Fuchs dilema

[A_Alfa]

I am about to restore, in factory finish, the wheels in my 1972 911E, they are the period correct 15x6J ET36 flat fuchs.

2 years ago I bough 2x 7R deep fuchs 15x7J ET49 from a 1970s 911ST, in order to put more rubber on the rear, as my car is lowered and thought, I do not know if correctly, that the standard fuchs 15x7J ET23.3 will rub on the fenders.

The question is, Will the combination of flat fuchs on the front and deep fuchs on the rear look awkard?, I have not found any photos but, will the combination look something like the 911RS or the 911SC where front and rear wheels have different lip depths.

Second question, Do you know somebody in Europe who can remade the ink stamps that my 7R have and will be lost during the the restoration process, like Harvey Weidman does?

thx. Arturo

[Harvey Weidman]

Late 7s on a LWB. The short answer is no. The long answer is yes, with fenders rolled, decambered, big torsion bars, big sway bars, not too wide a tire and you don't date fat chicks....etc hope that covered all of the "they fit my car just fine crowd" And I ran them on my car for years....with 205/60X15s...not my photo. I'll look for a better angle..
The wheels are different in spoke design and the offset shape. We have put on the two styles since the flat 6s came out. Even using the flat 6s with the deep 6s to help give a wider look to the rear. It does look funny in my opinion but, I can spot them across a parking lot.
The stamps just take patience and money.....and a good photo. We have anywhere from 100-500 each in them.
H

[A_Alfa]

Thanks for your input and photo.

Best r. Arturo

[A_Alfa]

Hi,

Finally took my ET49 ST fuchs wheels for restoration and came back like in the photo. The wheels were stored in Germany so I deided to restored them in Gerrmay by a well known wheel company, company that has started to restore wheels. Not a wise decision. Their restoration is not really on Harvey nor Alan league, their price is.




When I asked why they did not completely remove the scratches, especially on the back of the wheel, I obtained 2 answers:

a. "Nobody has complained before on cosmetical defects on the back of the wheel".
b. "If we sand the defects there will be too much material removed."

Second answer get me here for advice. QUESTION: Can the wheels be primed and sanded (the primer not the metal) to leave a uniform surface before painting them?

thx. Arturo

[Xavier PJB]

Hi,

Finally took my ET49 ST fuchs wheels for restoration and came back like in the photo. The wheels were stored in Germany so I deided to restored them in Gerrmay by a well known wheel company, company that has started to restore wheels. Not a wise decision. Their restoration is not really on Harvey nor Alan league, their price is.




When I asked why they did not completely remove the scratches, especially on the back of the wheel, I obtained 2 answers:

a. "Nobody has complained before on cosmetical defects on the back of the wheel".
b. "If we sand the defects there will be too much material removed."

Second answer get me here for advice. QUESTION: Can the wheels be primed and sanded (the primer not the metal) to leave a uniform surface before painting them?

thx. Arturo

Could you share the name of that company or give us some tips not to fall in the same trap ?
Cheers

[Eminence Gris]

That appears to be corrosion on the back of the wheel. I think most wheel refinishers would do the same thing: seal it with paint. I've seen similar corrosion on the outside of wheels (especially if previously chrome plated) and polishing out the deepest corrosion pits does indeed remove a lot of material.

What a low end wheel repair company would do might surprise you: they fill the pits in painted areas with Bondo!

[LongRanger]

I suppose one can always remove material --- try to 'rub out the scratch' . . . by polishing/machining/grinding/etc

But there's another approach . . . that involves adding material

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_spraying

Metallurgy's not my specialty --- but when it comes to expensive/hard-to-replace/don't even think about breaking that kinda-parts . . . this is how I've seen stuff saved that was otherwise NLA or un-economical to re-make --- especially when welding-on more parent material wasn't an option

I'd be curious if Harvey or anyone has tried a 'plasma arc' technique on our forged alloy wheels?

[Harvey Weidman]

Hi,

Second answer get me here for advice. QUESTION: Can the wheels be primed and sanded (the primer not the metal) to leave a uniform surface before painting them?

thx. Arturo

The answer to your question is yes. If you are unhappy with the corrosion in the black areas, then sand and fill then respray black.
Most customers aren't willing to fully restore the backs unless they are used as show spares. That can also be filled and painted.
Even in the anodized areas, not all of the corrosion comes out and it can't be chased too far because of the thickness.

The Fuchs frequently have corrosion at this age and we sand and fill the small areas if the customer wants.
The larger areas on rare occasion we have welded but it is not advisable unless it is an extreme case. (some go through!)
The main thing is to seal the wheel with a good coat of paint to prevent further corrosion and help tire sealing.
When painting, we try to leave the "forging" marks or the other manufacturing marks. Otherwise the wheel will look artificially smooth and over restored.
Sometimes it can't be helped when they are too bad and the wind up too smooth.

Hope this helps.
H

[A_Alfa]

The main thing is to seal the wheel with a good coat of paint to prevent further corrosion and help tire sealing.
H

This is what the restorer told me he has done, due to the price I paid I was expecting a restoration similar to yours filling the tiny holes, which is what the restorer advertises in his web.

I asume what the restorer says is correct and the wheels are safe and is "only" an aestetical issue. I will decide now if take them to a different restorer to fix that aestetical issue or mount them like this an use them, probably the second, anyway I am not happy with his job.

Harvey, open a branch here in Europe!

Thanks all for your input. Arturo

[A_Alfa]

Could you share the name of that company or give us some tips not to fall in the same trap ?
Cheers

The original wheel builder, Otto Fuchs, who has started to restore "his" fuchs. Still a lot to learn about the restoring task IMHO though.