hand which was backbreaking. And then, because they weren't clear-coated, they were dull again in about 3 days time. I got tired of that shiat real quick and ended up selling them. Yours are an especial PITA to clean because of the fins.
If you can polish up the easily accessible trim/lip/whatever, you can likely get it to almost chrome looking, but it won't last.
If ya like my current set, well, I plan on selling them in the spring. They already have WLR's on 'em!!!

 

[1yy07]

anson:W

 

[Curtis]

Buff and polish the flat surfaces and fin edges and paint the sides of the fins black. Get some good buffs and compounds from Eastwood to put on your electric drill.. You should be able to get a mirror finish.. Mask and paint ........ Be sure you cover your car when buffing. the residue that fills the air is very gritty on your cars paint. and wear a mask and goggles for your own safety.. Nice winter project.

 

[GerryLP]

Andre,

My Hollander book has one very similar (about 95% the same or better), and it says it is for a 91 - 92 Crown Victoria Grand Markis, so this tells me that these are probably aftermarket (American Racing?)..

GerryLP:cool

 

[gmjunkie]

Andre,

My Hollander book has one very similar (about 95% the same or better), and it says it is for a 91 - 92 Crown Victoria Grand Markis, so this tells me that these are probably aftermarket (American Racing?)..

GerryLP:cool

Ansen made wheels very similar to these back in the late 70's and early 80's!! I believe they were called Turbine I and Turbine II's I had a set on a Black 72 Grand Prix model J that the Ex-#2 drove in the late 70's and early 80's!! The only difference in the I and II's was the way the center cap attached,the I's were attached with screws like above and the II's just snapped into the center hole!!

 

[6880 Mike]

anson:W

 

[Mitch]

Thanks Evolution 1980 for starting this thread for me!

I don't think I'll EVER find out!:confused But here's a link showing the closest rim to mine that I have found so far. Read the last paragraph on page one: http://www.vetteweb.com/features/vemp_0702_1972_motion_moray_gt_corvette/index.html I emailed this site and inquired about my rims and if Chris Endres could help me identify my them, but nothing yet. It is my understanding that Chris Endres found his rims on ebay and paid upwards to $6000. to get em! My rims and his look alike--with 40 fins , except his center cap is not screwed on like mine and the fins on his extend more towards the center cap. Everywhere else that I have searched - including Ecklers - shows 36 fins on their rims. Now, the man I bought my Vette from told me that the original owner trashed the stock rims in favor of the current ones...and that he thought they came off an older Corvette. So I'm not sure at all he even knows.:W Anyway...maybe I ought to hold on to them.......but I shore like them Thrust IIs!!!

 

[Evolution1980]

I'd guess that you probably had your best opportunity to find out what they are when you had the tires changed. There's probably manufacturer stampings or markings of some type on the 'inside' portion of the rim.

Also found this on a webpage about Ansen wheels, FWIW..."All Ansen wheels were made of aluminum and had their name cast into them."

 

[Mitch]

Evolution,
This sticker is the ONLY thing I found on the inside rim.

There were no stamps anywhere. There was - what appeared to look like - some sort of rectangler yellow sticker on all four rims, but was too far gone to tell anything at all.

 

[Evolution1980]

Mitch, you might also send an email and/or some pics to American Racing. It looks like they took some Ansen designs as their own.

I just read an article about Ansen. It was effectively started by a guy named Louis Senter, along with Jack Andrews. Andrews + Senter = AnSen. Anyways, as the story goes, Senter and company went on to form SEMA.

If those are in fact Ansen wheels, I bet contacting SEMA would get you closer to an answer.

Here is a good article and where I picked up the info above.

 

[Yoda]

I don't know the mfr. of your wheels, but they sure look alot like

From a 1982 CE??

Yours

There is a difference, but they sure are a close replica or copy :dance

Bud

 

[Evolution1980]

I don't know the mfr. of your wheels, but they sure look a lot like ...
There is a difference, but they sure are a close replica or copy :dance

I've been thinking the same thing except that his rims are likely much older than '82. But yes, very similar. Also kinda like the spoke wheel available on the 68 & 69.

 

[yenkoguy]

There were dozens of wheels with this style in the 70's. Most likely they are American Racing because of the 5-tab type of centercap secured with the set screws. But so many companies copied American that they could easily be Rocket, or Cyclone, or US, or Ansen, too.
Real Americans will have "American Racing Equipment" cast on the inside, spelled out in full.
The current American Racing Co. has little connection to this era.

 

[Evolution1980]

There were dozens of wheels with this style in the 70's. Most likely they are American Racing because of the 5-tab type of centercap secured with the set screws. But so many companies copied American that they could easily be Rocket, or Cyclone, or US, or Ansen, too.
Real Americans will have "American Racing Equipment" cast on the inside, spelled out in full.
The current American Racing Co. has little connection to this era.

I noticed the tabs too. During my research of these rims, it seems it was AR that actually copied a couple of Ansen designs. Seems that Ansen (or Louis Senter specifically) was the pioneer in a couple different things related to rims, such as this centrifugal casting and their 2-piece design to allow for easy changes in offset.