Alright on to part 5 and going strong! This week we have some rarities from Speed Star Racing, August Japan, Hoshino Impul, Super Star Racing, and Hayashi. Check them out below!

Here we have the Challenge Defi 757 Mesh from Speed Star. This ultra-rare model is very hard to come across let alone in this sort of condition. The lesser known mesh is often overshadowed by its sister wheel the Defi Fin, but make no mistake this model might be even more of a special find. Its two-toned face and high quality finish, combined with its rarity, make this one of our favorite mesh! Specs are 15x6J 4H/100 +40 listed here.

The August Japan March Mag has been a really illusive wheel before this year. Three or four sets have popped up over the last 6 months however, which is quite interesting. This set here looks to be a great candidate for a quick refinish and set up on your early 80’s ride. Sized in 15x6J +13 / 15×6.5 +7 4H/114.3. The real trick would be to find the matching centercaps. Check out the listing here.

The Hoshino Impul RS might not be the rarest wheel out there but it does have a certain appeal. This is a special set in that it’s available in NOS condition with all original hardware, caps and boxes. Models can be found in one piece and multi-piece examples. This set is modestly sized in 16x7J +31 / 16x8J +38 5H/114.3 listing can be seen here.

Super Star SSR I seen here is a wild design that isn’t seen frequently, but when they do pop up they almost always sell quick. This pair has quite a few bids and will no doubt pull a worthy price. Sized at 14×7 4H/114.3 +0 the listing can be seen here.

Next up the a special set of Hayashi Racing Street Mag.  Although made in Italy by Campagnolo, these retain JWL/VIA certification.   See the listing here.  Size is an incredibly average 14x6J 4H/114.3 +15. The Street is a timeless design that is taken a step further in this magnesium built wheel. A special centercap came with these specific wheels that can still be found, although not cheap. Keep a keen eye out for these among the ton of standard streets out there!

Lastly The McLaren International MS-1, another Speed Star wheel! This mega-cool pair has been floating around the auctions for quite some time; no surprise as the price is up to 90,000yen for the pair. Specs are 17×9.5 5H/114.3 +30 complete with fined caps and all. The auction can be seen here.

Last month a reader shared with us his Italian made Hayashi Streets.   An interesting find for sure, and enlightening, as we discovered that the stampings on the wheel back and face were identical to those used by Italian manufacturer Campagnolo.  With many wheel manufacturers of decades past deceased, stampings are sometimes the only clues we have to identify unknown wheels, but as we see here, even these stampings can be misleading and confusing.

This Hayashi Bomber for example, was produced only one month after the Street above, but features very differently formatted stampings.  Here the date of production in October of 1981.  Note that the stickers on this particular wheel marked them as being a 1982 model.  Even more interesting is the other logo stamped on the wheel, which I’m sure indicates the actual manufacturer.  In this case, I recognize the logo from other wheels, but can’t actually place it.

And then there are these TR-Mesh, produced 8 months later and marked clearly with the Enkei “E”.  Also not the wording “Supervised by Hayashi Racing”.  Doesn’t seem simple at all.  Note that here, that date stamping is a two digit year over the month (82/6).  In similar format we also see (H/28).  It is unclear what this second stamping indicates, but perhaps a model or production code.  To this day Enkei wheels still have the same markings.

Here is what looks like an interesting note about Hayashi wheels.  We’ve observed a few variations of the popular Street wheel, and one reason for that seems to be that some of them were produced over seas.  These particular wheels, as submitted by a reader, are stamped “Made In Italy” and include on the back side, what appears to be a stamp commonly used by Campagnolo denoting production date of September 1981.  For reference see the image below taken from the backside of a Campagnolo 103E: February 1980.  We also note the font used in stampings is identical to that of Campagnolo’s, as well as the formating of the size and model markings on the wheel face.