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Thread: American Racing Torq-Thrust Wheels

  1. #1
    Senior Member CurtEgerer's Avatar
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    American Racing Torq-Thrust Wheels

    Hmmm, came across this info on Torq-Thrusts. The guy claims all of the wheels have this stamp or they were not made by American. Anybody seen this stamp on Porsche Torq-Thrusts? My castings look identical, but no stamp.

    http://www.roadsters.com/wheels/#TT
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  2. #2
    Senior Member CurtEgerer's Avatar
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    From that same website is some good info on Gibbs penetrating oil. That is what was used on my fan and housing and looks great.

    http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/


  3. #3
    Curt,
    I think that the Porsche wheels are the exception to this rule. First, be aware that none of the American magnesium wheels had the name cast in....they simply had a decal between the spokes. This leaves the Aluminum wheels.

    I have owned at least six sets of aluminum torque thrusts and none of them had the name cast in. I have seen the advertising from American for these wheels. It is very doubtful that anybody but American would have made a Porsche pattern wheel, but if they did, what is the chance that we continue to locate only the copies?

    Out of all of the Torque Thrust knock-offs made in the 60s (for domestic cars), only one company (US Mag) looked nearly identical. All of the others (ET, Rocket, Ansen, Appliance) had clear differences which identified them as fakes.
    Renn-Spot - Cars & parts For Sale - http://renn-spot.blogspot.com/
    1970 911"S" - Black (originally silver)
    1974 911"S" - Silver
    1973 911"T" - Bahia Red - Now Sold
    10 sec 67 VW
    Early "S" Registry #439

  4. #4

    American Torq-Thrust "D" 7x15 for Porsche 911

    Curt:

    Your wheels are the real deal from American Racing Equipment.

    I have a set of American Torq-Thrust "D" wheels for a 911. They are the later pattern wheel like the ones pictured in your post with the undrilled center cap flange (the early magnesium Porsche wheels lacked that flange). Mine measure 7x15 and have never been refinished or restored. They do not have the American Racing Equipment cast into back of the wheel.

    I checked another set of aluminum R model Torq Thrust repros that were made for GT 350 Mustangs about 20 years ago. They have the American Racing Equipment casting mark as illustrated in the photo along with small stamped serial numbers.

    However, an original set of magnesium Torq Thrusts that was originally cast for Trans Am Mustangs in 1966 also lacks any casting identification for ARE.

    As stated, ARE put a small adhesive backed metal label on the outside flange of the rim on their wheels in the Trans Am era with their logo and either MAGNESIUM or AlUMINUM spelled out on the tag. I have some of the MAGNESIUN ones around here somewhere from a prior restoration.

    I never realized the early mag wheels lacked the casting mark and had never inspected the back of the 911 wheels I have.

    tom

  5. #5
    old ad for wheels, sorry for poor quality,. I have several alum. 15x7 also that have no AR cast into them but do have the ARE mounting instruction paper sticker on the rim.
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    Jeff H.
    72 911
    914-6 GT

  6. #6
    Senior Member CurtEgerer's Avatar
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    Here's some vintage ads for Torq Thrusts and the various knock-offs:
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  7. #7
    Senior Member CurtEgerer's Avatar
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    My continuing Torq Thrust wheel saga ...... this week I did my best Harvey Weidman impersonation (a very poor imitation I'm sure!). I decided to mill off the flanges to pull the wheels in a bit. I took off 175 thousands - lots of American Racing shavings on the floor after that Also discovered that a wheel I bought to replace a bent one has a slightly different offset (about 1/8" difference) and casting There was also a cosmetic difference in the thickness of the metal at the center hub (see photos). I milled off the rough cast finish and then thinned down the oddball to match the other 3. Centerbored all of them as well.

    So now it's tire time. I'm going to try to stuff some 215/60's under all 4 fenders. We'll see how that works out. May have to go to plan B.












  8. #8
    Peekaboo,
    The Porsche bolt circle Torqu-Thrusts did not have the American Racing logo cast into them on the back-side. I just bought another set last week which puts me up to 7 or 8 sets total plus all the other sets that I have seen over the years and none of them had the American script.

    Not conclusive of course, but I would have to be rather lucky (or unlucky perhaps) to 50-60 of these wheels pass through my hands and for all of them not to be Americans. Add to these Curts wheels, your wheels...etc

    I am willing to revise my statement if someone can come up with a wheel that has the script.

    You mention the "short run repro company" which I suspect was US mag. They also knocked off the American 200S Daisy spoke wheel. I would be shocked if they invested in the mold to make a Porsche offset wheel in the late 70s when Porsches had grown flarees and these wheels were quickly losing popularity. I bet that they instead stuck with the key market of Chev/Ford. Also, while the US Mags were nearly identical to the Americans, they had slight differences in the lug holes. Also, they were not finished quite as well. All of the Porsche Torque Thrusts I have owned have been finished out and machined to the same detail as American was known for.

    My 2.565 cents!
    Renn-Spot - Cars & parts For Sale - http://renn-spot.blogspot.com/
    1970 911"S" - Black (originally silver)
    1974 911"S" - Silver
    1973 911"T" - Bahia Red - Now Sold
    10 sec 67 VW
    Early "S" Registry #439

  9. #9

    my 2.67 cents on an old thread

    I picked up a set old Torque Thrust Ds early this spring. Concerned that they had no markings, I called and had LENGTHY conversations with two really nice people at ARE. One of them was an old school employee who knew more than I cared to know about the wheels. I emailed pics and dimensions to him. He stated without reservation, that in the mid to late 60s, ARE had no competition, and therefore as they were easily identified by the unique look, there were no stampings. As such he told me my wheels were likely a 67-68 vintage. It was only after competitors started to knock off copies...sometime in the 70s that ARE began to introduce some stamping identification. If someone has any question as to the identification of their wheels, I would suggest they go to the source. Granted , ARE has evolved over the years, they are going to have the resources (people and history) to provide better, accurate help than a website. As a result of their help, I went ahead and had my wheels refinished...glad I did.

  10. #10
    Are Torque Thrusts available new for early 911's in 15x 6 & 15x7 sizes or only available used? (If available new...where?) Also, is the backspacing on the 15x7 the same as the 15x7 911R Fuchs or the later 15x7 Fuchs? Thanks.

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