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Reply to "Large Diameter Campy Clones available from American Republic Wheels"

Time has taught us that the tire industry is evolving, and that older tires (designed for smaller wheels) are not well supported by the tire industry. Tires for 17" wheels just aren't being supported these days any better than tires for 15" wheels. The vendors selling Campy Clone wheels have not kept-up with modern tire sizes. They are selling expensive wheel sets for tires that in some cases aren't available in matching sets, that have only one choice in make and model, or that have "off-again/on-again" availability issues.

The centers of the Boyd Coddington wheels (now American Republic Wheels) have 3 dimensional "depth" like the OEM Campy wheels, more so than other Campy clone wheels. For instance the frames around the "windows" tilt outwards at an angle whereas other Campy clones are flat as a pancake. To machine the wheel at multi-angles like that requires more time on the CNC machine, and makes the wheel more expensive. These wheels are gorgeous, and I believe they are a good option for Pantera owners.

Boyd Coddington once manufactured the wheels for Pantera East, the Pantera East wheels had several features which made them closer in appearance and function to the OEM Campy wheels than other Campy clones on the market.

  • 62mm hub bore diameter
  • wheel center designed for the OEM logo disc held-in by a circlip, instead of a "pop-in" cap
  • reproduction of the intermediate "step" built into the original wheel
  • old-style (traditional) wheel "lip" design

Boyd Coddington is under new ownership, it is owned by American Republic Wheels now. Please be forewarned their standard "Campi wheel" spec is a rather generic style wheel spec. The "Campi" wheel is not being marketed as a "Pantera" wheel, its for owners of classic American hot rods and muscle cars who like the Campi look. The "generic" wheel lacks the features listed above that were found in the wheels formerly produced for Pantera East. If you want a wheel that is more Pantera-specific or similar to the Pantera East wheel, be sure to start the exchange by explaining you are ordering wheels for a Pantera AND want wheels machined and assembled to the former Pantera East specification, except in terms of diameter, width, and offset. Be specific with what you're looking for. They have a CNC program for the Pantera East wheel, owners have been able to have wheels produced to that spec.

If you do business with them, please share with us your experiences.

I welcome the availability of Campy clones in modern sizes. There's no reason to buy those old school 17 inch wheels any longer, Campi clones can be acquired in 18 or 19 front, 19 or 20 rear. I wish I had known about these wheels when I purchased the HRE wheels for 6018 ... I would have preferred the Campy clones (would have been $1420 less expensive than the HRE wheels too).

Thanks for posting this Larry!

-G
Last edited by George P
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