Is the torque thrust d (105) from american racing the right old school mag for a 65 vett. I am looking for a polishied bead and anodized center. Does the D stand for disk brake option???? thanks

 

TT Ds, 15 x 6

 

Same here....








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Sorry - I did'nt answer your question...I don't the the "d" is for Disk brakes. My 64 has Drum brakes.

 

The "D" is just a style code.

The Torque Thrust D was very popular on Shelby Mustangs of 1965. I think it may have even been original equipment on the '65 Shelbys.

 

Batmann- I too have a 1964 stingray w/4-wheel drum brakes. What size rim & tires do you have on your stingray?

 

I'm not sure on the wheel size...I'll check the tire size tonight.

 

My favorite mid-60's wheel.

I had a conversation with a designer at American Racing about Corvettes and Torque-Thrust D's a few months ago. The 'spokes' of older versions wouldn't clear the humps on the outsides of the calipers of disc-braked Vettes, but they've recently changed the design so it will clear, without having to use spacers.

I have the new 6" wheel part # at home (won't be home for a couple of days), don't have the P/N for the 7", but they're really good about responding to email.

 

OK, I am going back to my time machine...if I remember correctly, the most popular wheel for the Corvette in 65 was the Crager SS Mag wheel. The AR Thrust Wheels were popular on the Mustang, especially the 390 GT model Mustang. The Slotted wheel was second most popular... The slotted wheels were all over the place because they were very very cheap. Even the baby moon hubs were used on some of the mid years. Guys remember back in the 60's you did all you could just to pay that $125.00/month car payment. Unless you worked two jobs, most people just kept what they had for tires and wheels, with the exception on putting Cheeta Slicks on the rare with slotted wheels and the baby moons on the front. The AR Torque Thrust were VERY VERY popular a few years later with the Camaro people....both AR and ET wheels were the wheel to have. The Crager SS was found on Vettes, GTO, SS-396, and Impalas.... Back in the mid 60's you were very limited on tires and wheels...

A blast from the past from somebody who lived it....my experience with this is in the New England area...so regionally it could have been different. But I do remember seeing a lot of magazines from the time with photos of Vettes with Cragers, Slotted Wheels, and Torque Thrusts.

 

To me the correct AR wheel is the Original Torque Thrust. The spokes come to more of a point than the current TTD. TTD might indeed mean for disc brakes, they curved and rounded the spokes slightly to clear the calipers.
AR has recently re-issued the TTO, and they claim it will fit modern cars. I would have gotten a set for my 63 but the smallest size is 15x7, and I don’t want to set up my car to accept them. If you’re willing to do some suspension tweaking and fender lip filing, I know people that say they have no problems with 15x7.
One more thing to note. I know a guy that ordered a new set of TTOs for his 69 vette and THEY DID NOT FIT! He said the spokes hit the calipers. Don’t know what to make of that.

 

i have the amer.racing polished lip w/powder grey centers.
CL205-576140 , 15x7" they clear my disc brakes. 105's may not.
someone told me two versions of the "d" meaning.
"D" is the shape of the spoke. "D" is the shape of the window of the wheel. who knows for sure. maybe a,b,c wheels failed.
just my two cents worth.

 

I've always heard that the "D" was for teh shape of the spoke. Instead of straight, they were "D" shaped.

Not AR, but from Vintage Wheel Works, original:


and "D":

 

I had an original set of the AR TDD rims purchased in 1970 that fit on my 66 Vette (with disc brakes) with no spacers or problems. Purchased the new set of 4 for $99! Had one crack a spoke due to a ditch encounter a week later. Dealer swapped it out without a problem (but I had to drive back to Chicago - from Philly to get it, and then back again).

When I got my 62, had to have the same style rims! Purchased about 4 years ago, and they do not look like they would clear C2 discs (without the use of spacers).

In looking at old picture of the 66 Vette, I can see that there are some significant differences. For one, the old rims were raw (as cast) finished on the spokes, whereas my newer ones have grey painted spokes. The shape of the spokes are different (main reason the newer rims don't clear C2 discs).

Plasticman

 

Are these reproductions of the TTD's?

[/QUOTE]

I know that these are the Original version of the TTD's - they were installed on my 64 in the mid to late 60's



They look very similar to me....
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Thanks for posting the photos BC. They are the best illustrations of the difference between TTO & TTD.

I really like the TTOs.

 

The pictures are repros, but closer to the original. They are from a company called Vintage Wheel Works. They advertise in the back of a number of magazines as well.

The wheels have shot blasted spokes which look close to the "as cast" spokes. They still need a spacer to work with C2/C3 brakes, but they have a few sizes to choose from. I have the "D" design on both my cars. I have the one piece 16x8 wheel on the Corvette and the two piece 17x9.5 on the Chevelle.

This is the Corvette after a day at Willow Springs (center caps were removed):


This is the Chevlle:

 

1quik6 - The front tires are 205-70-15...the rears are 215-70-15.

I'd guess that the wheels are 15 x 7

Dave

 

American racing calls their current Torq Thrust "D" , but they are completely different then the "D's" made in the 60's. The "D" in the 60's were made for disc brake clearance and the spoke is completely different than the current ones. The current "D's" will NOT fit disc brake cars without spacers. The original "D's" are very hard to find. I looked for 2 years to find a set. I was lucky enough to find them here on the forum from a member who bought them for his 65 in 1966. Here is a pic of the "D's" on my car.


Good luck
Brian

 

There is a pair of 15X6's on E-bay right now. The guy is only 45 minutes from me so I went to check them out and they are very nice and should clean up easliy. One lug hole is drilled out to a larger size but it shouldn't a problem. Then you just have to find 2 more, which might not be too easy. The auction ends in 2 hours and they are currently up to $611. I saw a set of 15X7's go for $2200 on E-bay a few months back. A lot of mponey but if you want the true originals you will have to pay.

[http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...EWA%3AIT&rd=1]
Brian

 

my Ds where bought 6 months ago and fit without spacers. got them from newstalga wheels.