Hey Verne,
I'm guessing that production realities pushed the Radir guys into their decisions. The steel/aluminum hybrid construction basically doubles or triples the amount of production steps and vendor/labor/handling issues. They had to be worried about cost, since with NOS ones around for only$200 a pop, how much demand could they expect? While very interesting and a symbol of the '63/'65 era, I don't think you can call them an iconic design or anything.
Its a lot like the arguments about remixed and remastered music from that era. To those who know the material intimately and grew up with it, the changes are off-putting and upsetting. But to those who have only vague knowledge or are just discovering it, the changes aren't an issue, and may even be preferable.
Of course we all have our focuses and perceptions. Your picture of that black 409 car sporting "real" wheels is a case in point. I'm sure when you look at that picture, you immediately see the "right" wheels. The first thing I saw when I looked at the picture was that big doughy-looking radial tire, because in my mind's eye, those types of wheels need narrow bias plys and/or thumbprint cheater slicks to make "the look". Obviously, it could be argued that the radial is a much better performing, cheaper alternative, which is ironically the same argument that could be made for constructing the wheels out of cast or billet aluminum.
Sometimes we're just a little too close to things to be objective and this may be one of those cases. I think sharing your knowledge about how to identify and collect "real" Raders is great, but these brutal diatribes against the new Radirs and the people that choose them don't serve you well as an ambassador for the love and appreciation of authentic Raders.
JMO, which sometimes gets me in trouble, too. (Like right now, perhaps?)
Respectfully,
TOM BRESKE
PS. Thanks, Verne, for looking at that little black Ford for my friend. The car is as nice as you described, and your inspection made the whole deal a lot less worrisome for him.
That type of thing is what makes you a great asset to the hobby, not being potentially infamous as the guy who goes postal when inaccurate reproductions of a semi-obscure custom wheel are displayed in public..
