French and Hecht wheels

Wheels, hubs and tires
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rpd m
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French and Hecht wheels

#1

Post by rpd m »

Can anyone tell me when wheels stamped with the F&H from were used by Kelsey Hayes? F&H was a sub-contractor to Kelsey Hayes for 40 spoke wheels until Kelsey Hayes bought out the company in 1943. What years did F&H supply wheels to KH for? What years would they be correct for on Harley's as they are an OEM part?
1950Panhead
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#2

Post by 1950Panhead »

French and Hecht was a wheel manufacturer in Davenport Iowa.
They made wheels for John Deere and most (or all?) or the tractor manufacturers.
I have never seen an F&H stamp on a Harley wheel.
You have one? Post a photo please.
Jerry
rpd m
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Re: French and Hecht wheelsmessage:%3CBLU436-SMTP217210BD5ED

#3

Post by rpd m »

I will attempt to send pics. Wheel has star hub with F&H inside a circle located on inside of wheel.message:
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#4

Post by Bigincher »

Ironic that this same subject just came up on another popular forum full of knowledgeable people. Plenty of answers there.

While walking the Dixon AMCA meet last year with my good friend Chris Haynes, I had this F&H wheel in my hands. Chris called Bruce Palmer and sent him a photo of the markings.
Bruce informed us that F&H was a subcontractor to Kelsey-Hayes who made rims for K-H when they couldn't keep up with demand.

These F&H rims were made to the same spec as K-H; personally, I wouldn't hesitate to run one and call it authentic.

I don't know the exact years they made rims for K-H. Maybe that info will be in Bruce's new book...!

Regards,
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1950Panhead
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#5

Post by 1950Panhead »

What is the date stamp on this wheel?
Bruce informed us that F&H was a subcontractor to Kelsey-Hayes who made rims for K-H when they couldn't keep up with demand.
Well, in that case I'm guessing 47,48,49,50.
Jerry
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#6

Post by Bigincher »

1950Panhead wrote:What is the date stamp on this wheel?
We could not find a date stamp.
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#7

Post by RUBONE »

Well if they only made 16" wheels and were bought out in '43 it seems it leaves only the period from '40-'43 for their hallmark to appear. Has anyone seen it on an 18" rim? As H-D was gearing up for war production and Kelsey was making 18s by the thousands for them it seems a likely time frame. How many '40-'42 date coded KH rims out there?
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#8

Post by cdndewey »

RUBONE wrote:Well if they only made 16" wheels and were bought out in '43 it seems it leaves only the period from '40-'43 for their hallmark to appear. Has anyone seen it on an 18" rim? As H-D was gearing up for war production and Kelsey was making 18s by the thousands for them it seems a likely time frame. How many '40-'42 date coded KH rims out there?
Robbie....the rim he is asking about has a 5 75 date code stamped in it. So that puts it May 1975.

He was told, that FH stands for "French and Hecht", who was a sub-contractor to Kelsey-Hayes, producing rims for K-H and supplied to HD by K-H. At some point, Kelsey-Hayes bought out their sub-contractor French-Hecht.
The F-H rims are absolutely identical to the K-H rims.

Their wheels are typically marked with an
F&H, FH, or with the name spelled out. The
company was purchased by Kelsey-Hayes in
1943, and by Titan Intl. in 1988.
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#9

Post by RUBONE »

the rim he is asking about has a 5 75 date code stamped in it. So that puts it May 1975.
Who is "he", as there is no such question on this thread? The OP says he has a star hub wheel. Nothing about '75 that I see. Or are there multiple threads?
Nothing pictured on this thread has a safety bead on it, and all the rims after '68 did. So apparently I am missing something in the question.
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#10

Post by cdndewey »

RUBONE wrote:
the rim he is asking about has a 5 75 date code stamped in it. So that puts it May 1975.
Who is "he", as there is no such question on this thread? The OP says he has a star hub wheel. Nothing about '75 that I see. Or are there multiple threads?
Nothing pictured on this thread has a safety bead on it, and all the rims after '68 did. So apparently I am missing something in the question.
The very first post by rpd m. I assumed that was what you were talking about when I quoted you. That's the rim we're trying to find info about.
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#11

Post by 58flh »

Maybe my moniters bad ,but I see no date-code or mention of one--Respectfuly---RICHIE
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#12

Post by cdndewey »

58flh wrote:Maybe my moniters bad ,but I see no date-code or mention of one--Respectfuly---RICHIE

1950Panhead asked about a date code on the F H rim that was brought up in the first post. Bigincher responded and showed a picture of a rim.

Rubone then asked "Well if they only made 16" wheels and were bought out in '43 it seems it leaves only the period from '40-'43 for their hallmark to appear. Has anyone seen it on an 18" rim? As H-D was gearing up for war production and Kelsey was making 18s by the thousands for them it seems a likely time frame. How many '40-'42 date coded KH rims out there".

I thought he was talking about the F H rim from the first post with the reference to them being bought out in 43, which is why I mentioned the 5 75 date stamp on the F H wheel from the original post.
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#13

Post by 1950Panhead »

Lets see,
rpd has a FH safety rim with a 5 75 date.
Bigincher has FH wheel with no date, pre 69.
I think thats it.
Jerry
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#14

Post by cdndewey »

1950Panhead wrote:Lets see,
rpd has a FH safety rim with a 5 75 date.
Bigincher has FH wheel with no date, pre 69.
I think thats it.
Jerry
Yea....that about wraps it up.
rpd m
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Re: French and Hecht wheels

#15

Post by rpd m »

Sorry I have been away for a few days and have not been following. To be clear, I have a wheel stamped F&H with a 5 75 date code on it. It was Dewey who viewed the wheel with me and can confirm the numbers. It would appear that Kelsey Hayes was having wheels made by French and Hecht after Hayes took over he company in 1943. Why? Who knows. All I know is that I have a wheel date code stamped 5 75 with an F&H stamped in it. Not what I needed when trying to restore my 62 pan to its former glory. Now I have to find the correct set of wheels. Rest of job is going beautifully however. I would still like more info on exactly what year F&H wheels are acceptable replacements for Kelsey Hayes for a proper restoration.
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