Alloy steel Wheels

Original post........

Look on the back side of the wheels. The steel centers should be riveted to the alloy rims.

PS: I can actually see the rivets through the holes in your picture. Look for the button-heads...

Raj,

The factory steel wheels had a alloy rim riveted to the steel center.

The only other ones are after market. They are much thicker than the factory ones but are all alloy.

John

Raj - are you talking about those with steel centres with alloy rims as used on the 356 Carrera, 904 etc ?

I had a set of 904 wheels a couple of years ago & they had the weight (3.7kg) stamped into the centre along with the part number:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/...79636d20_o.jpg

Of course, you could always try a magnet against the rims ...

Raj,

I believe they were aluminum outer rims.

John

Speaking of stamped weights, I see that in Raj's original picture as well.

Nice picture, Raj. Very cool stuff if you know what you're lookin' at.

Just a thought: I wonder how many sets of these wheels have been kicked aside or passed over throughout the years because people "didn't know what they were looking at." :confused:

How were these wheels finished? Was the entire wheel painted silver?

Andy,
The 3,7 that is on the center is the thickness. I was first introduced to center thickness on the 550 wheels. There was a early failure problem and the thin ones were replaced at no charge to the owners. By the time they were making the 130mm alu/steel wheels they were very concerened about the thickness. Some of the wheels on the 4 cam SCs were 3.9. The rest of the wheels were upped to 3.9 about 68 or so. (I would have to check my records for a good date)
All of the failures that I have seen on these wheels were in the center.
Many do not have hub cap bumps on them. (some 205s don't have clips either) The ones that do, I assumed that they were put on street cars. But if you look closely you can see the bumps on many racers. At some point they were used interchangeably.
I have never seen a wheel done in other than silver. Except for the 300SL wheels-many of those were chromed in the center and the outer was polished.
I have seen them in 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, & 9 wide. Also some very early ones were 16". Those seem to all be 4 wide.
Also there were at least 3 different riviting styles. 13-19 rivets and 6 to 8mm sizes.
Harvey

Harvey - thanks for the clarification on the '3.7' marking