Hello everyone.
Long time car guy and admirer of Cobras. Aspire to have one... one day! For the moment, I have a set of wheels, which is a great excuse to buy a Cobra.
I recently purchased a nice Manx buggy that has some older tires. They look great and have no dry rot/cracking.... but are well in excess of 10 years old. The good news is the car only weighs maybe 1500lbs and runs 15-17lbs in the tires. It's got a lot more in the pedal, but sees about 65-70 max on the freeway.
It has wheel adapters (4 lug VW to 5 x 4 3/4"), so there are a lot of wheels options I can use. I was considering buying new tires, but I was really hunting another set of wheels/tires as back-ups. The 60's series /15" tires aren't sitting on the shelves at the local tire shops anymore and are special order (pricey too).
After several weeks and found this set with a similar size, backspacing, and 5 x 4 3/4" lug set-up. The previous owner had taken them off his Cobra (he still has the car) years ago and they'd been kept in a controlled environment since. I needed back-ups for an event asap and they looked great... so I jumped on them.
The wheels are 15" Compomotive, 3 piece with all 4 Spinners. They are very clean without any damage or curb rash. The BFGs are in in excellent condition with minimal even wear.
I did my best to measure the rim width/backspacing, but am no expert, so the measurements may not be exact...
* Rear is a 'NB500'. 15" Diameter x 11"W, 5" backplate with net 4 1/2 backspacing (or so). Depth of front of wheel is 5 1/2 (wheel lip to face of face of wheel lug surface).
* Front is a 'HB500'. 15" Diameter x 9"W, 4" backplate with net 3 1/2" backspacing (or so). Depth of front of wheel is 3 1/2 - 4" (wheel lip to face of face of wheel lug surface).
The BFGs are in excellent shape and look to be properly balanced. 12 years old (Date code: 1411). Tread looks excellent with minimal (even) wear and still has whiskers on edges. There is a bit of light colored paint in between a few of the treads on 2 of the tires. Seller said he rolled thru wet paint on the road before switching the wheels.
I used them as back ups at an event out of town but didn't need them thankfully. I staged them for some pics to see how they'd look tho. I have other sets of wheels with that lug pattern (Chevy guy in my early years), I just wasn't sure if anything would match the needed offsets, and I'd still need new tires. Buying these made more sense at the moment.
Since returning from the trip, I did some research and wondering if there's a better home for them. There doesn't seem to be many available or recently sold to get a baseline from. I have little idea of what they are worth or if they are in fact desirable. My understanding is they were used on Cobra replica cars and I'm sure most people are using larger diameter wheels with lower profile tires. 15" may just be old guard... Don't know. It doesn't make too much difference to me personally, but just thought someone else might be really looking for them to complete their project so throwing it out there.
I'd appreciate if anyone could provide an idea of their value/desirability. If they are worth what a new replacement set of wheels and tires cost, then I'd consider selling them. If not, they will work for me and I'm happy with them.
I hadn't anticipated posting this so I apologize for the less than stellar photos. They got a little dust up in the mountains. Thanks All, Dan
Hello from So-Cal.
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