Wheels, repair or replace?

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 5:15 pm

Hi guys,
Ive only just discovered this site after owning a V8 for 10 years! cant believe it

. But the time has come to move my beloved car along.
the car is in perfect condition bar the wheels which need to be sorted.
As im wanting to sell the car is it really worth spending neigh on £2000 getting the old ones refurbed? cant see that increasing the value by that much.
the other options are finding a second hand set that are better than mine or changing them to some other design that I could buy new, maybe the minilite style. But would that dramaticly affect the desirability of the car.

any thought welcome

Regards Ben

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:08 pm

Hi
"As im wanting to sell the car is it really worth spending neigh on £2000 getting the old ones refurbed?"

Jensen FF. . . . . . . . . . . yes
Rover SD1 . . . . . . . . . no
Ferrari 308 GT4 . . . . . . yes
'74 range rover . . . . . . no
daimler SP 250 dart. . . .Yes
BMW 740. . . . . . . . . . . no
lamborgini Jalpa. . . . . . most likely
Lancia 3.0 V8 Thema . . Probably not
best regards
Mike

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:19 pm

What sort of wheels cost £2000 to refurbish?

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:30 pm

DaveEFI wrote:What sort of wheels cost £2000 to refurbish?

mid '70s to mid '80s cast magnesium alloy wheels, go ask a classic porker owner

a set of mid '60s wire wheels, anything with a prancing horse on the center cap. . . there is a long list.
best regards
Mike

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:43 pm

DaveEFI wrote:What sort of wheels cost £2000 to refurbish?

ah sorry! they are the original MGBGT V8 wheels. they are composite wheels with a chromed outer ring and an ally centre not many firms want to touch them, and the ones I have found want about £450 + vat a wheel!! so not like the car is worth massive money, mint ones seem to go for beteen 9-12k

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:41 pm

Hi Ben

Is your MGB GTV8 a V8 conversion or a factory built car?

The reason that nobody wants to refurb the wheels is because the chrome steel rim is riveted onto the ally hubs. Thats one hell of a job to separate them and to chrome the rims.

Scimitar alloys look the same and will fit but they may scuff the tyres on the arches. If its a factory built MGB GT V8 what year is it?

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 4:57 pm

mgbv8 wrote:Hi Ben

Is your MGB GTV8 a V8 conversion or a factory built car?

The reason that nobody wants to refurb the wheels is because the chrome steel rim is riveted onto the ally hubs. Thats one hell of a job to separate them and to chrome the rims.

Scimitar alloys look the same and will fit but they may scuff the tyres on the arches. If its a factory built MGB GT V8 what year is it?

yes mate it is a factory car. 1974 chome bumper model.

I did try to seperate a spare wheel I had, ground the rivets off but nothing would budge! I can see why people want so much to do em!

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:38 pm

I'm trying to remember who was doing new replacements a while back. I'll ask over on MGOC forum. But they were pretty damn expensive I think.

I sold my near mint factory wheels about 6 years ago. I had to ship them out to the USA. I got just under a grand for them way back then.

I wouldnt think that anyone would actually strip the wheels to re do the chrome. I'm thinking that they may some how mask the hubs and clean off excess chrome. The problem I had when asking was that the wheel guys could not guarantee getting the chrome right into the groove between rim and hub. I did tell them that I would be happy if they could mask it out so the chrome finished in a straight line about 10mm short of the joint. But they were not interested. The place was in Langley near Slough.

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:55 pm

mgbv8 wrote:I'm trying to remember who was doing new replacements a while back. I'll ask over on MGOC forum. But they were pretty damn expensive I think.

I sold my near mint factory wheels about 6 years ago. I had to ship them out to the USA. I got just under a grand for them way back then.

I wouldnt think that anyone would actually strip the wheels to re do the chrome. I'm thinking that they may some how mask the hubs and clean off excess chrome. The problem I had when asking was that the wheel guys could not guarantee getting the chrome right into the groove between rim and hub. I did tell them that I would be happy if they could mask it out so the chrome finished in a straight line about 10mm short of the joint. But they were not interested. The place was in Langley near Slough.

funny enough I think it must be the same guys that I got the quote off lol. they are in Langley ! I wouldnt mind either if the chrome didnt get right down to the join, they woul defo look better than they do now. The other option would be using some of that 2 part chrome paint.

shame no one does this! take a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3kwkki0bMk

unstable load · Post by **unstable load** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:37 am

I had heard of chrome "paint" but that stuff looks amazing!

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:46 pm

yeah the normal spray can chrome is a load of poop, nothing like chrome, this stuff looks like wizardry! Ive looked into it and you can get a DIY kit for £450, I might bite the bullet and have a go with that. Ill let you guys know how it goes. If it does work, I can see everything in my house and car getting coated

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:06 am

Kenobi wrote:yeah the normal spray can chrome is a load of poop, nothing like chrome, this stuff looks like wizardry! Ive looked into it and you can get a DIY kit for £450, I might bite the bullet and have a go with that. Ill let you guys know how it goes. If it does work, I can see everything in my house and car getting coated

I'm wondering how they do that chrome look on plastic. Decent stuff seems to last well outdoors - since there is no steel beneath to rust.

Kenobi · Post by **Kenobi** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 6:49 pm

DaveEFI wrote:
Kenobi wrote:yeah the normal spray can chrome is a load of poop, nothing like chrome, this stuff looks like wizardry! Ive looked into it and you can get a DIY kit for £450, I might bite the bullet and have a go with that. Ill let you guys know how it goes. If it does work, I can see everything in my house and car getting coated
I'm wondering how they do that chrome look on plastic. Decent stuff seems to last well outdoors - since there is no steel beneath to rust.

Like the lid of the chrome paint cans! Its defo not done with the stuff in the tin! Thats for sure

SuperV8 · Post by **SuperV8** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 3:00 pm

what about using powder coat?

I haven't tried a chrome finish (only black) but have seen them at shows and they look good.
http://www.electrostaticmagic.co.uk/col ... igh-chrome

Tom.