Got the Spyder back today. Not only did Glenn complete the brakes/wheel swap for me, he also addressed some other issues to get the ol' girl running like a swiss car. 
I had put the wheels next to Charlotte to see what it would look like but seeing them on, I was really pleased with the end result.
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NOW it looks like a Spyder!
It's looking great Chris. Congratulations on all of the upgrades. Now get out and drive.
Beautiful, Chris!
X2- looks great Chris! As Robert said, get out, drive, and post pics to make us all jealous...
P.S.: You can see the guy's shadow taking the picture. I don't know who that is but he needs the backwards baseball cap SLAPPED off his head.
That is all.
That would be Chris, I am sure. I'll give him a break and say he did it so as not to block the camera, not in a vain attempt to look 17 again. 
My buddy Rick is in the process of doing the same to the Spyder he bought, although he’s staying with discs. (Switching from 4 lug to Wide 5)
I’m with Danny. (And Rick) It’s the ONLY proper look for a Spyder.
I also stayed with discs all 4. However, I managed to nab some custom wheels for a long axle Spyder which saved me a ton of loot.
Still required new rotors and brakes but substantially less than changing the axle.
Also, forgot to give honorable mention to Special Edition. I would assume it's no surprise but Carey sent me a fun pack of everything I needed to finish and offered tech support without an accent for Glenn
p.s. To each his own but I don't agree that it's the only acceptable wheel. These are on the car for an absolute lack of another option. Had I been able to get a custom wheel, or even anyone who said they do - responding to me, I would have went another route.
I like the wheels more than the Mangels but that's about it.
It would be cool if the Vintage 190 5.5" was available with more backspace. Then they could fit on the front as well.
These are the best look IMHO, or either of the magnesium ones that several guys have.
The Vintage 190s though are available today and much cheaper comparatively.
@dlearl476 posted:My buddy Rick is in the process of doing the same to the Spyder he bought, although he’s staying with discs. (Switching from 4 lug to Wide 5)
I’m with Danny. (And Rick) It’s the ONLY proper look for a Spyder.
Drumskins can hide whatever you're running underneath, and look pretty good too, as Chris' car illustrates. The skins look better than the VW drums, which are pretty ugly, and also better than most disc kits.
I don't have skins on my car, the billet/CNC Airkewld aluminum hubs look pretty cool to me.
I kinda like my “Fuchs pattern” drums,*. as someone once called them. I thought about Drum Skins, but ended up at “why?” I’m sure on disc brake cars the first a fine job of keeping brake dust off the wheels, but on my car it would just be cosmetic.
* I don’t know if it’s just because I’m so used to them, or if it really is cool, but I’ve been rocking various forms of it since the 70’s.
I’m thinking of painting the new drums with a slightly darker shade of grey Hammerite for a little contrast.
I wasn't going to put the skins on at all actually but the discs are cast and would show rust. So the skins are more function to me.
Let's be really clear here: its all cosmetics. I think I'd have no problem looking, albeit through rather small holes, at disc brake gear on this or any car. Big whup. OTOH, it is sometimes all about authenticity, and so there ya go. Ive seen some of the drum skins, and they seem to be pretty cool. Full disclosure: I have considered my Speedster to have something like an authentic look, vs, Outlaw, or any such. And to me the main thing that presents as VW in an otherwise very Porsche-looking car, is the damn VW parking brake handle. Not to mention how much that f***er sits up in the way. 356s from the era were very clear and clean, free of obstructions in the cockpit, and so I really had to have that. So, I took mine out. Installed a line lock for rear wheels, which I almost never use anyway. So . . . I am a heap big pale-face, speaks with forked tongue -- knocking on Chris' cool wheel look and then I'm all over about the stupid parking brake handle. And yes, I'd love to have a real umbrella handle, but that really goes to whole other level.
And yes, Glenn is the absolute master. What a great guy and terrific resource. He has saved my bacon a time or two also.
Chris the new wheels are a great upgrade and your car looks awesome with them.
And (not that anyone asked) my opinion is that wide-5s look best on these cars, with 16-inch ones being tops, but that other Porsche wheels can be credibly substituted. 550-0090 wore later (C-era?) wheels for a while in the late 60s and early 70s, as those were sometimes used as upgrades to these cars toward the end of their racing lives. And, of course, Porsche did fit a set of Rudge knock-offs on one of the early cars for the Paris Motorama.
Eight-slot Mangels can be made to mimic that look pretty well.
Fuchs? A bit of a stretch, I'd say, but I would not throw a Spyder with them off my lift...
But a case could be made for 944 Turbo spares ...
I seem to remember reading somewhere that all the factory team cars and a few customer’s cars came with Rudge wheels. The knock-off centerlock wheels would be better for endurance races.
That's just not true. Only a few cars had Rudge wheels. I believe that Spyders ran endurance races without having the need to change tires at all. At least that's what I read.
Agree with Danny. All the photos I have seen of Spyders racing the Mille, LeMans, etc. show KPZ wide 5s.
I believe Stirling Moss said it best. I don't have the quote, but this is the gist of it:
He really enjoyed driving Spyders. They were GREAT on tires because they were so light, and all the heat and noise(and oil if they leaked) was behind you. He said they were really good endurance cars, and comfortable to drive as well.
Congrats Chris. Welcome to the wide 5 club. I love them on my Spyder and I will also be putting them on my 356 outlaw. That’s probably because I lack imagination. Think my 356 will have matching interior and exterior colors to my Spyder. Kind of big brother and smaller faster little brother.
@edsnova posted:Agree with Danny. All the photos I have seen of Spyders racing the Mille, LeMans, etc. show KPZ wide 5s.
You’re right. I misunderstood what was in this article.
http://type550.com/rudge-wheels-on-a-550/
Still, though: they did race a couple with the Rudge knock-offs. I did not know that!
That's very cool and I think an invitation to anyone with a 4-bolt Mangel setup who wants a little more faux-thenticity but doesn't have the scratch or the patience to change over to wide-5s to do a pie plate Rudge conversion instead.*
*This trick would look even better using a set of the new Vintage 190 4x130 wheels, imho.
Pieter's black faux-Rudge look is AWESOME. Period.
@DannyP posted:Pieter's black faux-Rudge look is AWESOME. Period.
The entire car is just cool2
Even cooler? The guy beats on it like a rented mule, 1776 all wound out, stogie in his clenched teeth, Greek fishing cap on his head. The dude looks like Popeye flogging that thing.
I wish I was half as cool as Pieter.
He certainly has fun with it. Ask me how I know.
Ok, I'll tell you anyway. I rode with Pieter on one of the TdS cruises a couple of years ago. In it's current form it isn't super fast, but he has more fun with it than a lot of folks do with their high-dollar rides. It's a riot!
And restoring old Mercedes for a living is also pretty cool. All of our lives require us to make compromises for other people in our lives. Pieter lives his life based on his own rules. And yes his car is very cool. Old Beck Envemo?
Old Envemo with a lot of Pieter thrown in. He converted it to an outlaw and really was creative in several areas, e.g., the fake Rudge wheels.
this thing about wheels is quite an obsession. Youse guys are really deep down the rabbit hole. I'm still looking for the why I should care part of this. wheels need to be light and round; after that, what?? So I say yes to the remark above: baby moons work for me.
We are over here on the Spyder side of things.
So I counter: WE DON'T CARE about your stupid Speedster hubcaps.
Yes, after so long being immersed here, I do understand a little of the madness that prevails over on the Spyder side. Carry on my good men, enjoy your wheels. May they always be round.
