Fuchs Wheels Wanted

Look in for a set of 15 x 5.5 for my IM Speedster. I have the ability to have them re-chromed, polished or fixed. Looking for a complete set of 4, preferrably with caps. Also, dont care if tires come with them as I will reuse my current set.

If you don't mind replicas here is a good source. http://www2.cip1.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1931

Do you want the 914 4 bolt ones or 911 5 bolt ones? Ebay or THESAMBA are good sources.

I forgot about the replica CIP wheels. I will check them out next week.

I have been on ebay, Craigs, Samba etc, but do not want to spend $1000 for a set. I will upgrade to the 5 bolt if needed, the replicas may be the best bet.

I saw this one at Intermeccanica. Maybe Henry has three more. ;-)

Ben, here's a couple of photos of my replicas (15x6). I bought them from Cip1 (four years ago). I haven't weighed them, but they're probably heavier than the 'real' ones.
You're close enough to drive to their store and check them out in person.

Also, bear in mind that the original Fuchs wheels were not chromed, nor were they painted. The shiney spokes are polished Aluminum, the outer, shiny rim is clear anodized and the "painted" parts are usually black anodized. They had one hell of an anodizing process, as you practically have to use dynamite to get that black stuff off! I started with 100 grit mini-sanders (2" diameter) to cut it and eventually (over two days and lots of hours) graduated to 2000 grit wet paper, followed by aluminum polishing paste and a small buffer wheel on a 3/8" drill.

It took me about three days (part time, but 4 - 6 hours per day) for each wheel, so if you have a cost effective place to have it done, do so. You will also have to come up with an effective (and time-efficient) masking method for the spokes, if you want to paint the spoke backgrounds. Masking tape on the shiny parts takes forever to apply (and there are five spokes per rim). A hand mask and deft touch works well.

I've also found that you DO NOT want to use "Wesley's Bleach-White" anywhere near these rims once they are polished/finished. The bleach will etch the shiny bits {|>(

gn

Ron, how did you get 5 bolt Porsche patern drums/discs? Did you use adapters or get new discs and drill them? What size tire did you use? I am thinking about fitting some to my car that currently has 4 bolt VW discs in front and drums in rear. How is tire clearance?

Ron, from the pictures I have seen...you will not need your wheels for a while. Maybe with the new fibreglass, a new set of wheels should grace your car.

Will, I purchased new rotors with the Porsche bolt pattern. It was an easy swap (disc brakes front and rear)
Ben, I plan on using my replicas again, to keep my costs down. I like the wheels, but the offset on the rear wheels makes it impossible to mount anything larger than a 185mm wide tire. I'd love to mount a 205/50x15 street/track tire in the rear, but to do that I'll have to find another wheel with a high negative offset (probably something around 50mm) I know Henry sells a steel wheel with a lot of negative offset, but I imagine those wheels are on the heavy side.

NOT Mine but decent price 4 for $400 - OEM 2L Fuchs in perfect condition (or so says ad) - especially if you can pick them up locally in MD. Make sure you get the long wheel bolts with them as they are costly.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=503785

Will:

You can also get a 4-bolt VW to 5-bolt Porsche billet adapter from Pelican Parts. Pricey, at $125 each, but they're designed to take the stress they'll see and last forever and are made like a piece of jewelry - just gorgeous! They're used by the Porsche 914 folks to adapt 911 Fuchs rims to their 4-bolt hubs.

gn