58-61 F.I. air cleaner & 5.5" wide wheels ?

[Curt S.]

Can anyone tell me who reproduces the best quality (closest to OEM):
1) 58-61 F.I. air cleaner;
Metal, large "X", its my understanding there are/were only two copies of the metal version being sold on the market by all the parts houses. One was a good knockoff and one wasn't. I searched the 3 yrs of archives but didn't find who makes the "good" version.

2) 15 x 5.5" wide wheels (RPO 276);
I checked around, but only found the 15 x 5" available, no 5.5". Anyone know exactly what applications work for appearances. Its my understanding that the 63/64 base Corvette and full size passenger "police" rims (not sure what years) are close. I'm not too concerned about riveted/welded, presence/absence of tire safety bead etc. Just need the inner knubs to hold the dog dish caps and no outer knubs (used for full wheel covers). I pulled some of this info from Jerry Wagners article here: www.libertyship.com/rpo/RPO1.htm Again, I've searched the archives, but ?
Carlisles drawing near and I need to make my shopping list
-Many thanks

[William C.]

Re: 58-61 F.I. air cleaner & 5.5" wide wheels ?

David Crane makes (or made) the more accurate air cleaner as far as I know.

[Ed Jennings]

Re: 58-61 F.I. air cleaner & 5.5" wide wheels ?

That is my understanding as well. The AC for my 62 came from there in round about fashion and appears to be very correct.

[Mike E.]

Re: 58-61 F.I. air cleaner & 5.5" wide wheels ?

Dave used my NOS 62 air cleaner and my used 58-61 cleaner for his pattern-maker to copy. When he was done, I had to put each next to the repro in order to tell which was original and which was repro. They're that good. In fact, three years ago at Carlisle, I bought what I presumed was a used repro--when I got it home, I could tell only by the filter inside, that it was an original. Crane's is head and shoulders above the others.

[Curt S.]

Re: 58-61 F.I. air cleaner & 5.5" wide wheels ?

Thanks all for the responses. This begs two more questions;
-Who produces the cheaper 58-61 $800 metal FI air cleaner copy & where does it fall short compared to Cranes $1100 unit (or an original for that matter) ie. what exactly should we unsuspecting flea marketers be looking for when comparing the two ?
-Which parts houses (CC, Paragon etc) carry the Crane unit, or does he only sell direct ?
Thanks again.