Mags, Drags & Rock’n Roll - Kustomrama's Guide to Mag Wheels

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Paul Hannan's 1929 Ford Model A roadster photographed at the 1962 Grand National Roadster Show in February of 1962. This is one of the earliest street rods we have found running Torq-Thrust wheels. Hannan polished the wheels before he installed them on his roadster. A very labor-intense process. Today you can achieve the same look by ordering and installing a set of Polished Torq-Thrust Original Wheels. Check sizes, prices, and availability on these wheels on Amazon.com. Photo from The James Handy Collection.
Taken in 1963, this is the first official publicity photo of the Beach Boys. The guys are hanging on Sam Conrad's beautiful roadster outside the Capitol Records building, downtown Hollywood. The car is still around today. Unfortunately, the Halibrand slot mags are gone, but it's still rolling on slot mags.
Ansen released their now iconic slot mag design in 1963. It quickly became a success, and just like the five-spoke American Racing or Cragar S/S wheels, Ansen's slot mags got copied by just about everyone.
Kustomrama contributor and the author of this guide, Henrik Forss, is running a pair of iconic Ansen slot mags up front on his Hollywood Howler Coupe. The tires are 560-15" front runners from Coker. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Dave Stuckey's fantastic Lil' Coffin aka "The Wildest Deuce Ever Shown" - The car that started many a young man's car-building careers. The first version was done in 1956. Stuckey kept improving the car over the years, and it frequently toured the show circuit. It is looking ever so good on American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels and slicks in this 1963 configuration. Photo from The James Handy Collection.
The Torq-Thrust Original is a reproduction of the wheel that the Lil' Coffin ran in 1963. The wheel is still in production and can easily be ordered through Amazon.com. Click here to check out Kustomrama's Guide to American Racing Torq-Thrust Wheels.
"Show on Saturday. Go on Sunday." The Cragar S/S has always provided a great look for everything from custom cars to muscle cars of the 1960s. As a matter of fact, on any given muscle car event, you're prone to see more cars rolling on Cragar S/S wheels than on their stock rims. It has become so normal that it feels like the big three should have sold Cragar S/S as an option wheel for their muscle cars in the 1960s and the 1970s. The iconic wheel is still in production today and can be easily ordered through online stores such as Amazon.com. Click here to check the price and availability of a set of Cragar S/S wheels for your ride on Amazon.com.
It didn't take a long time before show rods and custom cars started experimenting with Cragar S/S wheels. Chromed and reversed wheels had been a favorite for Kansas customizer Darryl Starbird since the late 1950s. From 1963, Starbird changed to wire and mag wheels, and the first customs to roll out of Star Kustom Shop on Cragar S/S wheels was his brand-spanking-new personal 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix. "The Pontiac was the first car he put them on," Donna Starbird told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020. "They became a sponsor for us, and Darryl used them on cars after that up to around 1975." Photo from The Darryl Starbird Collection.
Jesse Valadez 1963 Chevrolet Impala, the Gypsy Rose. The most legendary and iconic lowrider of all time ran Cragar S/S wheels. After Jesse wrecked the '63, he built a second version based on a '64. That car has toured the world and is one of those vehicles in the twilight zone between a car and art. Photo from the Howard Gribble collection.[1]
In the early 1960s up til about 1965, instrumental surf music was the rage and often associated with hot rods and dragsters.
Dick Dale was one of the first heroes on the scene and made sure Southern California experienced not only fast cars but also fast guitars.
The Batmobile. It is hard to find a car enthusiast who doesn't know about the 1960s Batmobile. Originally built by Barris Kustoms, it rolled on Radir wheels with a set of ultra cool tires that had the bat logo all over them. Today the original Batmobiles are still around, along with a plethora of more or less great replicas.
