interesting address , this is in the Industrial area of Beverly Hills .......hahaha
Well really its a bunch of large corporate office buildings next to Beverly Hills
interesting address , this is in the Industrial area of Beverly Hills .......hahaha
Well really its a bunch of large corporate office buildings next to Beverly Hills
Even though I bought Chandler's Anacondas, FB decided that I needed these.
But no matter how hard I squint, I can't make this set of Shelbys measure out to 5 1/2", so I will share the listing here. Maybe 130MM?? ~Edit~ while saving the images for prosperity, I see they are indeed 130mm.
More Panasport...
...these have yet another center cap design.
From 1983
I really like this finish on the T/A Superlite, but so far they do not offer 16x7 and anyway they're quite expensive.
Here's a backside shot of them,
15x8
May contact Performance in Australia directly just to get some info though.
They used to be distro'd in the USA by Pack Racing but apparently they're no longer around?
Did read a thread on the NAM MINI forum from wayback 2007 stating that the 16x7 +35 4x100 Superlite weighed in at 20 pounds and if that is accurate then my interest is lost because I'd be hesitant to pay so much for a weight gain over the RB's, but I just can't help looking at all this stuff! LOL
Love an awesome wheel thread. Especially about eight spokers. But who doesn't?
Just stumbled across these blue Minilites and they're pretty damn cool.
Although they seem a little lighter in shade than the historic ones,
but even those appear to be different hues depending on lighting.
Still trying to wrap my head around people kvetching about knockoffs of knockoffs.
Yeah, I don't know if its still such a vehement thing,
but at one time the JDM gatekeeping was pretty intense.
I can sort of understand where they're coming from though because many of the "fakes" were dressed up with replica stickers to make them appear authentic at a glance. If I was a serious collector who had invested much time, energy, and money in acquiring 'the real deal' guess I'd be a bit peeved too at the 'hardparking poseurs' trying to flex legit. LOL
This article gives a grasp of that perspective:
Now let’s get one thing perfectly clear. It’s no secret that I don’t like fake/knock-off wheels….but if you have them, that’s your perogative and you do you. My major issue, is when people rock the fake wheels and put on the stickers of the real deal wheels and try to front like they’re legit. Nothing says “fakin’ the funk” more than when people try to fool people into thinking they got the real stuff when they don’t. It’s almost like clothing and shoe collectors you know. I mean I personally don’t collect Bape stuff or Dunks or whatever but if you see someone rocking fake Bape junk, you’re gonna call them out on it. If you’re one of those guys with fake wheels rockin’ the real stickers, what makes you any better than that guy that has fake Jordans or knock-off Nike SBs? It just ain’t right. Some people call hardparkers “Hypebeasts” but these people who front are the biggest hypebeasts of them all. Obviously rockin the decals ain’t gonna make you feel any better about yourself. You’re doing it purely because of the fact that you just want to impress others…
More Minilite ~~~ thanks to Hank Thorp we have a fairly detailed history of Minilites introduction to the USA because he was dragged into court and the legal document summary tells us quite a good bit, timeline of when first imported, or like how they became such a thing in Trans Am for example...
...it is a long read but clear and concise:
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/474/228/1964595/
.
Here's a new-old-stock survivor that I recently saw on social media:
Regarding that NOS wheel, dang. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, really cool to see one that looks 'factory fresh' no doubt, will link to the original post where I saw it on FB as there are a couple more pix in different lighting:
And,
I couldn't get those Gp4 spec Ford Blue Minilites out of my head and went looking for period footage of them in use, so here's some archival VHS to get A Little Bit Sideways...
*video footnote:
maybe they're not actually "ford blue", some of the Triumph TR7's run them also, and in some of the shots of the Fiat-Abarth 131 you'll notice the co-driver sitting in the backseat!
I can't find much information on them, but apparently these were reinforced Minilites with extra alloy added at the base and top of the spokes to deal with the extra stresses imposed by endurance racing or perhaps off-roading.
I believe they were used in the 959 Dakar in select races, but its hard to tell.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:An interesting variation with increased material at the hub and rim for added strength I assume.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:I can't find much information on them, but apparently these were reinforced Minilites with extra alloy added at the base and top of the spokes to deal with the extra stresses imposed by endurance racing or perhaps off-roading.
I believe they were used in the 959 Dakar in select races, but its hard to tell.
Ah yes, the infamous Penilites!
Good eye on the P-car that ran them special for certain Safari stages, and although Rothmans was their main sponsor, those wheels were a subtle tie-in to one of their minor sponsors...
Enkei has made quite a good many different variations, perhaps moreso than any other manufacturer, and they continue to develop new design tweaks of their Compe-8, like this fairly recent all eighteen.
