Western Wheel Knockoffs

[Michael H.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

Thanks John. That is SERIOUS ugly! I never cared much for any of the reproduction wheels to begin with because of the spoke width but this is just totally unacceptable.

I thought that when the tooling was finally redone, they would have corrected all the previous inaccuricies in casting/machining but it looks like things just got a lot worse instead of better.

[Steve B.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

John, to my eye the wheel on the left looks great or is it because the wheel on the right is so bad? I would love to see a pic of a real KH bolt-on next to the two shown on your last picture

[John H.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

Steve -

There are several excellent photos of real K-H bolt-ons in the eBay auction for the set Pro Team just sold (with tires) for $30,000.00.

[Steve B.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

John, I saw that auction and last year I was offered 5bolt ons for 12K which I thought was too much money. That shows you how smart I am! Anyhow to me your repop bolt ons look very nice and not too far from the real thing. Is this the case or is it because the newest repops are so bad?

[Donald T.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

Greg,

Here is a side-by-side comparison of an original knock off and an older Western Wheel knock off. The link has a photo album with additional pics. The original is on the right. Forgive the finish on the rim of the original which is too shiney (not my work). You can see subtle differences in the ribs, rim, and paint, as well as the markings on the back. These older repros aren't bad, but are pretty easy to spot when you know what to look for.

There are also side-by-side pics of a reproduction spinner versus an NOS example. The front is actually very close, but there are obvious differences in the backs of the ears. Hope that helps.

Don




Knock Offs

[Mike M.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

judges have no trouble differentiating repos from real. from 10 feet, nobody can tell the difference. new repos run about 1500 bucks, have seen them used at carlisle for about 800 bucks.mike

[John H.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

Steve -

Mine are about eight years old - the fins are a bit too thick compared to the originals, as all of the reproductions are, but most folks don't know the difference anyway. Just the sunburst caps bring as much today as the entire wheel set cost 8-10 years ago

[Rick S.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

John,
Approx how much are they worth? I took a set off my 67 when I bought the car 4 yrs ago and have no intention of putting them back on.
Thanks,
Rick

[John H.]

Re: Western Wheel Knockoffs

Rick -

GM sunburst caps go these days for $200-$300 each (or more, if there's a bidding frenzy).