Yet a spectacular Barris Kustom design that was finished by Dick Dean. The Munster Koach. The television show was broadcasted between 1964-66, and featured not only hot rods and dragsters in a funny twist but also had a great theme song, covered by many modern bands such as Swedish teddyboy rockers Black Knights, and the Russian surf rock band "Messer Chups." The Munster Koach originally rolled on Astro mag wheels with a knock-off hub. The rear tires were 11" Firestone pie crust slicks.
The 1971 epic Two-Lane Blacktop movie can be found on the top of many car aficionado's must-see movie lists, in big parts due to the now iconic 1955 Chevy, that was also used in American Graffiti. In this movie, the '55 used American Racing 200-S series wheels, more commonly referred to as "Daisy's." The car rolled on 15x8.5" rims in the rear with 10" slicks. The front wheels were 15x7" wide.
Another movie car rolling on slot mags, the Starsky and Hutch 1976 Ford Torino. The original show aired between 1975-79 and featured lots of action-packed car chases. In the 2004 remake of the movie, they ran the same concept, with Ansen Sprint wheels, 15x7" up front and 15x8" in the rear.
"The good ol boys.." The 1969 Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard used a set of 14x7" American Racing "Vector" wheels with Carroll Shelby center caps. The show was widely known for it's wild high jumps and stunts in almost every episode. It aired from 1979 to 1985. 147 episodes.
This 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne was mildly customized in Northern California in 1967. It was parked in 1971 and stayed in storage until 2018. It rolled on a set of 15x7" Crestline mags manufactured in Port Chicago, California. For racing, it used a set of widened steelies in the back with 9" Good Year Blue Streak slicks, that were found in the trunk. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Available on the market since 1965, the original “D” model originally targeted Corvettes with disc brakes and were only available in 15x6 and 15x7 sizes. The modern version, which still is available today, was released in the 1980s, and it has more sizes to offer. The wheel is available in gray, black, and chrome. Check sizes, prices, and availability for these wheels on Amazon.com.
The Beattie & Hardcastle AAFC Kellison bodied racer at Half Moon Bay in 1964. A beautiful car needs beautiful wheels. Photo by Jim Phillipson.
D.P. Braskett and his blown Willys coupe at Half Moon Bay in 1965. Running American Racing wheels and blackwall slicks back then was more or less a common factor. Photo by Jim Phillipson.
The world's most expensive set of Torq-Thrust wheels. In the 1968 movie Bullit, Steve McQueen drives a 1968 Ford Mustang GT with American Mags. In 2020 the car from the movie was auctioned away for $3.74 million, making it the most valuable Ford Mustang in the world.[2] The car in the movie ran original Torq-Thrust D wheels. Original Torq-Thrust D wheels come up for sale on eBay every now and then, they are fairly rare, but you can click here to check if there are any wheels for sale on eBay right now. American Racing also makes reproductions of the popular wheel that can be purchased from Amazon.com. If you want to order one of these, you have to order the 15-inch American Racing Torq-Thrust D (VN105) with a gray center. Click here to check price and availability on Amazon.com.
Jim Gehrke of Napa, California has not only owned this 1969 Dodge Daytona since 1969, but he has also rolled on a set of Torq-Thrust D Wheels just as long. He installed the 15x8” wheels shortly after the purchase and has never regretted it. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Beppie Pistone of Concord, California has this great looking 1932 Ford Coupe. The front wheels on Beppie's Coupe are 15x4” American Racing Torq-Thrusts with BF Goodrich 135-80-15" tires, while the rear wheels are true vintage American Racing magnesium wheels. 15X 8½" with Towelcity slicks. Photo by Henrik Forss.
A set of polished slot mags, US Mags for instance will look good on a variety of cars. Many people today associate slot mags with the 1980s, but as you all know after reading this article, a set of slot mags would look era correct even on a 1960s-styled hot rod or custom. Knowledge is crucial for success.
