View Full Version : minilite wheels
I ran across a set of ( 4 ) aluminium ...or magnesium wheels that look like the ones I have seen on the "Penske" trans am camaro..I believe the are 15" x 10"...5 lug chevy pattern...does anyone know what they went on? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
hvychev
10-06-2003, 03:29 AM
Jeff H whwre are you??? This is your bag baby!
Jeff H
10-06-2003, 12:38 PM
If they are the GM 5 on 4-3/4" bolt pattern then I guess they could be for a Camaro. But I'm not sure if you can fit the 15x10 wheels without some wheel opening modification. I'll have to search through the articles on Penske's car because I think he cheated on the wheel size. Do you have any pictures of the wheels? The new aluminum version is slightly different from the original magnesium wheels. I've got the new heat treated aluminum wheels.
..I WILL GET SOME PHOTOS AND POST THEM....
redvetracr
10-06-2003, 04:09 PM
"Vintage" Minilite wheels (5x4-3/4) were used on both Camaro and Corvette race cars the old ones were magnesium and probably 8.5 or 9.5 wide. BEWARE 30 year old magnesium is unsafe as mag (when it gets old) is brittle and prone to crack. They are quite valuable though.
...redvetracr
I took the rims to get the tires removed and got some photos and correct measurements...I originally was told they were 10" wide ...but I understand that the measurement in taken "from inside of rim...to the inside of the same rim"....so I do not believe these to be 10" wide..but 8.5" wide....see photos
...also I think these are "aluminium" and not magnesium.
...and the holes are tappered for the lug nuts to fit.
I am posting photos of each wheel.
55chevy
10-06-2003, 06:04 PM
How can you tell aluminum from magnesium? I've got a complete set of Cragar S/X wheels from the early 70s. I've only ever seen one ad for these wheels and I've never seen another set like them anywhere. They resemble Torque Thrust D's. They're 14x6. I would LOVE to find a pair of deep dish 15x8 of them, but I don't know if they were ever made. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
...in the previous post....that is NOT a crack...it was some dirt on the wheel.
....more photos
Jeff H
10-06-2003, 06:11 PM
They look like they could be another brand of wheel made to look like the Minilites. Here's a picture of the new Minilite which is heat treated aluminum, but almost identical to the originals. http://www.minilitewheels.com/Images/minilite-side-2-lg.jpg
what did the originals look like?
...these may be made by another manufacture.
....I'm not sure at this point.
Jeff H
10-06-2003, 06:19 PM
Actually, they do look like the Minilite "Sport" wheels. Check this page for more information and some pictures of the different Minilite wheels.
http://www.minilitewheels.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=customers-cars.htm&cart_id=
...you may be right ...the blue #6 camaro has painted wheels that look very much like these...
Jeff H
10-06-2003, 06:44 PM
John, you might want to contact Steve at Mainstreet Motorsports and send him some pictures to see if he can help you identify them for sure. He was very helpful when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my car.
redvetracr
10-07-2003, 12:49 AM
If you look closely at the pic of the single silver (Minilite) wheel posted above by Jeff H you will see a couple of "bosses" cast into the wheel shell about 180* across from each other, yours do not have these "bosses" so i`m thinking what you have is a set of "Panasport" wheels.
...redvetracr
Jeff H
10-07-2003, 01:27 AM
That's what I was thinking at first as well. But if you look at the Minilite "Sport" wheels, they look very similar with the type of spoke and the center area being recessed slightly. The wheel I linked the picture to is called the "T/A".
...are those "bosses" where the valve stem would be?
...It looks like the "minilite wheels" have the valve stem pointing out
...where the valve stems on these wheels point to the center of the wheel...
FIAracer
11-16-2003, 01:29 PM
John,
The 8 spoke wheels in your photos are not Minilites. They are a copy made by Western Wheels that look somewhat like our Sport style wheel.
Steve
minilitewheels.com
Thanks, That is what a friend told me ....I just have not found a website or other photos on the internet... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
Jeff H
11-16-2003, 03:55 PM
Hey Steve, have you had any luck trying to document that Camaro you told me about?