I still daydream about building some sort of 70s replica rally car. A Chevette with a Vauxhall HSR body kit, Hellas, and some Rota RBs would do it. I have an article on a Vauxhall Chevette, powered by a Honda S2000 engine and lightened for track day use. It makes 250 HP and weighs 750 kilos. I wonder how light one could build an American spec Chevette shell.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:I still daydream about building some sort of 70s replica rally car. A Chevette with a Vauxhall HSR body kit, Hellas, and some Rota RBs would do it. I have an article on a Vauxhall Chevette, powered by a Honda S2000 engine and lightened for track day use. It makes 250 HP and weighs 750 kilos. I wonder how light one could build an American spec Chevette shell.
That would be really cool for sure no doubt.
They look absolutely fantastic in rally spec!
And even without the HSR box flares, the HS still looks very damn good too.
Pic of the HS reminds me how much I love classic 3 door hatches and greatly lament with an oldman gnashing of teeth cloud-yell at their demise, sadly being overthrown by the 'more practical' 5 door bodies that have taken over vogue.
Also brings to mind a bibliophilic wish of mine --- that someone would make a comprehensive history book of the hot hatch. I've looked and cannot find anything of recent vintage that covers their evolutionary timeline as a whole, so to get a good sense would have to string together multiple specialist niche books which are usually quite pricey.
Even the round fender flares look good....
Rims on the HS were the same rims as the Cosworth Vega got here, although I think a Chevette is 4x100 and a Vega is 4x4......
Panasport makes a version specifically for Formula Fords. That's what I run on my car.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:Rims on the HS were the same rims as the Cosworth Vega got here, although I think a Chevette is 4x100 and a Vega is 4x4......
That's awesome, those are cool wheels!
Last year on the way home from an out-of-state job had to stop in Carlisle Pa to get a motel and something was going on because I saw more than several Cossie Vegas, took a bad snap of one that was only a few doors down from my room, was late and didn't get to talk to the owner and sadly had to leave early 4:00 am so didn't make it to the fairgrounds either, wish that I could have gone to scope 'em all out!
I have a very similar dreamride to yours,
mine is a Mk1 Fiesta with supercharged Zetec...
https://www.fastcar.co.uk/cars/modified-mk1-ford-fiesta/
I've always had a soft spot for the UK/German Fords but have never owned one,and to be honest I think I'd be pretty happy with just a slightly hopped-up stock Mk1 Fiesta but they're increasingly difficult to find.
All this Blue Oval in my brain made me dig out an old mag to flip thru pages and noticed when reading about a California-owned '66 Cortina they noted the Panasports as being 'classic American' which is of course true because they are a USA company despite being Japanese-made, just sort of struck me.
APEowner said:Panasport makes a version specifically for Formula Fords. That's what I run on my car.
AWESOME!
More Ford!
It is so much fun to watch FF, imagine that actually racing in that series is tremendously rewarding.
In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
I was born and raised in the province of Quebec and we had a round of the World Rally Championship in the mid-seventies. Some friends and I spent a day following the cars around to various stages, so I've seen the Rothmans Group 4 Ford Escorts and Andy Dawson's Group 2 Datsuns in person. It was pretty impressive.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
I was born and raised in the province of Quebec and we had a round of the World Rally Championship in the mid-seventies. Some friends and I spent a day following the cars around to various stages, so I've seen the Rothmans Group 4 Ford Escorts and Andy Dawson's Group 2 Datsuns in person. It was pretty impressive.
Yowza!
I bet it was impressive indeed, would have loved to have been a witness to that.
Just spent a few minutes browsing an Italian forum that has some gorgeous pictures from the Critérium du Québec Molson Rallye and I was swept away...
https://rallymania.forumfree.it/?t=67107795
:
and another shot because blue Minilites... 
In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
I was sitting on a split rail fence, waiting for the cars to come through one stage on the Friday afternoon. The stage gets shut down due to farm traffic, but Vatinen comes through , heading to service, so he's flying...literally. The car was 2-3 feet above the road after a yump, and he's looking over at me on the fence and waves to me ! Thirty minutes later I leave the end of the road and there's his car ,beside the highway, just finishing service. They changed the transmission on the shoulder in less than 30 minutes.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:In reply to Oldboy Speedwell :
I was sitting on a split rail fence, waiting for the cars to come through one stage on the Friday afternoon. The stage gets shut down due to farm traffic, but Vatinen comes through , heading to service, so he's flying...literally. The car was 2-3 feet above the road after a yump, and he's looking over at me on the fence and waves to me ! Thirty minutes later I leave the end of the road and there's his car ,beside the highway, just finishing service. They changed the transmission on the shoulder in less than 30 minutes.
WOW!
You've conjured a Dear God moment and I cannot resist...
...and seriously,
thank you for sharing that memory --- the wonderful way you wrote it up was perfectly descriptive and as I read along I could visualize it in my mind, seeing him waving at you, and wowsers, that's damn near a transcendental moment right there in my book!
Love the look of the Panasports, only had the budget for used Konig Rewinds that I refinished in brake dust grey (graphite)
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