A picture taken at the Sacramento Raceway in the early 1970s. We surely appreciate the stance and choice of wheels on this beautiful 1955 Chevy! Photo courtesy of Tom Scardina.
Rand Tambert was busy with his camera around the NorCal drag strips in the 1960s and the 1970s, and he has shared some great pictures with us. This picture was taken at the Sacramento Raceway around 1968-69, and it appears to be some sort of Corvette meet-up. It is hard not to love the Vettes when they have great paint jobs like here, and when they roll on wide slot mags they surely hit a home run every time. Photo courtesy of Rand Tambert.
Another one of Rand's great photos from from Sacramento Raceway, and another great looking custom Corvette with slot mags. Photo courtesy of Rand Tambert.
The Burkholder Bros from Sacramento had a plethora of great looking race cars, often altereds such as this one built out of two Kellison fiberglass bodies. Polished slot mags was a given for everything they raced, and having the race car always looking great was a given. Photo courtesy of Rand Tambert.
Joe and Jerry Valdez's 1921 Ford Model R Roadster was dressed up with Ansen slot mags in the mid 1970s. Photo from The James Handy Photo Collection.
By 1974, Christer Lundberg's 1937 Ford Coupe of Sweden had been dressed up with Ansen slot mags. Photo from Colorod 7/1974.
Thom Johansson of Jokers Car Club in Sweden has always built sharp-looking cars, both hot rods, customs, and gassers. This mean 1957 Buick is a good example of the latter. The current owner, Mikael Blomberg, is using the same wheel setup. The wheel brand is unknown, but up front, they are 15x4.5” with 29” tall M/T front runners, and the rear has a set of equally vintage slot mags, 15X10” with N-50x15” tires. Photo courtesy of Mikael Blomberg.
Magnus Karlsson of Sweden has built a fantastic 1955 Chevy, that he has shipped to the US, having fun with his action packed wheel standing adventures. This tasteful warrior uses US Indy 15x10" mags in the rear with 29.5x15" Hoosier tires, while the front wheels are 15x4" wide, of unknown origin, with Moroso drag special tires, 5.50x15". Photo by Magnus Karlsson.
When the Hollywood Howler Model A coupe rolled out in a new, more of a mid-60s version, it was with 15x4” vintage, polished Ansen Wheels that got some fresh Pro Trac 560-15 Blackwall Tires. The rear wheels were vintage US Indy Mags 15x8 ½” with Towel City 9” Blackwall Slicks. Photo courtesy of Henrik Forss.
US Mags Indy Polished Wheels.
Torq-Thrust Original - Silver w/ Machined Lip If you are not a die-hard aficionado, or just not interested in the swap meet aspect of purchasing original wheels, the modern manufactured wheels look just as good and it is hard to see any difference. The Torq-Thrust Original was introduced in 2004. Known as the TTO, it is a disc-brake friendly version of the original early 1960s wheel where the washers have been recessed more than the original wheels. The center-cap is also larger to allow the wheel to fit later-model cars. Check sizes, prices, and availability on these wheels on Amazon.com.
Dennis Simunovich of Hollister, California has built many cool 1955 Chevys. This is one, and he opted to run a good-looking set with Americans and bias ply tires. 15x5" up front with 5.60-15 Firestone tires, while the rear sported 15x8" wheels with 9" Radir slicks. Lots of proper attitude here. Photo by Henrik Forss.
We took a picture of this brutal 1964 Chevrolet Corvette at the Sonoma Raceway before it roared down the track. This is yet another proof that American Racing wheels just look soo good on race cars. It was meant to be. Photo by Henrik Forss.
A healthy Henry J about to make some passes at Eagle Field Raceway. It is hard to get any more meat in the back, but boy, does this set up look great! Photo by Henrik Forss.