Jeff
FIAracer
11-16-2003, 07:27 PM
Jeff-
No luck yet on it's early history even though we've been at it for about 10 years now. The car that I thought it was has turned up. Even with the unknown early race history I made what I felt was a decent cash offer for the car, but it wasn't enough, so I purchased an AMC Spirit-AMX with FIA Grp 1 and IMSA-GTO (Daytona 24h)race history instead. It won the Nurburgring 24 hour in the Group 1 class with 3 drivers, Lyn St.James as the main driver. It was one of a two car team sponsored by AMC and BF Goodrich Tires. We'll have it out with SVRA next year. Wheels to be fitted.....15"x 8" Minilite T/A's.
Steve
redvetracr
11-16-2003, 09:05 PM
FIAracer, Out of curiosity what group are you planning on running in SVRA 6 or 10?? ..redvetracr
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif
FIAracer
11-16-2003, 10:06 PM
redvetracr-
The car has been approved for SVRA Group 10. Drivetrain will be a dry sump 360, T-10 and Ford 9inch. We're taking the body back to how it raced at the Nurburgring 24h (no flares) but keeping the chassis updates made after the Nurburgring 24h for IMSA. It last raced with a Traco built engine leftover from the Penske AMC-Matador NASCAR Team. I've located one of these engines but the trick will be talking the fellow out of it.
Steve
redvetracr
11-17-2003, 04:04 AM
PLEASE don`t take this the wrong way but why would you want to race group 10, with "wings" & "slicks" ??
...redvetracr
FIAracer
11-17-2003, 10:51 AM
redvetracr-
No problem , it's a fair question given the cars I've worked on and restored for the last 15 years. My answer is long though.
Plain and simple: I chose the SVRA Group 10 class of "wings and slicks" due to the out of control prices of the earlier cars. Back 15 odd years ago the pre-73 big name factory T/A cars were bringing about 125K with independent T/A cars from about 85K and the B/P, A/S cars about 45K to 60K. Several of those same big name Trans-Am race cars have sold for beyond 300K the last couple years. The good independent T/A cars are at or near the mid 150K range. Even the project cars are bringing big money. Some say since the Monterey Historic's started allowing these cars into their August event this helped boost values. What I can say is that many of the real T/A cars that have sold from the East coast and Midwest have gone West. Not all but many.
The Post-72 cars tend to be more affordable and more available. So I've stepped forward 10 years in racing history and for a fraction of the early T/A cars prices, I have a very well built race car with full factory support from American Motors Corp, driven by a variety of big name pro drivers and has a winning endurance racing history.
These 70s/80s Trans-Am and IMSA cars have been slowly rising in interest. I'm seeing this happen right now with owners of the early T/A cars, so like them I'm getting into it while it's affordable. So looking forward, that's why I've also acquired a tube chassis Camaro with 1987 season Trans-Am history as well. Being on the East Coast there's plenty of track time available thanks to SVRA and HSR. Just look at the October Feature Car on this website, Tom Clary's IMSA Yenko/Thompson tube chassis Camaro. Fantastic car and I look forward to seeing and racing with it in the future. Sure I would prefer a 1967-72 Camaro, but I'm getting into the later cars now before they follow the trend of the early $T/A$ cars.
Steve
Leigh
11-17-2003, 11:22 AM
[ QUOTE ]
...are those "bosses" where the valve stem would be?
...It looks like the "minilite wheels" have the valve stem pointing out
...where the valve stems on these wheels point to the center of the wheel...
[/ QUOTE ]
I may be off on this one, but...I've seen a set of the new aluminium T/A wheels on a friends 69 Z28 and I noticed those bosses myself. Magnesium Aircraft wheels from the 50's and 60's that I used to work with often had thermal plugs in the rims that looked like those bosses. They were designed to melt and depresurise the tyre before an explosion if there was a brake/wheel fire.
It could be the original magnesium rims had these plugs, and the new rims are molded to simulate them......if indeed, thats what they are.
FIAracer
11-17-2003, 11:52 AM
Leigh
The two solid raised blank bosses on our 15"x 8" T/A Minilite are alternative locations for the valve stem. Since our new aluminum T/A wheel has been modeled after our vintage magnesium competition wheel we duplicated this style. The Trans-Am wheels valve stem is further in between to spokes to prevent it from being knocked off in competition. All other Minilites have the valve stem out on the rim edge, on the raised boss area.
