I am trying to identify the wheels that are on my '60 Bugeye. They are 13 x 5 and date from the early or mid 1970s. I know for sure they were on the car in 1979 and had been for quite some time. I thought they were early Minilite, but I have yet to identify them for sure. I am beginning to think they aren't Minilites, but another brand. Specifics: center hole diameter is approximately 70MM (I can't measure precisely until I pull Louise out of storage and pull a wheel off). The lug nuts are shank (sleeve) style, but the diameters are a bit off from standard. The lug nuts measure .749 (3/4 inch) outer diameter on the shank, 3/4 long on the shank, 3/8 NPT threads. The wheels are alloy, either aluminum or Magnesium. I think they are Mag but not positive.
You can see from the picture that the wheels are very similar to Minilites, but have fins at the center hub that are not present on Minilites, Panasports, or other similar wheels. They are in overall great shape, with some finish wear, but better than you would expect on wheels that are 50 years old! However, one of the lug nuts has bad threads (Helicoiled) and I would like to get replacement lugnuts. I have not been able to identify the wheels, or find any lug nuts of this size. Most of the shank style lugnuts are .625 (6/8), and the ones with 3/4 shanks are for 1/2" threads or bigger. Anybody have any thoughts?
Thanks, Mike
You can see from the picture that the wheels are very similar to Minilites, but have fins at the center hub that are not present on Minilites, Panasports, or other similar wheels. They are in overall great shape, with some finish wear, but better than you would expect on wheels that are 50 years old! However, one of the lug nuts has bad threads (Helicoiled) and I would like to get replacement lugnuts. I have not been able to identify the wheels, or find any lug nuts of this size. Most of the shank style lugnuts are .625 (6/8), and the ones with 3/4 shanks are for 1/2" threads or bigger. Anybody have any thoughts?
Thanks, Mike