The Anderson family owns and campaigns the iconic Vagabond FED, which has been racing since the 1960s. It is looking better than ever and sure is healthy. Here seen at Famoso Raceway outside of Bakersfield, California. Notice that their 1955 Chevy push car is also equipped with American Racing wheels. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Mike Smith knows the importance of stance, rake, and attitude. His Model A coupe is one of the best on the scene, and he races it as much as he can. A set of vintage Americans all around makes it a perfect and era-correct hot rod. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Torq-Thrust Original - Polished. Today you don' have to spend time polishing the wheels yourself. Keith Christensen recalls American Racing as a wonderful company that had one of the best quality control wheels on the market. "The machining, drilling of lug holes and valve stem holes was held to the highest standards of quality. To own a set of American Racing wheels was indeed a feather in your hat, as they were expensive. People, quite often, would take them out and have them fully polished, a labor-intense process, but then you were "top turkey". Everyone would ooh and aah when they saw those wheels on your car." Check sizes, prices, and availability on these wheels on Amazon.com.
This good-looking A Altered looks ever so sharp with those polished wheels. The picture was taken at Half Moon Bay in 1963, and it feels timeless. Photo by Jim Phillipson.
Bob Nordskog's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette was restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1963. Used both on the street and strip, Nordskog ran Dayton wire wheels on the street, and American Racing mag wheels on the strip. At shows, the car was regularly displayed with one side wearing street wheels and tires, with the other set up for racing. Today you can easily replicate this look by ordering and installing a set of Polished Torq-Thrust Original Wheels. Check sizes, prices, and availability on these wheels on Amazon.com.
It is absolutely beautiful when race cars become art. The Stellings & Hampshire FED was nothing but stellar and looks amazing. Look at the finish of everything. The picture was taken at Half Moon Bay on a sunny day in 1964.
No modern-day built hot rod has left such big impressions as Marky Idzardi's Purple People Eater. It won't get much wilder. He drags it and drives it, a lot. He has changed out the front wheels a few times but always relied on the polished vintage Amercians in the rear. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Legendary wild man and a household name when it comes to drag race history, Jungle Jim. In this photo, his Nova is seen at Sacramento Raceway. The looks of his cars were, as always, perfect. Rand Tambert snapped this photo around 1969-71.
Henrik Forss' 1930 Ford Model A Coupe can be seen in the back of this photo. Named "The Hollywood Howler," the car is rolling on vintage polished slot mags. Parked in front is the "Detoxica" dune buggy with a set of vintage polished American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels. 15X8" in the rear and 15x7" up front. Photo by Henrik Forss.
New wheels. New look. The new wheels on Henrik Forss' Safari Dune Buggy came from his old model A coupe, "Hollywood Howler." 5.60-15 up front on polished vintage 4" wide Ansen mags while the rear tires are 9" slicks from Towel City, mounted on 8.5" vintage, polished US Mags. Photo courtesy of Henrik Forss.
Randy Winkle always builds extremely sharp-looking race cars. Like this one, the Famoso Speed Shop "MOB" digger, rolling on polished Americans. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Magnesium or aluminum? You could make the choice with American Racing!
The popular Torq-Thrust II wheel hit the market around 1967. The Torq Thrust II is a 2-piece wheel built with a cast aluminum center welded to a forged aluminum outer barrel. This 2-piece construction allows for custom widths and backspacings. This is important when brake and suspension modifications have been performed. For example, a tubbed car with a narrowed rear axle. This wheel is available in 14x6 through 20x15. The VN405 is the fully polished finish. The VN205 is the mag gray center with polished outer. The VNC405 is for a chrome center with polished outer. These wheels are made to order. Check sizes, prices, and availability for these wheels on Amazon.com.
From Strip to Street - Kustomrama's Guide to American Racing Torq-Thrust Wheels. Click here to check it out.
While the 08/61 S/S series sports mag lugs with Cragar washers, the 61C S/S features a conical seat or bulge seat lugs. Click here for price and availability on a set of Cragar 61C S/S wheels for your ride.