David Livian in Australia played a big role in helping me produce this aluminum T/A Minilite. I needed a 200 wheel order before the Minilite UK factory would tool-up for this wheel. David kicked in a 100 wheel order which helped me launch this project faster.
Steve
Jeff H
11-17-2003, 01:19 PM
And I will say they are some sweet wheels. I can't wait to get them on my car, but that will still be 9-12 months away since it's still in the middle of the restoration.
I agree - they are cool looking wheels /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
Pantera
11-18-2003, 01:06 PM
I found my '69 L-88 vette when it raced the Trans Am race held at Hallett OK. Is it eligable to be raced vintage with this heritige? It is still in that liverly and in fact it has the original paint on it from when I bought it. I have upgraded it to a drysump and added a forward hoop to the roll bar to make it legal for more current racing. I quallified for the runoffs at Alanta twice.
See pic attached of it at the race.
FIAracer
11-18-2003, 04:29 PM
Pantera-
I will leave this for redvetracr to answer.
FIAracer
11-18-2003, 10:15 PM
Ok Pantera,
I'll take a stab at this even though Corvettes are not my specialty and I haven't seen a current photo of your car. I've been a member of SVRA and HSR since 1989 however not very active as I should be. There's several vintage race clubs coast to coast and car eligibility does vary. If the car raced before 1973 and your paperwork's in order, it should be eligible for SVRA Group 6 (this is where redvetracr can be of help). Now HSR is a bit more loose and will probably allow the flares and dry sump. The tougher West Coast clubs will tend to require the cars to be "year of manufacture spec". So being a 69 model no dry sump because as I recall that came into play about 1971-72ish time period. No flares and watch wheel width and engine size. Basically as the car raced or would have raced in the year 1969. So if the car raced pre-1973 and you want to run with most all clubs it would need to be prepared as raced in 1969. I've had replace all four corners of my 1966 car due to this rule (thank you Steve Earle-General Racing LTD!). If it's more wild than 69 spec perhaps look into HSR. Links to their sites~~> www.svra.com (http://www.svra.com) www.hsrrace.com (http://www.hsrrace.com)
redvetracr
11-19-2003, 04:33 AM
I agree 100% EXCEPT certain SVRA events are considered
"open events" (like Road America) NO medallion (pre`73 history) required, then you have the VSCDA "wheel rule" to contend with for the other two Road America races NO 10" wheels and they measure!! (I was DNQ right there sitting third on the grid at the `00 BRIC).As far as CA, I don`t think general Steve Earle allows anything newer than `67 (Monterey was an exception for the 50th) and NO VARA does not like Flares or Drysump motors, which (I believe) only leaves you HSR-west and if it`s like HSR then anything goes and I can`t imagine anyone in a non Porsche having fun. ALL this is assuming you are willing to travel!!
...redvetracr
Pantera
11-20-2003, 11:55 AM
The '69 Vette log books (2) start on May 22, 1972. First entry was a Drivers school at Mid Ohio June 9, '72. Won 1st overall two times and the 1 nat was 2nd to Greenwood in A/P. Sold to second owner Oct '77. I bought it in Nov of '79 and first race was 3/29/80 and my last one was - May of '84. About that time it was not fast enough and I tried some faster racecars. I was also working on my T-400 Lola Frisbee Can-Am car and let this car just set on jackstands ever since.
I about went broke the next year when I hired a guy to get it ready for the Dallas GP and was not able to get it ready for that race. After that I just lost interest and everything is still sitting there waiting for me to find time to finish it up and take it out to play.
I have a 36' Chaparall gooseneck Trailer with a 1 ton Dually chev truck to pull it. About that same time I shut down my Bodyshop and used car operation (Called Super Car Center) as the economy was horrible and devoted my time to my Swimming pool business and all of a sudden I am a old man with a lot of old toys and memories. Where did the time go? Just seems like yesterday.
Then came the divorce in '93 and about had to sell everything to pay that off. Sure glad now that I didn't. I just locked the door on all these cars and forgot them and untill about a month before the St Louis, Labor Day show.
