Shelby Wheel & Accessories Catalogs

[Mike B]

I have a couple of old Shelby Wheel, Tire, and Accessories catalogs and I thought some of you might be interested in these, since several of the wheels were popular for the 240Z at the time. There are also a couple of other Z related accessories shown. Note the Sidwinder 6 slot wheels. I think there have been questions as to who made these. This is from a 1972 catalog and they indicate it was an exclusive design for Shelby at that time. Also note the 240Z side stripe kits. A later Wheel Application guide (dated around 1982) shows the AR Libre style wheels spelled Liebre. It is interesting that in the 1972 catalog, the Libre style wheels are called Vipers.

I also included the 4-2-73 retail pricing list so you can see what the period pricing was. I also have some application charts if anyone is interested in those.

-Mike

[Arne]

Really great stuff, Mike, thanks! Very interesting, especially to someone like myself who sold Shelby wheels in the early '80s.

I find it interesting to note that the Viper is listed as having an offset of -1/2", rather than the zero offset of the AR Libres.

I think I'd really like to find a matched set of Sidewinders for my car. I'd probably prefer the 5.5", but with the positive offset they list even the 6.5" should be OK. Good stuff.

[JonnyRock]

I'm only 21, so most of my experience with wheel culture has involved "dubs" and the like. Hell, now they're manufacturing 30+ inch wheels.

But it's really funny to me that there was a market for 10x4 inch Shelby wheels! It's also hard for me to believe that Shelby made wheels specifically for Hondas as early as 1972. Crazy I tell you!

[Arne]

Update - Take a good look at the description Shelby uses for offset in the diagram on page 6. Their definition is backwards!! So their -1/2" offset for the Vipers is more shallow, not deeper. This makes more sense to me, as most Libres and clones (there's a word we never heard in the early '70s) have what we today all call a positive offset.

This also means that the +9/16" offset on the 6.5" Sidewinders would make them very deep, a bit deeper than a 7" with zero offset. So I guess I only want the 5.5" set. :classic:

[twsutt]

Page 6 has the positive and negative offset reversed from what we use today. Is this a typo, or have things changed since '72?

EDIT: Hey Arne, it looks like I'm gonna' have to get up pretty early to beat you to the punch.

[Mike B]

Arne,

Yeah, I would like to have a set of the 6 slot sidewinders for one of my cars as well. I bought a set of three 6 slot wheels off ebay several months ago. I have tried to track down a forth one, but no luck so far. They don't have any markings to indicate they are Shelby wheels (unlike the Vipers I have), but based on the comment in the catalog I am assuming they are Shelbys.

Jon, I am more than 20 yrs older than you and my first car was a 1978 honda civic CVCC. I thought those were some of the earliest Hondas imported to the US, but recently I have found out that they were around long before that. Jay Leno has a 1964 SM600 that was kind of a forerunner of the S2000 that have now (you can check it out on jaylenosgarage.com). Japanese Nastolgic Car magazine had several older Honda models in its first issue a month or two ago.

-Mike

[Arne]

Mike, I'm another 10 years older yet, my first car was a '63 MG 1100. Basically the same as an Austin America, but a manual transmission and factory dual SUs. Think of it as the original Mini Cooper's slightly larger brother.

Front drive cars were not common in those days, things have changed...

[rtaylor]

Arne, that is quite bizarre. My first car was an MG 1100 as well. A red one. Quite minimalistic but did seat four.

[Arne]

Mine was a two-door in BRG. Always loved that wood dash. My mom bought it new in '64. Drove the wheels off that little guy...

[DeMoore]

Update - Take a good look at the description Shelby uses for offset in the diagram on page 6. Their definition is backwards!! So their -1/2" offset for the Vipers is more shallow, not deeper. This makes more sense to me, as most Libres and clones (there's a word we never heard in the early '70s) have what we today all call a positive offset.

This also means that the +9/16" offset on the 6.5" Sidewinders would make them very deep, a bit deeper than a 7" with zero offset. So I guess I only want the 5.5" set. :classic:

On the page where they list the replacement caps they switch some of the labeling for the 4 and 5 lug wheels caps, too. Just a couple of typos, I'm guessing.

On another note, I just bought a set of shelby cal 500 5-slots for 75 bucks a couple of months ago and they're great! They change the whole look of the car!

[Poindexter]

Wow Mike, thank you! I have my original dealer-installed Cal 500 5-slots on my 2/71 and- as with all of the parts on my car- I like having documentation on everything. I just called Shelby *last week* looking for info! I was looking for new period-correct replacement caps to install, before the original Cobra logos were obliterated, and was steered (sorry for the pun ) to Massey on eBay, and they had everything for those wheels- in case anyone else is searching.

[Arne]

Did Massey have the proper four ear center caps?