In 1966 Ed Roth was tripping out on bikes, and Captain Pepi's Motorcycle & Zeppelin Repair was his shot at predicting what El Caminos of the 21st century would look like. Dressed up with Cragar S/S wheels, Roth completed the build in 1967. Later on, he would rename it The Mega Cycle.
The owner of this very tasteful lusciously painted 1966 Chevrolet Impala lowrider went for a very earthy, suburban kind of countryside display to bring attention to his ride. The green paint job with all of its art is truly killer, but the Cragars that are wrapped in thin whitewalls and the tri-bar spinners also look stunning. It's down, down on the ground and we believe this car made a lot of competitors green of envy. Photo from The Howard Gribble Collection.
Rand Tamber took this picture at the Sacramento Raceway around 1971. The car, a 1955 Ford name "The Scrapper" is running Cragars all the way around, radiused wheel wells and blackwall slicks. Dragrace history at its best. Photo by Rand Tamber.
Reseda, California, 1974. Erick Weisman started rolling with his club Reseda Boys in the early 1970s. The wheels were still hot, and most of the guys in the club ran Cragars. "I lowered my 61 Impala and put 5/60 tires and 6 inches deep Cragar rims on it." Weisman didn't have money to buy lifts, so he drove it like this, recalling that it was very bouncy indeed. "I got my first traffic ticket in that car for being too low!" Unfortunately, he crashed the Impala and ended up selling it for $50. Photo from The Eric Weisman Collection.
A wild ride with the Pacini Bros Ford Anglia at Sacramento Raceway in 1976. As we entered the late 1960s and stepped into the 1970s, it became very popular amongst race cars to use Cragar S/S wheels. Photo by Jim Phillipson.
This wild hi-riser 1955 Chevy Bel Air had a vintage set of Cragar 15x5" up front, and beaten up American Racings in the back. A combination of different mags on the front and rear was and is fairly common. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Ray Raygoza keeps his old 1955 Chevy street machine "The Enforcer" alive and healthy. When this photo was taken, he ran Cragar S/S up front and 10" US Mags in the rear. A true survivor, kept alive. Photo by Henrik Forss.
The wheel stander, General Lee making a spectacular pass at Eagle Field Drags outside of Firebaugh, California. This legend has been around for a long time, and made a great decision by using Cragar S/S wheels up front and slot mags in the rear. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Style Takeover by Cragar.
Also available for your Volvo! In Sweden, companies such as BoMac Racing started advertising Cragar S/S wheels for sale as early as 1966.
It is really hard to go wrong with a set of Cragar S/S. Today they even come as 17-inch wheels. Still made in the US, these wheels look great on latter years Mustangs and Camaros. If you have a retro-looking modern muscle car that pays homage to their 1960s roots, this should also be the wheel of your choice. Click here to check price and availability on 17-inch Cragar S/S wheels for your ride.
This 1956 Chevy wagon from the Loco Bandidos car club was smoking it up good at an early 2000s photoshoot in Bakersfield, California. Rolling on classic Astro Supremes and thin whitewall tires is never a bad idea, and we dig this a lot. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Jeff Hansen, Beverly Hills, California and his wild 1937 Willys looks like a surviving old gasser but was built just a few years back, running a blown and injected Hemi engine. Jeff relies on vintage chrome reverse wheels up front, and a set of vintage magnesium wheels in the back. Photo by Henrik Forss.
Many of the people we spoke to recommends the Voodoo Ride ® VR-1014 Wheel Cleaner, as the tires stay brilliant for many days before slowly fading away. It works instantly and is safe on all-wheel finishes. It cleans and shines instantly.
This gel-based product is pH balanced and cleans your wheels with a oxygen-infused foam. It is perfect for the weekly maintenance of your wheels.
Show & Go - Kustomrama's Guide to the Cragar S/S Wheel
Recommended Reading: Lost Drag Strips: Ghosts of Quarter Miles Past by Tommy Lee Byrd. Click here to check price and availability on Amazon.com-