For the last 4 years I was heavy into Honda Valkyrie motorcycles. (4) of them. I was so excited about finding out that anyone even knew what a Baldwind Motion car was and to suddenly find out that they were so rare. It appears that I was wise to have kept so many of the cars that I did. I am getting up in years and yet don't feel like it. I had to set myself down and decide to hell with working so hard. I am getting old and I want to have fun for what years that I have left.
My mother just passed away a few months ago and left me enought to enable me to get by and so I am going to devote the next few years to working part time (Easy and quick sales only) and the rest of the time I am going to get all these cars restored where I can show them and have fun driving them.
I have everything I need to do the work and I love to do it to boot. I am not rich like most of the guys on here but can do more with less by doing the work myself. I see the frustration of many on this site having to farm out their restorations and I never could trust anyone else to do the work the way I wanted it so I had to learn to do it myself. It is very satisifing to do it that way.
First off, I am going to build a huge (7200 sf) garage on the back of my home. That will be two stories tall for storage on the upper floor with a car lift to be able to put some of the lighter cars and bodys only up on the second floor. That Can-Am car is so big and takes up a lot of room so it will go up there for sure. Only weighs 1700lbs. 600 hp 302ci. It is nothing but a moving wing. I can't wait to get to drive it one time. It is really a new car built out of everybodys spares and un raced as it is. The chassis is one of only 2 left in the world. (Ex- Ongias) Horst Kroll in Canada had the other one and it was a fast car.
I have also owned a S-2000 (Ex-Rayhal when new) and a Formula 5000 chev powered formula car but it was a hand full to drive fast. Handled like a turd. 88" Wheelbase was too short! Too easy to spin out so I sold it less the motor which I kept for a spare.
Sounds like I will have to do too much to take my vette back to 72 spec's. That would take the fun out of driving it for me. I have been to The runoffs with it and I like it just the way I have it setup. I have some Yongblood wheels for it and they are awsome and light. but they are 10" and illlegal so I will just have to go harass the Porches out west.
Think I will bring it to Collinsville next year and make a pass or two with it.
redvetracr
11-20-2003, 01:10 PM
As long as the numbers on the log book match the number on the cage your eligible for an SVRA medallion, if you still have cast iron Corvette calipers and your motor will "pump" the correct cubic inches and you want to spend $650 on a set of treaded Hoosiers. If you want more info please e-mail me direct!!
[email protected] /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif
Pantera
11-20-2003, 01:41 PM
Do you think if I painted the wilwoods gray that they might not notice? It is still in legal B/P race trim except for a tall rear spoiler from when I ran a open class at Hallett for money I was doing all I could to get better traction. It comes off easy.
redvetracr
11-20-2003, 03:01 PM
I doubt it!! "Wilwoods" were NEVER legal in B/P, if you race VSCDA or SVRA "open events" no one cares BUT you won`t get a SVRA medallion with them on the car. ..redvetracr
(Ex- Ongias)? as in Danny "on the gas" Ongias? He was a cool driver ran drag Indy and road racing. I think he ran the "Hawaiian" Funny car? I have not heard that name in awile. Talked to him one year at Lime Rock. He was running the Monday race after distroying his Indy 500 car the day before. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
Pantera
11-21-2003, 02:19 AM
Thats the Danny O I was talking about. The T-400 was the first front coilover rockerarm chassis that Lola made. they were the last F5000 cars made and with out suffecent bodywork they would unload in the middle of a corner. I heard that they spent more time off the track than on. Once you converted it to a Frissbee bodywork you had suffecent Downforce to keep it hooked up in the corners. I watched Horst Krolls T400 frissbee run away from the rest of the Can-Am field at Mossport Canada in the hands of a now famious Indy car driver on his first outing.
My Vette is legal for GT-1 with the brakes on it. I sure hate to have to give them up. They work sooooo well...!! My car has a 6" corrillo rod 355ci with a offroad chev cam. With a 4:11 It ran a 12.08 119mph in the quarter mile in 3rd and still made the first turnoff. Now that is in full roadrace trim. W/11" wide hard compound tires on it F & R !!!
We were shaking down the stock shifter that I have always used. In roadracing the hurst is a good way to get the tranny locked between gears and loose a race sitting in the pits.
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