Speedline 14" restoration

I purchased a set of XWX tires for my 1979 GTS and thought this would be the perfect time to refinish the original 14" Speedline rims. However, I have a few questions and hope the experts here can point me in the right direction.

Four of the five rims on my car have a 1-piece "Ferrari 7' 1/2 x 14" " decal. Obviously, they've been masked off at some point when the rims were previously refinished, and they appear original. There's no other sticker/decal on the rims.

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I've seen 16" Speedline rims with a "SPEEDLINE" decal opposite the "Ferrari (size)" that I have. However, as best as I can tell, those were newer rims & possibly the earlier 14" rims didn't have anything more than I currently have on mine. I dunno... I was hoping someone here would know for sure.

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Because there's absolutely no sign of any other decal, I'm leaning towards this being all they had.
Also, these are definitely a 1-piece decal, as opposed to the 3-piece set on the Campagnolo rims. Are mine original, or possibly a bad reproduction from years ago?

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I did purchase a set from Italian Car Parts, but they're obviously not the same. I called & talked to them about it, and the owner had no information about Speedline decals.

So... what's correct?
Also, does the area under the sticker look like the correct shade & metal flake content? I've read a few threads here on the correct paint code & name for the rims, and it sounds like there were several variations, and generally you're not incorrect with any of them.

Any tips on refinishing the rims? I've read that it's best NOT to sand them down to bare metal, due to the magnesium content. Is there a good way of prepping them that will keep them stable?

My car's not a show car, but if I'm going to refinish something on it, I try to research & get it factory correct the first time. It doesn't cost anymore to get it right, just takes a little more effort & knowledge.

Thanks for any knowledge you can pass along!

 

Not really. That looks hideous.

yeah... they do.



Back to the Speedline topic: I was fortunate to find a photo of a rim with the sticker on it. So apparently, they did have them.

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But I do notice a difference in the castings. I'm wondering what year that one is, or why mine is so different. The center pattern on mine (on left) looks more like a flower than a pentagram. Not entirely unattractive, just different. Just another little difference in 308s. I don't know about you, but I LOVE learning little things like this! (and I wish I knew more about it)

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I'll grab a few photos of the casting marks on the backside of the spokes, but it does have a "SL" and in another place, what looks like a date casting mark with "78" on it, which (IMO) would be appropriate for a 1979 car.

Also, they may make them, but I haven't seen a reproduction 14" rim.

I have new Michelin XWX tires ready to mount on the rims

 

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What's your source for the info that all Speedline rims that were produced for Ferrari had that cast into the back of the spokes? Did this apply to every year Speedline manufacturered them, or could this have been a running change? Are you also saying that the SPEEDLINE and Ferrari (size) stickers on the rims are not correct? I have found photos of at least three 1979 cars now that have identical rims with the single sticker currently on mine (Ferrari 7"1/2 × 14"). I've found 2 photos of identical rims that also have the SPEEDLINE sticker.

Although my car isn't a super low mileage original, it doesn't appear to have been modified or damaged in the past. I can't think of a reason why the original rims (all 5) would have been replaced by "aftermarket" OEM rims with a manufacturer date consistent with the production of the car. If it was one or two rims, I'd understand. But all 5? And considering the spare still has the original Michelin XWX, it's highly likely these rims have been with the car since 1979.

I'm not saying you're wrong, as I'm very new to these cars, but I'd like to confirm. Corvette restorers have a huge trove of literature which documents what is correct & what's not, and I really haven't found much for the 308.

While the debate on the originality of the rims is interesting, right now I'm more concerned about making them "correct" in appearance. At this point, I'm keeping these rims on the car.

 

I can't be 100% sure, as there's always the possibility that it was replaced early in the car's life. However, it IS a vintage tire, and looks & feels consistent with what you'd expect of a 44-year-old car with 50k miles. All the other tires on the car were a different size, and it's highly probable that the original spare (which would have the least amount of wear) would be the only one NOT replaced. But my initial point was not made for the sake of verifying the tire's originality, but that of the rim. Again, yes I may be mistaken on this, but it's (IMHO) another articulable fact that leads to the most reasonable conclusion.

 

Again, I'm a babe-int-the-woods here and know nothing, so I'm trying to learn.
I was under the impression that 3 manufacturers were making rims for Ferrari 308 production from day #1: Cromodora, Campagnolo, and Speedline.

The spoke pattern and colors varied slightly among the manufacturers, for whatever reason, as well as the way the rims were marked (name cast on the rim, or applied with a silkscreen or sticker). From what I can tell, there were also running changes with each manufacturer (i.e., Speedline's center spoke design).
It seems this is something that identifies an early rim from a later year.

The photo examples you're providing are rims used on Dinos and 308QVs, not the earlier 308GTB/S. The style of the rims are different. Have you found examples for the early 308s? All I've seen are consistent with what I've said. But again... maybe I'm mixing things up and looking at both vintage and new photos of "stylized"14" rims on otherwise original cars.

I can understand today's trend of going back to original-size 14" rims. Vintage is trendy today, but back in the '80s, people were trying to update cars, not backdate them. I haven't seen modern OEM reproduction RIMS in that 14" size, but I see them in 16". If companies were making 14" reproductions 40+ years ago, then that could explain why we see a few of them now. Were they making exact copies with the same offsets?

It seems to me this would be a small market, as there couldn't have been many non-Ferrari cars that would use them. As for Ferrari owners, why would anyone in the '70s or '80s buy new aftermarket 14" rims to replace identical factory 14" rims? (and in my car's case, why would they replace all FIVE rims, when the 5th lives virtually unused as a spare) The only scenario I can think of is POSSIBLY the original rims would be discarded for something completely different, and soon after someone decided to go back to the original look and bought reproduction 14" rims (and found some manufactured in 1978). BUT again, this seems highly unlikely. If anything, they'd probably want the optional larger 16" rims. Again... this whole scenario seems extremely unlikely.

More reasonable would be that the majority of reproductions back then (as well as today) were 16" rather than 14". I can understand a much greater market for the larger size, even when the 308 was being manufactured. If you didn't want to pay Ferrari's price for 16" rims, you could buy them yourself from the aftermarket and probably at a cheaper price.

If it's confirmed that ALL rims supplied to the factory did have a cast F-part number on them, then mine would indeed be reproductions (of course, if the SL# wasn't adapted as a F part#). That, and the concept that the SPEEDLINE and Ferrari (size) stickers were NOT original would be very interesting to know!

I do appreciate the discussion and chance to learn more about the cars! If you can find the book you have as a reference, let me know as I'd like to add some good 308 books to my collection.

 

Thanks! I appreciate the vote of confidence.

Do you know if the SPEEDLINE sticker is correct for my rim or not? I have found photos both with & without (as well as that varying center spoke design).

 

I took the spare to be dismounted. They had a little trouble getting the 45-year-old sidewalls to flex enough to remove it from the rim, but they eventually got there.

Bringing a Ferrari wheel to them was the most exciting thing that happened there all day! Lol!

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I saved the tire. Am I nuts?
For some reason, I've had the urge to save every part I've replaced on the car, such as thermostat, spark plugs, etc. I guess if the next owner doesn't want them, they can do whatever they want.

Next week, the rims will be painted at the body shop.

 

I bought a set from ItalianCarParts.com, thinking that I had Campagnolo rims. Unfortunately, they won't work & the company doesn't make Speedline decals.