Guides, Reviews & Recommendations


What are Mag Wheels?

Mag Wheels are wheels made out of magnesium. Magnesium is an excellent metal to add to an alloy to make wheels. Because magnesium is 1.5 times less dense than aluminum while retaining similar specific strength and damping capacities, it is possible to make a mag wheel lighter than an aluminum alloy wheel of the same strength. Especially in the 1960s, magnesium racing wheels became very popular. First and foremost, developed for motor sports of all sorts due to its lightweight, the mag wheel was soon adopted for street use.


What are Slot Mags?

Slot Mags is a wheel design that features slotted holes, usually 5, and became known as "slot mags." Few aftermarket wheel designs are as instantly recognizable as the aluminum slot wheel. When Ansen Automotive released their now iconic Ansen Sprint design with five holes in 1963, it quickly became hugely popular, and an enormous amount of copies soon flooded the market. This great design by Ansen became the norm of slot mags and can be seen on everything from skateboards to golf carts, dragsters, gassers to customs, hot rods, and vans. - Even soccer mom vans.


How and Why Mag Wheels Started

Halibrand started making magnesium wheels for auto-racing in 1946 and is commonly known to have been the first one out on the market. The reason for the magnesium wheels obviously being for the weight advantage compared to the old heavy steel wheels. But, it wasn't until the popularity of drag racing, especially in the late 1950s and forward, the lightweight wheels became extremely popular and boomed. As a matter of fact, both drag racers, hot rodders, and even custom cars all came to use them more often than not from then on and forward. If you look in a car magazine from the early to mid-1960s, you will find that virtually every Top Fuel or Fuel Altered drag racer is using rear magnesium wheels from Halibrand or American Racing. A few years later, you will see that almost every hot rod and show car was using mag wheels. It quickly became a way of expression instead of previously using a variety of hubcaps. American Racing with their Torque Thrust came to dominate the market in the early 1960s and became the ultimate hot rod wheel, followed by the equally iconic and cool Cragar S/S wheel released in 1964 that soon was seen on race cars and hot rods world wide. From the day the first custom wheels were produced, just as many types of custom center caps became available and important. Spiders, bullet caps, flat caps, dished caps, domed caps, two-blade spinners, three-blade spinners. Today, there are still a lot of options to choose from. Even the lug nuts are important. There are just as many styles of nuts as there are caps.


Note:

To clarify the word we are frequently using here, mags. Because even though the wheels of today are mainly made of aluminum, the word "mags" has stayed and is being used to describe these lightweight wheels in general.


Famous Hot Rods and Custom Cars on Mag Wheels

After the mag wheels started being produced in the early 1960s, many of the big-name customizers and hot rod builders started using them, and it didn’t take long until the world saw price-winning show cars displaying the latest in wheel fashion. Often paired with a set of fitting tires (not very seldom where the rear one's white wall slicks). A few of the most iconic builds are listed below; let’s see how many you knew about:



Mag Wheels & Pop Culture

Mag wheels has always made a huge share of appearances in pop culture. Starting in 1963 when guitar/surf hero Dick Dale released his song, Mag Wheels (in more modern days, a song with the same title was written, recorded, and released by Charlie Parr.) In the mid to late 1960s, many of the popular surf bands used a hot rod with mag wheels on the cover, and there was many "hot rod sounds" record compilation featuring hot rods and race cars with mag wheels. To put it short, mag wheels was the ultimate craze during the 1960s, and no one wanted to be standing outside of the winner's circle.


Movie Cars with Mags

Many movies of the 1960s and the 1970s featured cars that sported mag wheels. A 1966 version of the Batmobile used sharp-looking Radir mag wheels for instance, and later on Appliance. In the 1970s, movie cars often rolled on slot mags.


The A-Team van had slot mags as did Starsky & Hutch's red and white Ford Torino, Steve McQueen's Mustang in the 1968 movie Bullit rolled on locally made American Racing Torque Thrust II. The green Dodge Charger in the 1973 movie Dirty Mary Crazy Larry rolled on slot mags, and the 1955 Chevy in Two-Lane Blacktop, on American Racing 200S Wheels. The orange iconic long jumping Dodge Charger in the Dukes of Hazzard used American Racing's Vector Wheels. The list is endless and will never stop.


