Up next

Author

Tags

Share article

Facebook 0
Twitter 0
Mail 0

MADE IN AMERICA FEATURE | BILLET SPECIALTIES | Behind the Scenes at this Industry Giant

In 1985, Billet Specialties began producing accessories never before seen in the street rod industry. The attention to detail, fit and finish was unprecedented. “History Re-defined by Styling” is the company’s motto, and the crew there sticks to it by developing wheels that define hot rodding and vintage style. Making their designs available in a wide array of sizes, widths and custom backspacing ensures your set will be the perfect fit on your truck.

The Billet Specialties Original Equipment Series line of wheels beefs up the look and size of the past while allowing clearance for big performance modern braking systems. The Legends Series offers three styles that look great on muscle cars, street rods and classic trucks; these styles have set trends in the hot rod world at an entry-level price. The blend of multiple surfaces coming together to create dramatic features in these wheels are produced from millions of lines of machining code executed on state-of-the-art CNC machines. The soft, flowing detail of each spoke is a telltale sign that Billet Specialties products are much more than the ordinary straight-cut billet wheel. The attention to detail pays off in styling that screams excellence. The products are custom built just for you and available in a wide range of diameters, from 17 to 26 inches.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

After setting trends in the custom wheel industry for over 30 years, Billet Specialties launched additional product lines, including their polished aluminum valve covers and their all billet Tru Trac serpentine system. Guaranteed to draw attention to your engine compartment and available in short and tall heights, Billet Specialties valve covers are produced from a high-grade aluminum that is polished to their high standards, and each design is CNC machined in the USA. Let us help you get a sense of how impressive this operation is by taking you on a behind the scenes tour at their La Grange, Illinois, factory.

Walking into Billet Specialties’ impressive showroom is equivalent to a 10-year-old walking into America’s largest candy store. Polished billet everything in every corner of the showroom is enough to make anyone smile as they pull out their wallet.
Wheels are what Billet Specialties is most known for, and their quality speaks for itself. Next time you’re at a show and you see a set, take a closer look and admire the extreme quality that their products possess.
Engine accessories and drive pulleys make up a major part of the operation here at Billet Specialties. Which piece would you like to take home?
Design and engineering all happen in house and on site, which help with efficiency and quality control.

The first step in the custom wheel production line is to pick the barrells and centers. They will be combined at a later step based on the customer-supplied offset.


The centers are carefully placed in these massive computer-guided machines and a pre-designed program is picked. With all the parameters set, the aluminum starts flying.
With the program complete, the freshly cut centers are removed and set on a rack to await their next appointment.

This step is important and extremely technical. The correct offset and backspacing must be set up and the center needs to be perfectly level before the pros can start melting them together.

Depending on the request from the customer, the completed wheel is sent to polishing or powdercoating where it will take on an amazing finish. Everything is done in-house!

All engine accessories and dress up pieces are designed in house as well by a group of very smart people. Computers have played a big role in manufacturing over the last 10 years, which makes perfect accuracy achievable.

As with the wheel manufacturing, all the pulleys and accessories are cut in-house and stacked carefully.
Polishing and cleaning are a big part of the operation to keep standards as high as their customer satisfaction. Each and every piece is as important as the next.


The final step in the process is to package and organize the inventory. Billet Specialties doesn’t just build to order. They have plenty of stock on hand for those impulsive buyers out there. Is that you?

 

You May Also Like