Hallibrand Wheels Samples Received Today!

[tcgoesch]

Received my first shot wheels from my supplier today. Please see pictures below. 

They provided me two different finishes: 1) all the samples were polished in all areas except the inside of the recessed areas in each spoke and the lug bolt area(top picture), 2) clear coated entire wheel(bottom picture(. These wheels have an excellent polish and the recessed areas also have a bit of gloss and appear a lighter gray color, 3)The non-clear coated wheels appear darker gray in the recessed areas, and the polish to the rest of the wheels appear much more brilliant. I think you will be able to see this in the pictures below. Also shown is a forged aluminum spinner that the supplier is offering me at no tooling cost. There is also no minimum order quantity. The are very well polished and do not have any pits anywhere. The are different from the ones that Dave Kinney has offered. They are plain and do not have the rough cast finish in the bottom of the spinner bars. They are also a bit more rectangular all over. They also do not include the "Hallibrand Engineering" text toward the outside of the spinner. Please comment on what you would like to see me do as far as the finish. I am looking into have the Avanti "A" or "Avanti" laser engraved across the middle the spinners. I have also discussed with the supplier a different bolt circle diameter that would allow use of these wheels on Avanti II's using the larger Chevy 5 inch bolt circle. I will need to buy a minimum of 60 pieces. I am trying to buy bulk wheel nuts from Gorilla Auto to be able to offer everything you need to put the wheels on your car. I am going to discuss the lead time for production parts which I believe will be about 4-5 weeks. Please give me some feedback on the finish question about as well as engraving the spinners. 

I will sell these through my EV parts company Think Parts 4U. Price is $295 per wheel plus shipping from Tipton, Indiana. Thanks for your patience with me on these wheels. I will also be bringing wheels to the national meet in St. Louis and to the SDC Swap Meet in South Bend in early June.

Looking forward to your feedback! 

Tom Goesch - 317-385-1184

tcgoesch@mac.com

[1inxs]

Tom, Nice looking! Personally, I really like the looks of the non clear coat wheels. They appear sharper, crisper and cleaner. Are you saying that $295 is base price for the wheel without clear coat and clear coat would be an option upgrade? What cost will a set of spinners be?It’s just my opinion that an A in the center of the spinner would be a plus for Avanti II owners, but not if someone was installing on their Larks, GT Hawks, Studebaker Avantis or some of the other Studebakers. I would recommend plain like the sample. I think doing 60 wheels with the Chevy 5 x 4.75 would benefit you greatly.  Thanks for the update

Robert Sylvester

[John C]

Hello Tom, The wheels really look nice! I think the non coated wheels do have a sharper appearance but I think they would require more maintenance than a coated wheel. With no coating on the aluminum they would tend to oxidize and require frequent polishing. My preference would be a coated wheel because I don't like to polish wheels that well. I would rather just clean them. Let me know when we can order some. I think they will look great!

                                                                                                                                                                                John C.

[Mark L]

My now wife bought a brand new 1983 Nissan 280ZX 2+2 with the polished aluminum wheels. Before I met her, she didn't wash the brake dust off the wheels as often as she should have. After a while the clear coat was peeling off in places. I stripped the rest of it off and kept the wheels polished using Nevr-dull.  They looked amazing when they were clean and polished, but required regular labor/ maintenance to keep them that way. I'd go with the clear coat.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Mark L

[Dwight FitzSimons]

From what little I know about the subject.....

Aluminum is difficult to paint because it oxidizes so quickly.  I assume, though, that the manufacturer has overcome that potential problem.

I also notice that new cars' wheels generally are not clear coated anymore as they used to be; They are painted with an opaque paint.  I assume the solids in the paint improve the durability of the paint.

Of course, Mark L makes a good point about maintenance.  I would add that UV light would undoubtedly break down the clear coat over time.

--Dwight

[1inxs]

How many hours does anyone’s Avanti sit outside in the elements. Mine are usually in a 72 degree temperature controlled shop.

[Nelson]

That is very true. These cars typically never see any harmful anything anymore.

[tcgoesch]

Here is a copy of my ad going into the Avanti magazine. The latest arrival date from my supplier is Mid-July. Please hang on I think these are worth the wait. 

[r1lark]

45 minutes ago, tcgoesch said:

Here is a copy of my ad going into the Avanti magazine. The latest arrival date from my supplier is Mid-July. Please hang on I think these are worth the wait. 

Tom, is the backspacing really 9mm (which converts to 0.35" or roughly 3/8")? 

[tcgoesch]

Hey Paul, I think the answer is yes. I took it right off of my drawing. Here are a couple of pics of the wheels on the car. 

[r1lark]

Thank you Tom.

[Avanti1963!]

Tom, wouldn't that be in "cm," not mm?  If so, you better change the ad.  

[r1lark]

On 5/9/2023 at 10:08 PM, Avanti1963! said:

Tom, wouldn't that be in "cm," not mm?  If so, you better change the ad.  

Usually ET is expressed in mm. 

[GEORGE MACKENZIE]

It's great to see this happening! Do you know the weight of the wheels? I just received of package of parts here in Callaway VA from Myers Studebaker in Ohio. Linda Myers did a great packing job with my order. The package was 28x28x10 and weighed 36 pounds. Shipping cost was $97.45! If she hadn't cut and folded the box down to 10" high, the shipping would have been closer to $150. Do you have any idea what the shipping cost might be for me for a set of four? Also, just a thought, do all the spinners have to have the same engraving? Maybe you could offer a choice here. I have two "63s and a '67, so I would like to see Avanti engraved on mine. I also like the look of the non-clear coat, but whatever is decided will be fine with me.