What are the best wheels in your opinion (besides Torq Thrust D and Torq Thrust II's) that would look good on a 67 Malibu but wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. The tires are 15x8 front and rear.

I like the Weld Drag Lites. But Wheels are a very personal thing.

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David Nafarrete
Team Chevelle Gold
1965 406 6speed
(almost on the road again)

Hey SoCalRat,
At the risk of sounding cheap, what about Rally's. I could probably afford more $$ wheels, but I like the look. Just one thing, please don't paint 'em pink. That kinda effect just seems to bother me....

But it's your car. There was an article in Car Craft a while back that put 15 different kinds of rims under a 70 Chevelle, and a new Camaro. Might wanna try to find the back issue.


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DG
Springfield, Ohio
70 Chevelle Malibu

www.wright.edu/~s001dga/chevy.htm (http://www.wright.edu/~s001dga/chevy.htm)

TEAM Chevelle Member #0086

SoCalRat,

I like the Torq Thrust series on our car's. They look really sharp and are from the correct historical vintage. Weld also has the 5 spoke flavour I believe. What about Vette Style Rims... They look sharp too...

I used Cragar SS rims on my 64 and they look great but! There's the but... I would never consider pushing too hard for too long because those wheels aren't made for it.

Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for.

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The proud owner of a Canadian 64-SS with ZZ4 Power!
Team Chevelle Gold Member #37
Canadian Classic Chevelles & Beaumonts Member #350

[This message has been edited by Canuck64ss (edited 07-04-99).]

Three styles look great on any car and are affordable.
American Racing outlaws (style 1&2)
Cragar s/s
Ansen Sprint/Amer Racing Indy(5 slots)

I have the 5-spoke SS GM wheels on my '67 and I think they look real good. I swapped out the z/28 centers for new bowties. Plus they have a hefty 4 3/4" backspace which allows 275/60 ( L60) tires on the rear.

I like the 8 x 15 Corvette Ralleys with the small 67 style center cap. Looks good, you get an 8in wide wheel and it stays Chevrolet.

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I am running chrome 15x8 ralleys with Wheel Vintiques' fluted knockoffs. The center emblem is a 69 SS396 center emblem. Too many people running the torq thrusts so I took mine off. They are the US Wheel torq thrust so they don't have the "ugly" hump in the spoke. I plan to get them polished and use them later............My 2 cents

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Jeff A. ACES#841
68 SS396(454)
68 L78 Project
87 MC SS

Gene,
Do you have any pictures of your car with the 5 spoke SS wheels?

I would use American Racing Torque Thrust, people confuse the orginal torque thrust wheels with the torque thrust D. The orginal torque thrust wheel does not have a flared spoke, even the orginal style D wheel is different than the reproductions they sell now. ET, US, Ansen, Fenton all have a wheel that is similar to the orginal American Racing Torque thrust. The way to identify the wheels is look inside the back of the wheel, Americans will say American Racing Equipment cast into the wheel, Fenton will say Fenton Racing Equipment, Ansen will have Japan in the back, US will not say anything, and ET will have ET cast into the spokes on the front of the wheel and usaly have unilug wheel slots on them. All the center caps are interchangable.

I agree with Jeff. I was going to get some Torq Thrust II's, then I went to the Super Chevy Show at Pomona. Everyone had them. Now I don't want them anymore. I wanted them since they came out, before they were popular. Just didn't have the dough. They are really expensive. Especially if you want the big sizes like the 17's

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David Nafarrete
Team Chevelle Gold
1965 406 6speed
(almost on the road again)

Ken K sounds like he has a real line on things. Ken, know where I could score some? They just scream "hot rod." Too cool.

Can anyone hook me up with a used set of wheels? I like Gene's idea of the stock SS 5-spoke, but I'm not sure if I've got the bucks. We need probably a 4 3/4 backspace too. I'm not a fan of the billet stuff. We're definitely looking for something that'll make it look like a traditional 60s or 70s era rod.

I have 4 or 5 sets of the vintage torque thrust type of wheels, I have also sold a few sets over the years. Now save all the wheels I find because they are getting harder to find. I guess I can give you the secret to finding the wheels. Look in the rim racks in all the junk yards you come across, also look in all of the old tire shops. You may only find 1 or 2 at a time but if you keep looking you will start to match up sets. You can call Big Al in southern CA at 714-537-6483 he deals in vintage Torq Thrust style wheels.

Thanks Ken. That sounds very tempting...and probably too expensive. I'll keep him in mind though. Maybe some money will fall out of the sky or something.

Ok, someone help me out here.

