Crager Wheels

Crager Wheels are a type of wheel that has a crater in it.

The original crager wheels belonged to Cragar S/S, with subsequent variants appearing on SUVs, trucks, and even some automobiles, but these wheels are intended particularly for hot rod type cars and are thus more expensive. Bell Auto Parts was the original home of the crager wheels, located in Los Angeles, prior to the business’s tremendous development, which resulted in the company manufacturing crager wheels being one of the United States’ multinational empires, and eventually becoming one of the world’s. In fact, crager wheels were formerly considered untrustworthy, but have now earned their reputation. It took years for what started out as a scrap yard business to blossom into an autoparts company that specialized in tiny engine parts to become the one-stop shop for anybody looking to beef up their engine – or even construct their own custom hotrod.

A first-class technician, Wight had a solid reputation for altering and tuning racing engines, and he worked with several top-tier teams. Duesenberg was known for generating mechanical marvels in the racing world throughout the first half of the twentieth century, with cars reaching speeds of up to 140 miles per gallon. However, a Goossen design for a three-cylinder head model was purchased by Crane Gartz, of the Crane Publishing House in Los Angeles, along with machinery and other equipment, when the Great Depression prevented development of future racing versions. Gartz partnered with Harlan Fengler, a racing icon from Indianapolis, to create a firm. The firm began producing the overhead valve (OHV) version of the Miller-Goossen heads, which increased the output of a standard Model A vehicle to 86 horsepower at 3200 rpm. The Cragar head was given its name because of its shape.

At the close of World War II, lightweight wheels made of sand-cast magnesium were created for use on the racing circuit. These were eventually refined for the street market, with centers made of cast aluminum and steel rims that were chrome-plated and glued to one another. Richter determined that the strength component could be increased, and with the addition of a more aesthetically pleasing design, he began manufacturing his own brand of high-quality wheels that were also reasonably priced. Richter obtained the estate from Wight’s widow, as well as the Cragar brand, and it was under this name that he launched his new concept wheel, which is still in operation today. This wheel had a unique design in which the aluminum alloy center and steel rim were joined together by pressure casting, rather than rivets or screws, to form a seamless unit.

Following rigorous testing, it was discovered that this one-of-a-kind design was capable of withstanding a force of 42,000 pounds before the center separated from the rim. This was more than double the amount of any other rival that was currently on the market at the time. It was Ray Brock, the publisher of the car magazine “Hot Rod,” who purchased the first set of cragar wheels in 1964 and installed them on his 1964 Mustang. Because of undetectable faults in the original cragar wheels, they were changed into the five-spoke Cragar S/S and used on a plethora of racing vehicles before making their way onto the street market, where they were met with unqualified success.