Vintage American Racing Torq - Thrust “D“ Wheel Restoration: 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback; Part 1 of 2

[@harrycatrell1471]

Thanks for sharing, Casey! The wheels look right at home on the Mustang! As a matter of fact, those are the wheels I have decided to put on the '29 Special Coupe I'm currently building! I hope the beer was tasty! (smile) Enjoy your week! Be safe!

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Thanks Harry! Are they original “D” wheels!? Awesome!

[@albertosolorio1201]

4 RR RR y

[@MarkMeadows90]

I love those old school Torq Thrust wheels. My dad has always called them "Bullitt" wheels because they gained even more popularity after they were on the Bullitt Mustang.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

I’m sure that had every Mustang owner who watched that movie wanting a set. I mean, how could it not, right!?

[@flatheadronsgarage7345]

Wheels are going to be nice Casey. Had to modify my wires from 5 on 4 3/4 to fit 5 on 5. It was fun. Looking forward to seeing the finish. Love a good IPA myself. Be safe. Thanks for sharing, Cheers 🍻👍👍👍

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Nice! That could be really tricky on a set of wires that has the small hub opening… Thanks Ron! Cheers!! 🍻

[@DiablitoSpeedz]

Very cool vid buddy !

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Thank you sir! Glad you liked it!!

[@qykryd]

Great video dude, I am binge watching your 68 FB videos as I want to upgrade my rims on my own 68 FB

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Awesome, Shauno! I’m glad you found me on here, and I’m stoked that you like what I’m doing. Thanks for checking out the channel, and for subscribing! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

[@SmackeysGarage]

"Only 7% ABV" :D Sounds good!

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Smackey! Somehow I missed this one. I just found out that I can see comments in the KZbin Studio thing…still learning. Hope you’re well! PS-The beer was delicious! 😊

[@brenttuttle2692]

I was just thinking about doing this to a couple rims for an old gasser I have.👍

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Right on! What kind of gasser?

[@brenttuttle2692]

@@crazycaseyscustoms 1956 Dodge Coronet. I dig the channel keep up the good work👍

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Awesome,@@brenttuttle2692. I used to have a ‘53 Meadowbrook…but it was more of a sled .

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

And thank you,@@brenttuttle2692. 🙏🏼

[@leedaniel7037]

Good job man

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Thanks Lee!

[@driveway_finds]

Looks like you machined in the center of the hole? How did that work with Chevy pattern being 5x4.75 and Ford being 5x4.5? Thanks!

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

I put 5x4.75” hubs on the car. Seemed wrong to ruin a pretty rare set of wheels when I could just change a part, and run them as is.

[@driveway_finds]

@@crazycaseyscustoms thanks for the response! What hub did you use? Do you have a stock ‘68 spindle still?

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

I’m actually running Baer billet hubs on a 70-73 spindle with the Boss 302 Trans Am brake setup, @@driveway_finds. It’s a combo of Baer, Street or Track, and Cobra Automotive stuff.

[@driveway_finds]

@@crazycaseyscustoms thank you!

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Happy to help,@@driveway_finds. If you scroll back a bit on my videos page, you’ll find an install on the brakes that goes into more detail.

[@MartsGarage]

Nice job, Casey. I hear ya on picking up the wrong drill. (whoops). Did you have any broken hub cover screws to contend with? Mart.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

No broken screws, though now it occurs to me that I probably should have double checked all the threads while I had the wheels mounted to my mill table. 🤦‍♂️ Oh well…I like doing things twice. 😊 Keeps me from getting bored. I hope you’re well. Looking forward to more of your cool projects.

[@MalibuMark-tg6ob]

Hi Casey, I’m looking to restore a set of original torque thrust wheels, curious as to what happened to part 2 of your restoration.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Hey Mark! So, those wheels are sitting under the car, which is currently on jack stands. BUT, I need to move it soon, so I need to finish those wheels. I’m hoping I’ll have time to film it; I can’t promise anything, because we’re trying to get moved right now, but I will try, AND, if I do, I’ll post it here for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@MalibuMark-tg6ob]

Thanks for the reply Casey. These wheels I’m looking to restore for my buddy are off a 29’ Ford roadster that was in the Prowlers car club in San Diego since the 60’s! The car is still intact but does need some tlc which we are giving it to make it road worthy again. Hope your move goes well. 🤙🏽

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

That’s AWESOME@@MalibuMark-tg6ob. Are you documenting the project anywhere? I’d like to follow along.

