What type of wheels are these?

[ajwans]

Saw these on a really neat 356 today, hopefully somebody
makes something similar in a 6 inch for early 911.

Anybody know what they are?

Attachment 87089

andy

[John Z Goriup]

Those were used on drum-brake equipped 356s. When they switched to disc brakes they also changed to conventional wheels. They will not work on any 911.

If you would like to pursue this & like the general appearance of these wheels, check with Alex Blivens Wheels in Los Angeles. They make & sell alloy wheels in various finishes that look sort of like it.

[Flieger]

Wow, how does that "cotter pin" balance and stay tight with all the centrifugal force when spinning at high speed?

[LongRanger]

Saw these on a really neat 356 today, hopefully somebody
makes something similar in a 6 inch for early 911.

Anybody know what they are?

Attachment 87089

andy

Looking closely at the photo, I see a small dimple-like relief in the center-section of the wheel, to accommodate the valve stem. That particular feature identifies this as one of Porsche's own 'GT' road wheels, originally developed for the 550 RS Spyder racers and subsequently made available for all of their 356 Carreras, GTs, and other 356 cars, as well as 904s and 906s.

The Porsche GT wheel consists of a pressed-steel center with an aluminum rim, held together by copper rivets, which are only visible from the back. These wheels are very light and come in a variety of widths, from 4" up to >8"(?) and are usually date-stamped. The open-centered wheels in the photo are 356 and will have a different off-set --- to fit to a special set of 60mm-wide Carrera front drum brakes. If this wheel is fitted to the back, it will usually be found with 20mm spacers --- only the front brakes are 60mm wide.

Anyway, I believe there may be 5-lug closed-center versions, that might possibly fit a 911 . . . but those wheels are more likely be found on disc-braked 904s and 906s.

Good luck trying to get those!

Rick Kreiskott

[Frank Barrett]

Wow, how does that "cotter pin" balance and stay tight with all the centrifugal force when spinning at high speed?

Because this relatively small mass is at the center of the rotating body (aka wheel/brake drum/tire/etc.), it has very little effect on balance, much less than if it were at the rim, where it would develop a lot more force. They may not even have had to balance the wheels on the car (though balance weights are not evident here, they could be on the inside of the wheel).

Frank

[LongRanger]

. . . . Anyway, I believe there may be 5-lug closed-center versions, that might possibly fit a 911 . . . but those wheels are more likely be found on disc-braked 904s and 906s . . .

. . . like these:

Rick Kreiskott