tcgoesch

I have been resisting a note in the Forum, but I could no longer stand back. I wanted to put the story on the table on how I got into selling these wheels. I got into the wheel business after being completely frustrated trying to buy a set of wheels from Real Rodders for 4 years. I think you can go back through the posts on the AOAI website during the last 5 years and see the number of people that had emails and phone calls go unanswered. There were rumors that Real Rodders was done, as they removed the "Avanti" style Hallibrands from their website. So I kept trying and wondering - when are they going to do something? I looked into the ownership of the Hallibrand brand and found it is a part of the Holley family of products. Finally, I thought through this situation and thought as a service to the Avanti owners, not for profit, that I would have the wheels tooled up and produced. I worked in the automotive electronics business as an engineer and manager for over 40 years. I have many contacts to call upon in the industry. I took a wheel and had it digitally scanned, then had a die cast mold produced. I had the wheel drawings reviewed by the Chief Engineer of an OEM wheel manufacturer in Detroit to assure that it would meet the SAE requirements for aftermarket wheels. I then had the testing done to assure compliance with these requirements. There durability and strength requirements that must be met. I'm not sure what Real Rodders has done. We made some small changes to the wheel drawing to assure the design was able to pass the tests. I then added the UV Urethane clear coat to assure a lasting, high polished finish. Real Rodders wheels are not coated or polished to my knowledge. I had many people contact me before I started production and ask me call them when the wheels were available. My estimate was off by 5 months as to when I would have production quantities in my warehouse. So, most of those folks went to Real Rodders in the Spring and Summer of 2023 and paid a significantly higher price - $369/wheel plus spinners, lug nuts, and valve stems. The wheels that I am selling are highly polished around the rim and the areas on either side of the openings. The entire wheel has also been clear coated to greatly reduce oxidation and not require regular re-polishing to keep the high level of luster they are given when manufactured. This is the same material you find on all of the alloy wheels sold on new vehicles world wide. I also have a plain spinner that has also been clear coated. It is rumored that Holley, who owns the Halibrand brand now, has sent Real Rodders a "cease and desist letter" that they can no longer sell spinners with the Halibrand name on them. Other than that, the wheels are dimensionally the same for the most part. I am not a wheel dealer like Real Rodders. I have a small online parts company for a very specific EV called a Think City. Up to now, I have sold over 30 sets of wheels to Avanti owners as well as to Nostalgic Parts in Detroit. The wheels are produced in China by low volume wheel producer that supplies many of the aftermarket wheel companies in the U.S. with products. The people that run the company are based in Atlanta, Georgia. The principle owners are all former engineers for OEM wheel producers in the US. At the start, I was able to be significantly lower in price. I threw in the plain spinners, wheel nuts, washers, and valve stems for customers that were buying at least 4 wheels for $1199.00. That caused Real Rodders to lower their price twice in the last year. I have not changed my price. I have to recover my tool costs. I have not been able to meet their latest price of $939 for a set of four. But I have found for customers east of the Mississippi, I can help them versus the costs of shipping from California. I have another 150 wheels to sell. I believe I have a wheel that is every bit as good as that offered by Real Rodders. If you want a polished finish - that is what I have. Tom Goesch 317-385-1184