The Cal-look Lounge

You might want to check this link out... Not mine, but Bear's..
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=710552

While he doesn't say much about them, Bear called me yesterday and told me about these wheels. They are of course, DDS, 4-lug which are unusual... But, these wheels were used on the back of Darrell Vittone's A/MC '67 car, as well as the rear of the famous Race Shop Fiat. They are 15x6, and have been drilled for screws. Certainly a piece of VW racing history. Just FYI.

are they the one on the pict ???

Yes!

(http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/pix/2398091.jpg)
(http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/pix/2398093.jpg)

So there is a moral dilemma...

Do you buy them and preserve them due to thier historicity or do you bore the center and punch 5 lug holes in them so that they can be useful again?

No, you find Darrell's old '67 and restore it with the correct wheels. Or, you buy the Fiat and do the same!

Sounds a bit like doing a boob job on the Mona Lisa >:( ;)

who said boob job  :o :o.......................i can do that  ;D ;D ;D ;D

No ya dope!  You convert your car to 4 lug! ;)

Not to take away from the real topic of this posting, but does anyone know what happened to the Race Shop Fiat?

Guys

FYI, Im trying to buy the wheels, just in case anyone else is thinking about them.

Reason: To put them back on the Race Shop Fiat.

Cheers

Russell

first thing i was thinking when i saw the add and that is was pending.

that should be a very fun project to be working on in my opinion. best off luck with that.

Only problem being the sale pending maybe isnt me !!!

No, but the running gear from the first incarnation went under The Sting, which Jo Gallagher races now. ;)

(http://www.offdrc.co.uk/images/gallery_2008_007/photo_2008_007_009.jpg)

The Race Shop Fiat had standard Fiat drums on the rear, are they 4x130?

Looked good with these wheels on the front :)
Great build up article on the RS Fiat, before it was sent for paint.

(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c50/volkshouse/Fiat/Fiat003.jpg)

Cool post, Joe!  The Cerney's still have a body shop in OC and buy parts from us at Commonwealth occasionally.  Charlie "Chas" Morris was one of the best fabricators around until his untimely passing.  I'd forgotten about those Halibrand spindle mounts... still my favorite. 8)

stock Fiat stud spacing would be 4x98 if I'm not mistaken

the centre hole and the bolt hole patterns do look a little smaller on the vintage period pics, maybe the centre holes have been opened up slightly in the intervening years, which would bring them closer to the bolt holes.

Are we sure they are the same wheels?

If they are "Fiat" spacing, they could never have fit on Vittone's A/MC '67.

Hmmm... you've got a point there...

I question the articles statement about the Fiat using Fiat brakes in the rear. Maybe during the original setup, but it would make more sense that Darrell used late T-1 brake drums (which also would answer why those wheels ended up on the '67). Remember, a lot was changed on the Fiat (roof, nose, paint, heads, wheelie bars, etc), as it was raced.

The Sting has Fiat pcd wheels on the rear, maybe they are from the early build of the RS Fiat?? It does have a lot of the running gear of the Vittone Fiat as Neil pointed out :)

Any conclusion to this yet??

Seeing these wheels reminds me of all the buzz words that we used to describe them, way back when. I think Sarge was the first one to call them "Pie Pans"... as in Marie Callenders. Ron Fleming used to call them "Lizard Wheels"... because they came from the Lizard factory (Deano Dyno-Soars). About '73, DDS wheels began to replace BRMs as the wheel of choice for drag racers, only for the reason of less weight. And about the same time, Hugh Mitchell came out with the spindle mount that allows guys to remove the front brakes/drums. DDS wheels were about $55 each new, and about the same time, used BRMs were going for about $50 each (with caps and lugs).