I believe this car was on BaT about a year ago.
The wheels are obviously a Minilite-type wheel, but they have a pretty unique appearance the way the spokes are sort of ‘truncated’ around the splined hub.
Does anyone know if these were a genuine Minilite, or another brand? Are they vintage, or a more recent wheel?
my guess is that they are of recent make… http://minilite.co.uk/application.php?a_make=JAGUAR some distributors offer them in the US, e.g. http://xks.com/i-7151988-jaguar-minilite-wheel-spline-drive-8-x-15-17-1207-2.html (no affiliation)
They are quite difference in appearance from any of the “current” Minilite brand wheels shown on the Xk’s and SNG website.
I think the source was the same as mine. Mine look a little different in that the outer rim is polished instead of painted but the hub looks identical. I tracked mine down to British Wire Wheel, who told me they were sourced from a no longer operating company in Australia. These were produced in the 90s back before Minilites were being reproduced. They’re a close imitation but not exact. They’re IMO more robust in that the hub is held by 8 or 9 bolts instead of (if memory serves) 5? They were also quite dear, I think around $500 each in 90s dollars.
edit: now that I look closer, I think those wheels have a clear coated rim like mine, so totally the same.
Look like Panasports, or possibly, Revolutions.
there sure are quite a few variations out there, all of recent make
e.g.
https://www.sportsandclassics.com/minilite-style-splined-wheels/
I have not seen many period Minilite cast that smoothly
Wow Erica, I think you nailed it. You also get bonus points for all the supporting information!
Shame they aren’t still being produced, as they are a very handsome wheel. Did you find yours second-hand, and if so, have you ever seen other sets for sale?
They came with my car when I bought it. If I’m remembering correctly Dick V had a set on the shelf. I think I remember seeing them in the list of things that were been sold after his passing. Not sure whether they ultimately ended up being sold or not. Might be worth an email.
Those wheels are the ones Moss Motors sell under the ‘Minator’ name.
The hub design does look quite similar, but I don’t believe Minator has ever produced a wheel with the larger (52 mm?) spline size for the Jaguar.
Any chance you could point me in then right direction for an inquiry? I’m not familiar with Dick V, or the list of his parts.
Thank you
That would be Dick Vandermeyden. Ray L and Bill McKenna were helping Dick’s wife to liquidate his enormous shop.
These Superlite wheels are similar (and still available)
I’m very surprised these are available now. As I’ve mentioned here before, mine are from VTO imported from China through Arizona. They are, in fact, bolt on CORVAIR wheels! I needed them to tweak the center bore, but otherwise they fit very well.
When I tried originally to get the ‘Superlite’ brand from Australia they no longer were available. The brand was sold, resold and who knows what until (maybe) they ended up with the Arizona out fit I found. My wheels came from Shanghi - when I checked there were 600 (!!) wheel manufacturers in Shanghi.
Bolt ons are easier to get on and off with the offset I have as they don’t need to clear the spline.
That comment got me curious about your offset. What offset are you running? Do you have any pics of them on the car?
Did you convert your car from wires? Did you have a hard time finding the bolt-on hubs?
I think you can ‘click’ on my purple letter “L” and see some of my posts. There are photos of the wheels, the car is further along now, but still not done.
I sourced the hubs from someone I’d rather not recommend, but they aren’t that hard to find. Of course it is a big production putting the rears in - resetting the float, bearings, etc. (and the seals may be different - including the order you can put the seals in wrt the shop manual, seriesI vs. later models). The car had wires originally.
The VTO wheels had very slightly small bores - which they took care of. I also had my brother in law put a champfer (spelling) on the hubs as the Jaguar radius was crappy. Since I did the whole rear end the switch over wasn’t as bad as it would be on a complete car.
The offset is not the same as the early XJ6, but it’s close.
