I'm new in the Forum and don't want to cause problems, but one of the main reasons I joined was to warn fellow 02-05 owners about the
Wire Wheels from Thunderbird Specialties.
I purchased my '05 50th Anniversary in March 2016 from an individual who bought it new. It had 4,200 miles on it, and was pristine (it still is). This is my dream car, and still love driving it.
In 2017, I decided to purchase the
wire wheels from T-bird Specialties. The price then was about $,3000 or $750 a wheel (see them now for 4,995). When they arrived in July 2017, I had the most prestigious installer in the area mount and balance them. They looked incredible and to me completed the car.
The first trouble I had was leaving the installers. When I jumped on the highway the wheels started to wobble at 50 mph. I brought it back, and we inspected everything to to bottom. I then contacted the number for issues (good luck tryin to find it) I talked to the owner. His first comment was the climate in Upstate NY could be a problem!!! Temp was around 80F when I drove the car, and I store it in a heated basement in the winter. He also said that it would probably dissipate to some extent, which was true. The wobble continues to this day at a speed of about 52 to 60 mph. It is not evident at higher or lower speeds. The next thing he said was that the wheels were designed as "cruising" wheels. My response was that although I never intend to pound on the car, from time to time I may have to go in the 55 to 65 mph range on the highway. He didn't offer anything after that, so I decided to live with it. I read that this is not uncommon with wheels that are true spoked wheels
In 2020, while washing the car, I noticed that the
chrome finish on 2 of the wheels was peeling. On further close inspection I notice the only place the peeling and
rust was occurring was on the hub cover on the back of each wheel. This approximately 8" diameter round cover is made out of a cheap, thin brass material, that is obviously poorly coated.
When I contacted "Mr. Specialty", he completely went on the defense, asking again where I stored it and what I did with the car (The mileage on my car is currently 14,900, so I am averaging less that 2,200 miles a year, and yes, I baby this car). I told him that a lot of my money saved was spent n this car, and I want it to be as perfect as possible. I also asked if I spent $3000 on these wheels, did he think it was right to have them
rust out after driving 6,000 miles in perfect weather conditions?
The final straw is that he blamed the wheel manufacturer down the street for the issue. He then said he was afraid to confront him because he would not do any more work for him and he was essentially being held hostage. He told me he was going to remove the wheels from his site, which he did for a while. It is irritating that now he is advertising the same wheels for $4,995!!!
Finally, the wheels are virtually impossible to fix and re-
chrome. In order to do so, one would have to completely dis-assemble the wheels as the cover is integrated into every single one of the 100 spokes in each wheel. So my prized wheels look like garbage, and there is nothing to do except call it a loss, and return the original
OEM wheels to the car.
Don't buy anything from Thunderbird Specialties - they don't back up what they sell, and are bad business people to deal with!
