BRE (from the team) 4 spoke American Racing Wheels

[Ex-Racer]

Hi,

 

I've got four original BRE racing four spoke Libra wheels. They have been sitting with tires mounted on them for about 5 years in a covered Garage.

 

I've gotten a quote from the local wheel polishing guys of $45.00/wheel to polish the outer rims (the inner spokes are painted with Gun Metal

Graphite color. I was thinking of having one of them polished if there is some interest and taking a picture and posting it here...but I'd

rather figure out how much interest there is before doing even that...

 

I'm interested in having them polished and then getting rid of them to someone who is restoring an authentic BRE 510. Again these are

the ORIGINAL Magnesium parts that American Racing built for the BRE team...a friend of mine who mentored my 1200 race car project gave

them to me and I raced with them in SCCA for several years before mounting them on a 1981 200SX (they fit without modification) with

Yokohama 352 skins for street use.

 

If you are someone who's interested...name a price...you can take them before or after the polishing is done...

 

I'm thinking that the right Ratsun enthusiast will pay about $150.00/wheel for unpolished or about $250.00/wheel polished.

 

I poked around the net, and I haven't seen anyone with a set like this for sale...so either they're very rare or they are

not marketable. Either way...without a buyer they will go to waste and that seems to me to be a shame.

 

Let me know, you can send me email from here I'm guessing...I'll check back here in a few days. If you send me your

phone number I'll be sure to give you a call back...

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Von

[Braden]

pictures or your fibbing

[fivetenzen]

What size are the wheels and tires?

[Jesse C.]

A.R.E. made the Libre in both aluminum and magnesium for everybody, not just BRE. Some have SCCA lettering on them for the Spec racers. Shelby also made this wheel.

 

Pictures would help in selling them.

[Ex-Racer]

pictures or your fibbing

 

Hi There...

 

Not fibbing...I'll try to get around to taking a pic...at the moment the wheels are NOT polished

and so the outer rim is very smoky and (if you know REAL Magnesium wheels) looks like it

CAN'T be polished...

 

I had the metal finishing guys I called (they were amazed I remembered them after so

long and the proprietor I dealt with back then has since deceased and his grandson

now does the work...remember those good old days? ) polish these babies up some

years and powder coat them...and they come up like a shiny penny.

 

Right now they are in a kind of inaccessible location in the garage...I might get to them

after work one evening this week.

 

BTW...after viewing some of the other threads on this board...I noticed the RATSUN

ethos requires pics....in fact...you guys are obsessed with pics.

 

When I do get them to you, if you know the BRE wheels..you will notice that the center

circle has been cast much thicker than a non-Mag Libra wheel...this is what distinguishes

the High Mag content from the Plain-Vanilla Aluminum alloy replica.

 

But you'd have to be an old ex-racer like Moi to know this tidbit. If you are, that's the guy

who'd provide the proper reverence for what a rare find these wheels are...and you'll

also know about a MAG wheels' care and feeding.

 

(no offense...just making conversation)

 

Stay tuned...I'll get you a pic or two. (The tires are still on them and the steel belts

are poking out (they don't owe me any money...and those were the days when

there were real sharp steel belts that can HURT you if you let the tires run down

as far as these have...but I drove them to the bitter end and they never lost air.)

 

Thanks for your interest...

 

-V-

[Ex-Racer]

What size are the wheels and tires?

 

13"x7.5 (or) 13"x7" (Sorry, I can't remember off hand and the tires are still on them making the exact measurement

difficult...they are what the 510's were homologated for back then as GT3 SCCA spec'd cars.)

 

They are the original size that was on the BRE 510s...the wheels were a gift to my friend I spoke about while he was

competing at the SCCA nationals at Road Atlanta one year...he was the only Canadian to place highly with his car in that

Class...I don't remember precisely how he placed...but he told me that Brock and those guys were so impressed

that an independent guy (no factory or sponsorship other than his own hard work) was able to give them a run for

their money that they gave him the wheels as a gift (there was a lot of honor in competition back then.) He called

his effort SRE (Stevens Racing Enterprises)...as a nod to the BRE moniker.

 

They were running 1800cc motors that were hand tooled works of art...he told me he used to get up to about

160mph in the S'es on the back side of the track...what fun in a little car like that in those days!

 

He made sure I knew this when he gave me the wheels...he was a great guy and taught me all about car

construction and driving...and in my neck of the woods those days...I did pretty good thanks to his help.

 

I'm a little concerned that the local tire guys will not take enough care getting the tires off...so if anyone

here knows of a good place that has respect for vintage wheels in Orange County...please leave that

info here. I'm thinking that I might cut the tires off with something that can get through the Yokohamas

that are on it now. Any suggestions are helpful, its been a while since I did this stuff.

 

-V-

[Ex-Racer]

A.R.E. made the Libre in both aluminum and magnesium for everybody, not just BRE. Some have SCCA lettering on them for the Spec racers. Shelby also made this wheel.

 

Pictures would help in selling them.

 

This is getting interesting...I kind of thought that I'd learn some stuff I didn't know about the wheels I've had for so long if I posted them up here. Thanks for that info.

 

Where was this lettering you speak of? (I'd like to see it before I let them go...)

 

Pictures will be posted as soon as I have time.

 

-V-

[Jesse C.]

This is getting interesting...I kind of thought that I'd learn some stuff I didn't know about the wheels I've had for so long if I posted them up here. Thanks for that info.

 

Where was this lettering you speak of? (I'd like to see it before I let them go...)

 

Pictures will be posted as soon as I have time.

 

-V-

 

The "SCCA" letters are on the back next to the American Racing script and where done for the FORD spec cars, thus, not all ARE wheels have this.

[hang_510]

I'm thinking that the right Ratsun enthusiast will pay ...

:rofl:

 

 

i already have a set :)

 

 

bring em to the eagle rock swap meet on the 25th ;)