"Halibrand Cobra II wheels in......MAGNESIUM

[Mark IV]

I am posting this for the benefit of the internet challenged Mr. Fran Kress. I have NO financial interest in the sale of these wheels, HOWEVER I will highly recommend his products. I know he has been working with the foundry on these wheels for a couple of years and is now ready to offer them. Fran has had wheels done in the past and they are nice. Please direct all questions to Fran. His email to me follows:


I am getting Mag Super Cobra Wheels Made.
The real deal, in MAG.

Any interest?

Please No Tire Kickers.

Buyers must supply me with their back spacing requirements in writing and pay 50% up front.
NO PAYPAL - Cash or check only

Call me 412-441-5750

Fran



--

Fran Kress
Kress Shirts & Kress Motorsport
Shelby, Cobra, GT40, Cars, Parts, & Apparel
412-441-5750
Kress Cobra and Shelby Mustang Parts, Accessories and apparel

[Tutosnake]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

I am posting this for the benefit of the internet challenged Mr. Fran Kress. I have NO financial interest in the sale of these wheels, HOWEVER I will highly recommend his products. I know he has been working with the foundry on these wheels for a couple of years and is now ready to offer them. Fran has had wheels done in the past and they are nice. Please direct all questions to Fran. His email to me follows:


I am getting Mag Super Cobra Wheels Made.
The real deal, in MAG.

Any interest?

Please No Tire Kickers.

Buyers must supply me with their back spacing requirements in writing and pay 50% up front.
NO PAYPAL - Cash or check only

Call me 412-441-5750

Fran



--

Fran Kress
Kress Shirts & Kress Motorsport
Shelby, Cobra, GT40, Cars, Parts, & Apparel
412-441-5750
Kress Cobra and Shelby Mustang Parts, Accessories and apparel

In order for me NOT to be a tire kicker, I need to know the price
Otherwise, I guess I shouldn't contact him

[legenmetals]

$$$-???

[Mark IV]

No idea.......contact Fran for details. I never even thought to ask!

[rodneym]

Well, RodKnock?
Here's your big chance!
Are you gonna do it?

[RodKnock]

We've run "this" up the flag pole a few times.

He'll get the same 3 people interested, except that Rodney has himself a set of REAL Halibrands now, so he may or may not be in for a 2nd set of mags.

It will probably be me and Lew again. Oh joy.

Last time Fran advertised he was making mags, I believe the price was right around $4,400/set. I think.

[bliss]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

No idea.......contact Fran for details. I never even thought to ask!

Reminds me of the old saying "if you have to ask the price you can't afford it"

[1985 CCX]

They are perrrddy though.

[DMXF]

The one in that picture looks like from the small batch of wheels that were made by M&A Castings and sold out the "back door" using Halibrand's patterns around 8 years ago (Halibrand was not pleased). The machining/details were not worked out at that time, as new patterns and machining programs were developed to make the wheels more accurate relative to the ones made in the 90's. This "work in process" state can partially be seen by the step on the inner diameter of the dish where it transitions to the casting. Halibrand never fully completed development to go into regular production again, although the outstanding issues were supposedly not too difficult to resolve.

Availability of new correct magnesium Cobra II wheels would be nice, I would get a set myself for safety in track events or other anticipated severe usage, keeping the original wheels in storage. However, I would want to see, in detail, what the new wheels look like in finished condition, front, back and sides, before putting money down (getting the wheels right involves repetitive samples and comparisons to the originals). M&A had to make new patterns, because Halibrand took the other ones back, so everything is basically starting from scratch, although M&A has the advantage of having make them in the past.

[DMXF]

One other thing potential buyers should be aware of, mostly of concern to original car owners, is that any of these new wheels will not be exact to the original 60's Halibrand wheels because of regulatory changes since these were first made. In order to meet the current requirements, the lip areas are different, which shows up in somewhere around a 3/4" difference in wheel OD (can't remember now which was worse, front or rear).

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DMXF

Availability of new correct magnesium Cobra II wheels would be nice, I would get a set myself...

This whole subject reminds me of a 7th grade dance, where the boys stand on one side of the cafeteria and the girls on the other. You've got guys like RodKnock, who won't post a hard dollar figure that they'd be willing to pony up and pay, and you've got "internet challenged" guys like Kress who can't even post on the forum and have to have guys like Mark IV run the point for them. Then you've got smart guys, like DMXF, who are justifiably skeptical over the whole kit and caboodle. If everyone that wanted the damn things would just write a decent sized check and send it DMXF, with the understanding that he would make sure the product was done right, you could probably get it all done, fast and right, instead of waxing on here, ad nauseum.