What's the difference between 'vintage' torq thrust rims and ones that I can purchase today? Is there a visable change in design?

Kurt

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The 68 Chevelle info page. [last updated Nov. 30, 98]
www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/6873/Chevelle/68_Chevelle_Info.html (http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/6873/Chevelle/68_Chevelle_Info.html)
Email: Kbyfield@terracom.net
A.C.E.S. #1352

Yes the vintage torq thrust wheels are different then the ones you can buy new. The spokes on the new wheels are different than the original wheels, even the original torq thrust Ds have different spokes then the reproduction wheels. The caps from the vintage wheels won't work on the repo wheels. The Ds were first used on Corvettes to clear the disc brakes. If you know what you are looking at you can tell the wheels apart right away. A quality restored car will have the vintage style wheels on them as they are a little harder to find. Look in the adds in back of a street rodder magazine there are places that sell the vintage wheels. There are people in CA that hoard the wheels, I talked to one guy who has 1200 wheels.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into giving Big Al a call. He's a half hour away from where I live so I'll have to check em out. I've never seen original Torq Thrusts. Also does anyone know anything about Astro Supremes? They were built in the 60's and 70's I believe. Really nice. I saw a 51 lowered Bel Air with em. Any help would be great. Thanks.

The old Keystone mags always looked good to me. A 67SS in my old home town ran on them. Very nice.
John Walker

Has anyone ever heard of a company called P&S Engineering? They make a Halibrand-clone kidney bean wheel that will be the next style of wheel going on my 68 El Camino(17x9 & 17x11w/8 pin knockoffs) Everyone seems to not like Torq-Thrust wheels but that's all this thread is talking about. The old wheels are neat but it's kinda hard to get a decent width & backspace with them. Myself, I think I'll just keep my TT II's for now.<g>
Clint Hooper
68 El Camino
17x8 & 20x10 Torq-Thrusts

I don't deny the TT II's look great. But it was discouraging to see so many cars with them at Super Chevy this year. I can only imagine how many will be at Route 66 in Sept.

I saw some wheels that are a little different. They look like TT II's but directional. I have a picture from the Seal Beach show. If I can get a hold of a scanner(that works) I'll post them.

Hey Dave,
Yeah I saw the same thing at Route 66 in Berdoo, every 60's and 70's car seemed like it had Torq Thrusts on it. They are a good lookin wheel, but they're just too popular. I want something that will be a little "dare to be different", but yet still look good. And also that would be great if you could post the pic.

Did all of the cars at the show have reproduction Torq Thrust wheels on them or original Torq Thrust wheels? One of the fastest ways to tell a repo wheels is it has gray spokes but some people do paint them silver. Torq Thrust II wheels are a 2 piece wheel that is why they are cheaper than the 1 piece wheel. I have seen more than a few pictures of Yenko Camaros with repro wheels on them, are these Yenkos repro too? In the 60s the original Torq Thrust wheels were used on factory super stock race cars, Indy cars, top fuel dragsters, Yenkos, Shelby Mustangs and many other types of cars. Halibrand and Torq thrust wheels may be the most popular after market wheels of all time. The best are always copied but there is only one original and the rest are just wannabes.

Ken,
Most of the cars there are trailer queens so I might imagine that they were original. I saw a lot of American Racing wheels there(Torq Thrusts), but what does the ORIGINAL Torq Thrust look like. Is it similar to the TT2's or does it have it's own type of styling?

both the TT 2s and the orginal TT have five spokes and they may look similar if you don't know what you are looking at but the original Torq Thrust wheels have different style spokes, TT 2s have spokes that flare out near the rim and are sort of D shaped, the orginal Torq Thrust wheel have spokes that are straight across on the top and angled on the sides, the original wheels were cast and then cut on a lathe and there is one more cut on the original than there is on the repro wheels, the repro wheels are cast and then cut on a CNC type lathe. The TT 2s are two piece wheels, they polish the center before they put the wheel together, This is not as labor intensive as trying to polish a 1 piece wheel and that is why they are cheaper. Some of the newer American wheels are not even made in the US, all of the vintage ones are.

I can get ahold of a digital camera. If someone could tell me how to post pictures I will post pictures to identify the differences in the Torq Thrust style wheels. I have samples of American Racing, Mickey Thompson, ET, Ansen, Fenton and the reproduction Torq Thrust Ds.

Go to http://www.chevelles.com/forum/ubbcode.html This should give you some info on posting pictures. Also if you send me the images I have a website where you can post them and give people the link. Also if you have normal pictures, find someone who has a scanner. It's easier than the digital camera in my opinion. Thanks.