Bob's Studebaker Resource Website
Avanti & Borrani Wire Wheels
SDC Forum Ref..> - May 2012
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May 2012 spokejr (SDC Forum) Pasadena, Ca ............. I am in the business of making spokes, nipples and rims for wire wheels, as well as servicing them. While the majority of our work involves motorcycles, we do a lot of car wheels as well. These were well made wheels, (unlike some that were available in that era, Tru-spokes in particular) but they had some weaknesses. The biggest problem was that having fine tooth splines between the hub and the adaptor, these are prone to wear. If the splines were greased, usually not a big problem but a lot of poeple that bought these were the sort who paid lavashly to have their cars detailed and didn't want to see grease weeping from the spoke holes in the hubs. Mechanic washes off all the grease in the splines and one problem solved only to have the splines rust up and wear out. Sometimes the wheel doesn't even come off after a while! At this point in time it is possible that spokes could be breaking but not likely, these had fairly heavy spokes up at the bend at the hub. Avantis aren't that heavy, Benzs are. Many confuse balance and trueness of the rim. This is a weak point if the driver parks by braile. If the wheels haven't been hitting the bumpstops and curbs, these wheels don't tend to bend and therfore they tend to stay true. The best way is to spin each wheel, a pain when they are on the car and it's not on a lift. A lot of tyre shops have trouble balancing these wheels. And they do require innertubes. If the chrome on the rims and hubs is still good, the spokes and nipples can be replaced with stainless but it does add up, fast. That wheel was used on several different cars, the difference was that the adaptors varied for offset. Good luck, Kennie Buchanan, / Buchanan's Spoke and Rim / www.buchananspokes.com
Used set from 1976 Avanti 
Newer Set
Good old Italian Craftsmanship
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