McAfee early 911 Wheels

[raspritz]

Since I only saw this old thread today, despite having been around here for a few years, would somebody please enlighten us non-cognoscenti as to what are McAfee (and Gurney) wheels? What period 911s had them, and were they special-purpose (e.g. lightweight race wheels) or just aftermarket-cool-mod-wheels?

Thanks,

Rich

[911kiwi]

Short answer - because there’s quite a detailed back-story - https://www.loveforporsche.com/jack-mcafee/
McAfees: no lightweight racing wheels available in the early 60’s - Porsche where mainly using steel wheels, so McAfee had his own manufactured from light alloy. Sears Roebuck also became one of the distributors. As they became popular as a road wheel they were available in several stud patterns to fit other marques too. So both race application and cool-mod wheels, even in the day.
They are very light - possibly lighter than Fuchs. Were made as 5.5 x 15 & 6 x 14 for Porsche - as far as I know. Others may have more info & re Gurney’s - which were a similar alternative.
A1801F20-ED31-42C2-B340-6425F058AF21.jpg

[Cliff]

Sounds like they made knock off spinners too. What’s the difference?

[911kiwi]

E557EBD5-F650-4CB1-911E-6168306E4DE1.jpg
3B2C599F-39BF-485B-B014-34DE394AAE59.jpg
The spinners were cosmetic rather than functional knock-offs. They attach by a screw at the back so you have to tighten them to allow you to move it slightly to access all of the wheel nuts - which were specific to the wheels and included a thick washer.

[Cliff]

Here is a front & back view of a fake Mcafee wheel. I bought them years ago thinking they were the real! Didn’t know at the time that there were imposters! These are 15 x 5.5. & the lug area is slightly dished. I weighed one @ 14 lb. give or take. Though, not the real deal, they’re keepers. Just need to get some lug nuts, & not concerned about the spinners! Couldn’t find any markings, except a 21 stamped on the one I looked at. The back looks different from the others posted. ......cliff

[beaker]

Kind of funny that there was no interest in my original McAfee wheels and once I sold them cheap --- this post comes alive...

[john rice]

Chris, the "fakes" were sold as Gurney wheels [Dan Gurney]. I believe they were also sold under another name. I used to see these on early 911/912s as well as dic brake 356s. I thought they looked great, particularly with dark colors. I have a set that I bought for a really nice 912 I had but a friend talked me into a deal with it and it left before I even tried them. I've been hanging on to them thinking at some point I'm going to have another car for them. If you use the search function here I believe you might find significant details about these 3 different, but almost the same, wheels.

[beaker]

Fakes were also made by Western. I have 2 Sets for 914. These wheels don’t have the center hub like the original McAfee

[larwik]

"These wheels don’t have the center hub like the original McAfee".....That's correct, and more important is that they don't have the casted "ribs" as reinforcement on the backside of each spoke ...(picture from earlier post in this thread) ..thanks.../ Lars...

Jack's son, Rex has a website with additional information: http://www.jackmcafee.com/7.html

[john rice]

Lars: Thank you for that information. I always thought all these wheels essential the same except for the center hub. I just dug out my Gurney wheels and they appear identical to the "fakes". I'm curious if you might know how thick the McFee is, particularly in the area of the open face/spokes area? The reinforcing ribs remind me of other wheels designed specifically for racing. I've never been aware of the Gurney wheels failing but haven't a clue if they might be thicker or something else might explain [saving money selling cheap wheels?] I haven't a clue what any of these sold for new either. I've always put Dan Gurney on a pedestal but he, too, had to make a living.