Reply to "Help with 3 piece wheel identification - BK1494"

quote:

Originally posted by Garvino:
Dear Pantera Friends,

Anyone know who makes a 3 piece wheel having the stamp "BK1494" on the hub side?

I, unfortunately, had a bad experience with a local tire shop today. I had two front wheels develop slight leaks at the beads over the summer - the tires have less than 1000 miles on them. Nothing to bad, but an annoyance since I had to add air to them up a little every week or so.

I verified in a test tank where they were leaking and asked the local hot rod shops where to have them unseated and re-beaded. The guy I usually use had the audacity to retire recently and is no longer in the business.

On arrival to the tire store I explained to the manager that my wheels were custom fit, very expensive wheels, and the issues I was having. The shop reported that he could fix my wheels problem. Since they had been recommended by the local hot rod shops I had faith that they could do what they said.

I received a call a few hours later saying that they had punctured a hole in the sidewall but that the wheel was fine(ended up being a 10 inch gash all the way through the tire). I notified them that I would be down to have a look. Initially, they told me that they had not worked on the second wheel, but evidence suggested otherwise. The second tire's sidewall was tremendously damaged and is now unsafe for any driving.

To top it off the lips on the aluminum rims are all messed up too. They say they will make it right. However, I do not know the brand of the 3 piece wheel - I thought they were HRE. The actual part of the rim that attaches to the cars hub is sandwiched between two outer lips with 40 bolts holding it all together. The wheel has BK1494 stamped on the backside of it. I contacted HRE and they said that the number does not match their records. Does anyone know who uses a similar serial number on their 3 piece wheels so I can contact them?

Any help would be much appreciated. I really like the rims and fear that if I cannot find two new outer lips that I will be forced to replace all 4 wheels.

I will try to post some photos when I get a chance. Thanks for the help. I think I made a wise decision taking the wheels off the car myself and dropping them off. I fear what my car would look like if I let them remove the wheels.

Thanks again.

Devin