Wheel Locks

I think they are cast steel. When smoothing them they didn’t have a dull spark like cast iron. Jim

In the steel industry, there used to be people who went around and spark tested (with a grinder) large semi finished pieces of steel, specifically ingots, slabs, blooms and billets. Since all carbon steel basically looks the same, spark testing was a rough means of identifying the grade.

Below is how to read the Sparks.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_testing

David, the brass ones were being made by a guy in the Studebaker Club. I bought a few sets that I needed and they fit well. About a year ago the casting pattern to make them was on E-bay, I was the back bidder… So I don’t know who has it now. I hope we will see someone using this pattern again to keep the Hobby supplied with locks in the future. I don’t know any other supplier at this time. Karl

I am missing one of these keepers on a spare.

I figured if I ever needed to use the spare I would just move the lock to it.

I would love to have another one so that all my wheels had them.

In my mind they must be needed otherwise so many manufacturers wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to use them.

David said he’s run without them for years but I would feel safer knowing the ring is securely held in place.

Who knows, maybe with modern tube and tire manufacturing processes the locks really are an unneeded relic of the past.

The locks were fitted to numerous cars of the 20’s. My lancia Lambda has them as did Minerva, etc. Although these ones are of pressed heavy steel with a safety pin type retainer. The primary purpose was that when you had a flat at speed the lock ring did not come off & disappear into the oncoming traffic at high speed!!1 I have had this happen on the Lancia at 60mph! The ring was doing at least 80 mph when it was catapulted off. Fortunately (???) it went under a Semi Trailer going the other way!! It came out the other side looking like a stick of licorice! This convinced me to fit the retainers!!