1956 SR Halibrands, Tires & KO Spinners Part 1
02-06-2008, 05:42 PM
#1
1956 SR Halibrands, Tires & KO Spinners Part 1
Thanks to KyleDallas and Jim Lockwood for the PM's they gave me permission to repeat in open forum.
What size are the Halibrands and tires on the Sebring car? Halibrands on the Sebring car, the St. Louis produced SR-1, were 15" x 5.5".
The tires used on the Sebring car were both 6:70-15 and 7:10-15. All cars produced at St. Louis were 6:70-15 and all were Firestone Super Sports 170. According to the racers of that era, the only redeeming feature of the tire was a very hard rubber and a relatively long life under racing conditions.
Firestone Super Sports 170 Thread
Firestone Super Sports 170
Following is a picture of original 56 Sebring Wheel. Notice screws on rim which held balance weights. Also notice short spokes from hub. (The SS has one of these wheels as its spare. I doubt if the SS ever used the wheel in the 57 race).
1956 Sebring Halibrand Wheel
Following is a picture of St. Louis Halibrand. Notice stronger spokes and lack of balance screws on front of wheel. I believe they had some wheel failure at Sebring and possibly had Ted Halibrand strengthen the wheel before they manufactured the production SR's in June.
1956 St. Louis SR-1 Halibrand Wheel
The new reproduction rear axle shows about 1/2" more thread than the original. We designed them that way to give more spinner grip when going to the PS Engineering repro wheels which may have a thicker hub.
More Q & A to follow in Part 2
What size are the Halibrands and tires on the Sebring car? Halibrands on the Sebring car, the St. Louis produced SR-1, were 15" x 5.5".
The tires used on the Sebring car were both 6:70-15 and 7:10-15. All cars produced at St. Louis were 6:70-15 and all were Firestone Super Sports 170. According to the racers of that era, the only redeeming feature of the tire was a very hard rubber and a relatively long life under racing conditions.
Firestone Super Sports 170 Thread
Firestone Super Sports 170
Following is a picture of original 56 Sebring Wheel. Notice screws on rim which held balance weights. Also notice short spokes from hub. (The SS has one of these wheels as its spare. I doubt if the SS ever used the wheel in the 57 race).
1956 Sebring Halibrand Wheel
Following is a picture of St. Louis Halibrand. Notice stronger spokes and lack of balance screws on front of wheel. I believe they had some wheel failure at Sebring and possibly had Ted Halibrand strengthen the wheel before they manufactured the production SR's in June.
1956 St. Louis SR-1 Halibrand Wheel
The new reproduction rear axle shows about 1/2" more thread than the original. We designed them that way to give more spinner grip when going to the PS Engineering repro wheels which may have a thicker hub.
More Q & A to follow in Part 2
02-06-2008, 09:24 PM
#2
Are the wheels Magnesium? I know many of the early racing wheels
were...but as Magnesium casting is inherently dangerous (fire) many
wheel manufacturers moved to striclty aluminum wheel manufacture.
Have you weighed the wheels in bare form?
In the early 90's.. I believe Marchesini was still offering magnesium
products...but few others when I was poking around looking for some.
http://www.marchesiniwheels.com/ENG
were...but as Magnesium casting is inherently dangerous (fire) many
wheel manufacturers moved to striclty aluminum wheel manufacture.
Have you weighed the wheels in bare form?
In the early 90's.. I believe Marchesini was still offering magnesium
products...but few others when I was poking around looking for some.
http://www.marchesiniwheels.com/ENG
02-07-2008, 12:23 AM
#3
Kyle
Are the wheels Magnesium? I know many of the early racing wheels
were...but as Magnesium casting is inherently dangerous (fire) many
wheel manufacturers moved to striclty aluminum wheel manufacture.
Have you weighed the wheels in bare form?
In the early 90's.. I believe Marchesini was still offering magnesium
products...but few others when I was poking around looking for some.
http://www.marchesiniwheels.com/ENG
were...but as Magnesium casting is inherently dangerous (fire) many
wheel manufacturers moved to striclty aluminum wheel manufacture.
Have you weighed the wheels in bare form?
In the early 90's.. I believe Marchesini was still offering magnesium
products...but few others when I was poking around looking for some.
http://www.marchesiniwheels.com/ENG
Magnesium yes. The corrosion factor for vintage racing is probably worse than the fire factor. I believe about 15#s
Regards
02-07-2008, 08:43 AM
#4
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I have a magnesium SBC manifold which needed to be patched by welding. The shop owner who was going to do the work himself assured me it wouldn't catch fire. I was kinda nervous as sparks went flying, but sure enough it was fine. Go figgur....
Jim
