Reproduction Halibrand Wheels - which are better?

[Boozeman]

Good afternoon, all -

I'm a new Avanti owner, '63 R2 Auto.  I've been considering buying some Halibrand replica wheels for my '63, and maybe not so ironically, in this month's Avanti magazine, a few are listed.  Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with any of them:

1.  Tom Goesch from this forum had some reproductions made last year, $295 each, with spinners supplied by Dave Kinney at Endurance Products at $425 for a set of 4

2.  Nostalgic Motors, advertiser in the Avanti magazine, and mentioned in an article this month, $1,000 for a set of four, with spinners available at $120 each

3.  Think Parts 4 U, also an advertiser in the Avanti magazine, $250 per wheel, with spinners available for $199 for a set of 4

4.  Real Rodders Wheels, also an advertiser in the Avanti magazine, $269 per wheel.  I assume that the spinners come with the wheel.

Any experience or input greatly appreciated!

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I have the Real Rodders wheels on my '64 Avanti and am quite happy with them.  Just going by the pictures of the Tom Goesch wheels I like the looks of my RR wheels better.  I haven't seen Tom's wheels in person, however. 

I am pretty sure that there are only two manufacturers of the repro Halibrand wheels: Real Rodders and Tom Goesch.  The others are retailers.

Dave Kinney at Endurance Products also manufactures the spinners.  Dave is a perfectionist, and all of his products are excellent.

The spinners do not come with the RR wheels.  They are extra cost.  The RR spinners are of excellent quality.

--Dwight

[wapanzica]

I have the Real Rodder wheels on my 64 Daytona and my friend had them on his 64 R2.  They are good quality.  The spinners are from Endurance Products an are sold through Real Rodder.

Can't go wrong with his wheels.

Bill

[A0136]

I put Tom’s wheels on my 67 Avanti II. Since taking this picture I removed the 1/2” spacer from the front suspension. Now to get the paint done. 
I think ether brand of wheels look great on a Studebaker. 
 

Edited January 18 by A0136

[r1lark]

3 hours ago, wapanzica said:

I have the Real Rodder wheels on my 64 Daytona and my friend had them on his 64 R2.  They are good quality.  The spinners are from Endurance Products an are sold through Real Rodder.

Can't go wrong with his wheels.

Bill

Bill, a little off topic but.......................what size tires are you running on your '64 Daytona? 

[South Shore Motors]

I can speak for the quality of the wheels Tom Goesch is producing. Purchased a set last Fall and I'm very happy with them. Nostalgic is a retailer for Tom's wheels.

[wapanzica]

Paul, the tires are 215/70R15.  Dolly Blue handles great with those on it.

 

Bill

[Nelson]

They are both good reproductions. I bought Tom’s wheels as I compared both reproduction wheels to a set of originals. The Real Rodder wheels appear to be too heavy or too thick on the spoke material. Tom’s seem pretty darn close to correct to me. 
With the exception of the 1963 Bonneville Avantis this style Halibrand is not correct on 1963:Studebaker’s, I think Tom is considering making the 63 kidney bean small window Halibrand that is correct for the entire 63 line of Studebaker’s. This wheel was also used by other manufacturers at events such as Sebring and Lemans.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

9 hours ago, Nelson said:

They are both good reproductions. I bought Tom’s wheels as I compared both reproduction wheels to a set of originals. The Real Rodder wheels appear to be too heavy or too thick on the spoke material. Tom’s seem pretty darn close to correct to me. 
With the exception of the 1963 Bonneville Avantis this style Halibrand is not correct on 1963 Studebakers, I think Tom is considering making the 63 kidney bean small window Halibrand that is correct for the entire 63 line of Studebakers. This wheel was also used by other manufacturers at events such as Sebring and Lemans.

Granted Tom's wheels are closer to the originals on that one aspect, but the difference is minor.  No one will ever mistake the repros for the originals anyway.  I prefer the thicker web; they look a little bit more substantial.  At any distance the difference is not noticeable.  But, I'm sure that I would be happy with Tom's wheels, too.

--Dwight

[Nelson]

Another reason I bought Tom’s wheels. H lives near Indianapolis and I live in Cincinnati. I was able to pick them up and save a substantial shipping bill. Yes, I admit, ima CASO type of guy and proud of it.😊

[A0136]

Nelson

i consider myself to be a mid level caso so the $254.20 to have a set shipped to Washington was painful. As the old saying goes “no pain no gain”   Looking forward to warmer weather on the left coast.  

[Boozeman]

Thank you all for your feedback - much appreciated!!

[Dwight FitzSimons]

So, we have a solution: buy whichever is cheaper, particularly the shipping cost.

--Dwight

[Nelson]

11 hours ago, Dwight FitzSimons said:

So, we have a solution: buy whichever is cheaper, particularly the shipping cost.

--Dwight

Yep. I’d say that about sums it up.

[Footer]

Got this in the mail today. Mike

 

[Dwight FitzSimons]

"100% correct wheels" -- Who's going to tell him that the "webs" in his wheels are too thick?

--Dwight

[Nelson]

I would think nobody at that price!

[psdenno]

On 1/24/2024 at 4:19 PM, Nelson said:

I would think nobody at that price!

I agree.  I just talked to Pat at Real Rodders and the first shipment of wheels, including mine, will go out later this week.

[psdenno]

My Real Rodders wheels arrived and they're quite nice.  Wheels, spinners, lug nuts, tax and shipping worked out to about $300 per wheel,  Now have to decide on tires...white wall, black wall, raised white letters, red line, so many choices.

[R3 Forward]

5 hours ago, psdenno said:

My Real Rodders wheels arrived and they're quite nice.  Wheels, spinners, lug nuts, tax and shipping worked out to about $300 per wheel,  Now have to decide on tires...white wall, black wall, raised white letters, red line, so many choices.

Don't forget redline tire too....  they became popular in 64 but look great with the Real Rodders Wheels on my 63....

 

[psdenno]

1 hour ago, R3 Forward said:

Don't forget redline tire too....  they became popular in 64 but look great with the Real Rodders Wheels on my 63....

 

Those red line tires do look good with the Halibrand wheels.   Probably one of the more expensive alternatives,  Time to go shopping!

[Nelson]

R3 Forward. Do you also have a Duster that you drag race?

[R3 Forward]

10 hours ago, Nelson said:

R3 Forward. Do you also have a Duster that you drag race?

Nope, not me.... Wish I did 

Jim

[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

 

[1inxs]

Tom, Yeah, your wheels are a great replica of the Halibrand wheels. Although I am one of the first on the RR waiting list and after a long wait. I felt that I was taken advantage of from RR wheels. After I fulfilled my side of the agreement, RR lowered the price to new orders. I had spoke to you and planned on a set for my 64 Avanti, but shortly after our conversation, RR contacted me with a ship date. In hind sight I regret not getting the set from you. The RR wheels are nice, but yours are also nice and your consideration for others was a class act.

Edited June 27 by 1inxs