[@brandoncoriell2944]

Hey there bud, I saw your thread on a Mustang Forum last night and I commented on it with some pics of some NOS 60's Torq Thrust wheels I have. I'm curious if you can tell me if they are what you have been talking about.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

I’ll go look, Brandon.

[@brandoncoriell2944]

@@crazycaseyscustoms When you get a chance to view them please let me know if you can tell what it is I have. It seems you are pretty knowledgeable with the early TT's. Find me on here or the Mustang forum. Thanks again hope to talk soon!

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

@@brandoncoriell2944 those are early Torq-Thrust (not Torq-Thrust D) wheels. They are now sold as the “Torq-Thrust Original”, or TTO, and sometimes referred to as the “straight spoke Torq-Thrust”. Now, how early is the real question. I didn’t see a “Made in USA” on them. The best that I can figure it, my wheels are around 1968-1970 vintage, and they say “Made in USA” on the back. I’m not saying that your wheels aren’t made in the USA, but I think American quit putting that on them in the 70’s or 80’s. The earliest wheels say “San Francisco, CA” on them. Now, I did notice that your boxes say Brisbane, CA on them, which confuses me, because by the mid-70’s the wheels were being made in Torrance. Maybe they still had extra boxes after the move!? My “guess”, and that’s all it is, is that these are an early to mid 70’s wheel. Any other clues amongst the packaging?

[@brandoncoriell2944]

@@crazycaseyscustoms Oh my most defintely say "Made in USA" real large on the backside of them. I ended up contacting the speed shop here in town and asked them if they had an idea and I was told by the owner (who was my godfather's friend) that based on the shop address they were at on the boxes that they had to be prior to 1963-64. So I believe that these wheels very well could be from the original year they came out. My godfather purchased them for his Willy's drag car he never built and they have sat in a barn ever since. Until this past year when I was able to get them. Now I just need to find out what they may be worth. I have all four wheels, both boxes, the dividers that contain the center caps, lugs and washers.

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

NEW IN BOX!! @@brandoncoriell2944 😊

[@justinw523]

I can show you a pair of these that’s on my 1973 Hondo Jet Boat trailer that is small Ford lug pattern

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Well, if you have a legit aluminum American Racing 15x7” flat spoke crows foot “D” wheel in a 5x4.5” bolt pattern, then you have one of the rarest wheels in existence, my friend. But I can’t tell you how many times people have said that and then either wound up having the regular curved spoke wheel, a 14x6” wheel, or a Japanese knock off like an Appliance wheel, or something else. I even found a set once where the lug holes were so worn they’d fit the 5x4.5” pattern, but on inspection it was obvious that they were originally made for 5x4.75”. The only set I have ever seen of a true vintage aluminum 15” “D” wheel in 5x4.5” were 15x6”, and even still, that’s the only set of 4 wheels I have ever seen in almost two decades of hunting. The mags are still out there, and they’re not even all that rare, but they’re just expensive, and usually not even usable. But I can honestly say that an aluminum early style American Racing Torq Thrust “D” in 15x7” and 5 on 4.5” pattern is a wheel I have never actually found an actual example of. If you have a set, and on a boat trailer no less, then my hat is off to you, sir.

[@justinw523]

The ones on my boat trailer is in fact identical to the ones in your video I’m not sure if they are rare like you say but I do know the front spokes and backside are identical to yours and they are 5x4.5, I found your video cause I’m done restoring the hull now I’m fixing to get started on the trailer and wheels they are in need of a good cleaning and possibly restored

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

Right on, @@justinw523. That’s pretty cool! If they’re American Racing Torq Thrust “D” wheels they’ll say that, cast right into the back side of the wheel. If they don’t, but they look “exactly” like mine, then they are a Japanese-made Appliance brand wheel. The Appliance wheels from Japan were an exact copy of the early American TTD’s and fool quite a few people. As it is, they’re a great looking wheel and still worth a fair bit of money. They won’t say “Appliance” anywhere on them; they just won’t say anything. But if they DO say American Racing Torq Thrust “D” on the back side, then you have the real deal.

[@blairlindsay5791]

let’s put Betor forks on a B25

[@crazycaseyscustoms]

I put Betor forks on a T-120C once. Then I sold it, bought it back for 2x as much without the forks on it, and then put Ceriani’s on it. And now that the market’s tanked it’s probably worth what I sold it for the first time. 😂 But I’d be glad to help with your project! 😊