[bliss]

Yes, the entire thread seems odd - no price, they really aren't Halibrand's and everyone seems to be stroking each other about possibilities versus reality.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

This whole subject reminds me of a 7th grade dance, where the boys stand on one side of the cafeteria and the girls on the other. You've got guys like RodKnock, who won't post a hard dollar figure that they'd be willing to pony up and pay, and you've got "internet challenged" guys like Kress who can't even post on the forum and have to have guys like Mark IV run the point for them. Then you've got smart guys, like DMXF, who are justifiably skeptical over the whole kit and caboodle. If everyone that wanted the damn things would just write a decent sized check and send it DMXF, with the understanding that he would make sure the product was done right, you could probably get it all done, fast and right, instead of waxing on here, ad nauseum.

Post a hard dollar figure? I'm not the manufacturer or seller, why is that my responsibility? I've been a buyer since I bought my Kirkham 5+ years ago. I would have bought them years ago, if they were available. Fran may eventually post a price, and then I'll make a decision. I'm NOT a buyer "at any price."

As for "stroking", I'm not sure what that means in the context of this thread. And it adds nothing to this thread. Reminds me of me.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I've been a buyer since I bought my Kirkham 5+ years ago.

And an unsuccessful one at that. Look, this is not a box of Good 'n Plenty, you can't just pick them up where you find them. If you, and others, really want them, you should put the money up, so that somebody actually has the cash in their hot little hands, so the deal can be done. If you could find three other people, besides yourself, that would write a check for $5k and send it off to DMXF, I bet he'd deliver with change left over. And if not, he'd just send you your check back. Damn, I'm tempted to just give you the $5k to shut you up.

[RodKnock]

So you propose to have me write a check for $5,000 to someone I don't know and without any sort of paperwork trail or story. And DMXF hasn't even offered his services. Uh huh. Sure.

And is $5,000 the right number? What if the final number is $10,000, what then? I have two sets of Trigos, so I'm not desperate.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

So you propose to have me write a check for $5,000 to someone I don't know and without any sort of paperwork trail or story. And DMXF hasn't even offered his services. Uh huh. Sure.

And is $5,000 the right number? What if the final number is $10,000, what then? I have two sets of Trigos, so I'm not desperate.

That is precisely why, five years from now, you'll be posting "I've been a buyer since I bought my Kirkham 10+ years ago...." And I'll be posting my same wise-ass response.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

That is precisely why, five years from now, you'll be posting [i]"I've been a buyer since I bought my Kirkham 10+ years ago....

And I'll say it proudly and loudly.

Maybe I'll send that $5,000 into the stock market since it's now at it's 1989 high and it keeps going up. Lots of room to run.

[DMXF]

Patrick, I appreciate your confidence in me, but I think I've had enough of car parts deals. I had an arms length agreement with the owner of Halibrand back then to work with their engineer and provide all the details to get their new wheels to be much closer to original than they had previously been. In exchange for my help I was to be able to purchase a half dozen sets at the previous market rates they had been receiving and these sets were to be made to exact as original, incl the old lip design, to be marked on the invoice as "off road use only". I spent many hours sending them photos of my wheels and taking extensive measurements, going back and forth marking up their drawings (virtually nothing was correct as it was). They sent me a front and rear machined sample using the new patterns that still needed major machining setup/dimensional adjustments and I provided extensive feedback on what to address. Near the end of the process Halibrand just said they need to come back to the project later on and left me just hanging - then they proceeded to sell a batch of the wheels to the public with many of the errors still present. I'm not looking to throw my time away in these types of dealings.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DMXF

Patrick, I appreciate your confidence in me, but...

Yes, I had heard of that... and I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to screw around with it again. I wouldn't want to either, for that matter.

[bliss]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

So you propose to have me write a check for $5,000 to someone I don't know and without any sort of paperwork trail or story. And DMXF hasn't even offered his services. Uh huh. Sure.

And is $5,000 the right number? What if the final number is $10,000, what then? I have two sets of Trigos, so I'm not desperate.

Send $20,000 - that should cover it. Case closed. Don't forget, they aren't Halibrand's, never will be.