It Keeps on Rolling

The popularity of the mag wheel has never really faded. On the contrary, it has regularly experienced new bursts of popularity. Especially the slot mags. In the late 1960s, when the muscle car era became popular, mag wheels hit a new high. The 1970s equally so where many dune buggies had mags, as did the street machines and many early lowriders. In the 1970s and the 1980s, the van craze hit hard, and it became a norm to roll on wide slot mags. Nowadays, the mag and slot mags have become nostalgic, and they are commonly seen on everything they used to be seen on – and more. Hot rods, street rods, dune buggies, gassers, muscle cars, custom cars, and even daily drivers. There is definitely a good-looking style for whatever you are driving.


Are Mag Wheels Expensive?

Just like so many other collectible items in the car culture, rare, sought-after items have become very expensive. Especially the real magnesium wheels, Halibrands are always on top of that list. While a lot of people out there need the "real deal" for a possible period perfect high-dollar restoration, some are just as happy with a set of vintage slot mags. Often referred to as the "poor man Halibrand's." The popularity of mag wheels and slot mags is very evident as we find a lot of them to be still manufactured today and delightfully also very easy access for purchases online.


How do I keep my Magnesium Wheels Shiny and Good-Looking?

Magnesium that has been brightly polished is unique and striking. It is beautiful. After you polish it to a beautiful mirror finish, as time passes, it will gradually turn gray and then dark gray with a bit of green. Some people like that "patina" on it and are ok with that look. Leave it out in the elements, and it will eventually deteriorate and fall apart. It is also extremely difficult to weld, so you want to take good care of what you have. Magnesium is dangerous. If it ever catches fire, throw a bucket of sand on it and get out of the way. When magnesium burns, it virtually can't be stopped. Small quantities of magnesium are used to make photo flash bulbs. Larger quantities are used to make bombs. Be aware. There is no other metal that is so tough to deal with. Still, many of the most desirable drag racing parts were made out of magnesium.


The biggest challenge in taking care of magnesium parts is preserving them since exposure to humidity makes magnesium oxidize. When magnesium parts are left unprotected and exposed to moisture, so-called pits can eventually grow to over an eighth of an inch in diameter quickly. A sign that magnesium castings are getting ready to become pitted is the appearance of a fine white powder in places. Magnesium parts must be stored in a dry area free of humidity. Bare magnesium wheels can be sprayed with WD40, which will offer some protection until it evaporates. Some people store their magnesium parts in thick plastic bags and use a vacuum cleaner to draw as much of the air out of the bag as possible before tightly sealing them.


How Do I Keep My Aluminum Wheels Shiny and Good-Looking?

Aluminum wheels are not as hard to maintain and keep shiny as magnesium are. The aluminum wheels will not deteriorate or drastically change color in the elements. However, they will eventually get dull and appear grayer than chrome. If you let them get dull and/or dinged and scratched up, you will have a painstaking job ahead of you wet sanding and buffing them up to their original shiny finish. So, just like anything. Stay on top of things. Wash, clean, and buff regularly.


Here are Some Good Products to Maintain Your Magnesium and Aluminum Wheels


Some of the Mag & Slot Mag Wheel Manufacturers of the 1940s - 1970s


Where Can I Buy Mag Wheels in 2024?

On every given swap meet, you will find mag wheels for sale, as well as on eBay. However, these days a lot of the most popular mag wheels and models are also reproduced and available for purchase online. Featured in this article, you will find some of the wheels we dig the most. Wheels you can easily order from Amazon.com.


Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click on these links and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our work in bringing you valuable content.


References

  1. ↑ Kid Deuce's Photosream
  2. ↑ Business Insider - The Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in 'Bullitt' just auctioned for $3.74 million making it the most expensive in the world
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