Be very careful. These are MAGNESIUM wheels........... Mags are much harder to prepare and paint / powder coat than aluminium wheels. Good luck P
Phil -- Do you have a F reference for this claim? I can't recall ever seeing the TR wheel material mentioned in any of the F documentation (mostly, I believe, because they we're going from the special "light alloy" brew to a more conventional Aluminum alloy on the TR/328, and weren't wanting to draw attention to that).
I've painted mine twice now,many they still continue ie to bubble in due time. People looking at my tr rims say magnesium as well. Aluminum painted wheels wouldn't bubble after prep and paint. I will take pics this weekend and post to illustrate.
Strange -- I've had the exact opposite experience -- TR wheels refinished twice by a national vendor without any drama nor bad results. Can you provide any written F reference for the TR wheels material?
Some have had the same results I have had, here is what they look like. Image Unavailable, Please Login
IIRC, the single lug wheels are magnesium and that was changed to aluminium as part of the update in 1988, to the 5 bolts setup.
FYI, Although not commonly known, certain batches of wheels left the factory with what has been informally called "rough casting". From what I have been told from concours judges and a few people who sold and serviced TR's when new, a few batches of wheels were inadvertently impregnated with silicone (IIRC? ) during the manufacturing process. I believe, all of the affected wheels were made by Speedline during 1985-1986, but I could be mistaken. Anyway, shortly after delivery, the silicone would begin interacting with the paint and hard bubble like shapes in the casting would begin to appear...and the calls to the dealership would begin. You can refinish them until the cows come home, but like clockwork, the bubbles will reappear if you have one of the affected wheelsets. I did extensive research on this, because my car has the same problem. It was a national concours judge who first tipped me off...
So, does that mean I should save my money going forward and stop repainting ? What are you doing with your wheels joe?
The previous owner of my car spent a fortune(definitely overpayed! )having a very well respected F-authorized repair facility refinish the wheels-- It didn't last long. For me, I am going to keep them as is as I like the side story and my car has never been deducted a point at a concours for the wheels. If you don't like them, the ONLY option for you is to buy another set of wheels. I say keep them... its a great conversation starter!
The problem for me joe, it's like multiple pimples. Drives me nuts, and they continue to grow ( seems to me ) But thank you for having me save some money. I will leave them, and just wait for when a new set come to market , if ever.
I hear you... FWIW, I may have a line on a wheel set (or at least 3 NOS wheels) that I may be able to pry from a friend. I am supposed to check back with him in a couple of months...PM me to remind me and they are yours if he decides to sell, as I have decided to keep mine as is.
so are very early 1985 Wheels Mag ? I don't mind the bubbeling problems, the previous owner curbed them, thus the reason for the refinish; not bubbles.
I had my Mag wheels re-painted... After two weeks I had "snakes" under the paint over an inch or more long, just like you get with old car steel with bad paint prep. This will not happen with alloys IMO. There was NO aluminium oxide white powder under the snakes. I had another wheel powder coater take the wheel through five bake and cool periods followed by an immediate powder coat. NO problems so far after 3 years. I dont know about the 5 lug wheels but my single bolt wheels are definitely Magnesium. P
There is a pretty lengthy Tech Bulletin on repainting the wheels. I have seen it but do not have it at hand. They are not racing magnesium (which catch fire, ever seen a street Ferrari wheel catch fire??) but various blends and alloys over the years, all of which tend to be troublesome to keep air tight, hence the sealing then priming then finish painting process. I have a set going bad where they "stripped them and powder coated" and they were nice looking for maybe a year. Be interested to know your successful vendor, Steve.
I can't comment on your "this will not happen with alloys IMO. There was NO aluminium oxide white powder under the snakes." being a material certainty. I would accept a density measurement (weight/volume), if you've got it ; otherwise, I'm going to have to stay in the "we don't know" camp until someone can produce something in writing from F -- so (anyone) please post it if you have it or know of it. Keystone http://keystone-auto.com/ (in the Denver area -- my understanding is that they are a "national" company, but have many regional locations where the work actually gets done). No special instructions given, bare wheels left at my local body shop and picked up by the Keystone driver, $99/wheel, done in a MB silver rather than the stock dour grey -- twice -- no problems to report.
interesting stuff...seems like delaying this process has produced more 'food for thought' than I bargained for asking about color choices. Since the factory coating is breached from the curb work---I will assume, if magnesium, then the process should be powder coat. I had a set of Ducati 996RS mag wheels powdercoated and they have been perfect since. Maybe 8 years now. I think I will call that fellow again.
also find it interesting that there is not a casting mark speaking to the composition on the inside of the wheels that a more senior member of FChat hasn't seen previously in these endeavors? Anyone recall seeing such?
I know there isn't anything "material" related on the backside of my Speedline 5-lug TR wheels -- just F PN and "ET=..." (offset), but I don't have a photo. There most definitely is not "LEGA DI MAGNESIO" shown on the backside like on the 308 wheels. Here's some photos from the backside of a O.Z. brand 8x16 TR single lug wheel: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
88.5 5-lug Original finish (dinol removed) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
