The 'E' Type Forum

Dear all

My car is currently fitted with chrome wires and I'm considering substituting these for a set a painted wheels, as I think they may suit the car a little better, given my car is finished in Carmen Red; personal opinion of course!

Long term, I may invest in a set of painted competition spec wires, but for the short term, I have a set of original specification wheels that I'll probably restore and refit; the question is, in what colour?

They're currently silver, but they look a little insipid. In my mind, I'd like to refinish them in a subtly different hue - perhaps with a slightly more matte finish and maybe even a touch darker than current.

I want the car to look very period, but I can't quite put my finger on what I have pictured in my mind.

If any members of the forum have already gone down this route, I'd love to see what you've done; inspiration required!

Lee

Painted wire wheels have been fitted to E-Types in the past - often to cars that have been raced. Some I have seen have had body coloured wire wheels. To my eye they have never looked right. Each to his own. If in my care, such a car would rapidly find itself wearing polished SS wires. After almost 13 years and over 50,000 miles mine always come up shining after cleaning. Close inspection reveals fine scratches and one or two marks that cannot be polished out, but you'd have to get on your hands and knees to see them.

Painted I say

Unless the car is silver, shouldn't body coloured wire wheels be in the 'No Accounting For Taste' section rather than here in 'Upgrades'?

I've just painted my first set of body coloured wires and they look fairly gross, but my excuse is they are for a 1936 SS 2.5 Tourer, one of barely a hundred built. Makes the SS 100 look as common as muck.

Peter I quite agree.

With a Carmen Red car, I will absolutely paint the wheels silver, but will seek to find a slightly more characterful shade than what they're currently painted, hence my appeal for inspiration.

In truth, I am erring on a more matt finish, akin to some of the period racers, but just can't seem to find any images of something suitable...

Lee

Thanks for letting me off Peter

The standard Factory painted wheels were "Stoved Aluminum"(Metallichrome Aluminium - ICI: P0-2358) . The Factory competition wheels were painted a darker silver - you can find more photos in the Competition Factory Fit' thread.

One image has always fascinated me is evidenced in a press photo of 9600 HP (the press car). There is an image in Philip Porters book 'The Most Famous Car in the World' where a 1961 period image (although in black and white) seems to show a darker rim than normal - perhaps even black.

In the early days they did fit racing tyres to 9600 HP (and from Davids Post) perhaps these were the competition rims. The colour cannot be that far off Gunmetal grey and if so believe this would have been quite a subtle and attractive finish, otherwise very difficult in my view to better a silver rim.

Jaguar painted the Competition wheels a different colour (I have also seen black in photos) because they were only recommended to be fitted to the rear not the front and the colour made it easy to spot. Wonder if it was for scrutineering?

Scrutineering wouldn't have been an issue unless they fouled at full lock. Brake dust tends to adhere more to painted wheels and is harder to clean on comp wheels which have an extra outboard row of spokes. I suspect that may have been the cause of dark rims.

These look painted rather than covered in dust; period photo of car at Brands Hatch with triple laced 5.5" racing wheels at the rear and standard 5" stoved aluminium (Metallichrome Aluminium - ICI: P0-2358) on the front::

Is that a secret pro type car David? Variety of wheel finishes and a V12 engine evidenced by the quad exhaust tips!

I must find the image and page reference in the Philip Porter book but would not know how to load the image...

That looks a little like the Peco dual 'Aintree' silencers fitted to my car early in its' life!

The darker coloured comp wheels look perfect and I may well go down this route for the spare wheels I've got. I can always revert back to the Chrome wire wheels in the summer as I don't want to offend any purist sensitivities.

Thank you all so much for such a comprehensive insight - I think I have enough information to move forward.

Now, where on earth can I find a NOS Peco exhaust system for my car... I'm sure I'm entitled to a staff discount.

Lee

The exhaust system is by Abarth, Peco could not compete!:


viewtopic.php?p=32961#p32961

Painted wheels and a more conservative exhaust set up.



Simon

Heuer wrote:The exhaust system is by Abarth, Peco could not compete!:


viewtopic.php?p=32961#p32961

I stand corrected David!

Perhaps my growing loyalty to my car's Peco related past is beginning to cloud my judgement!

I think I'm going to proceed down the route of 5.5J Competition specification wheels at the rear and standard 5J wheels to the front; probably finished in a matching dark grey fitted to the set of Michelin XVS tyres I already have. That seems to bridge the gap nicely between standard period specification and lightly enhanced.

Lee

Everything you may want to know about Abarth for the E-Type is here: viewtopic.php?p=32961#p32961

marsh wrote:

Heuer wrote:The exhaust system is by Abarth, Peco could not compete!:


viewtopic.php?p=32961#p32961

I stand corrected David!

Perhaps my growing loyalty to my car's Peco related past is beginning to cloud my judgement!

I think I'm going to proceed down the route of 5.5J Competition specification wheels at the rear and standard 5J wheels to the front; probably finished in a matching dark grey fitted to the set of Michelin XVS tyres I already have. That seems to bridge the gap nicely between standard period specification and lightly enhanced.

Lee

That seems an attractive combination with the wheels….

Dear all,

Just a quick update: I may have obtained a pair of very lightly used competition wheels, finished in stainless steel, which is rather unexpected as I had resigned myself to painted steel wheels.

I'm not sure at this stage whether they're 5.5 or 6 inch width, so before I proceed any further, can I just sense check - if they're 6 inch, will they go on the car without modification, plus will they fit my existing 185 tyres?

I would have preferred to go down the 5.5 route, but these wheels are lovely and they're very well priced.

Your advice is very much appreciated as always!

Just 4 more sleeps until my car arrives

Lee

185 tyres can be used on 5", 5.5" and 6" wheels although the ride will become firmer as the sidewalls are stretched for the wider wheels. You may need to remove the bump stops to prevent fouling and you also may find the 6" wheel will not fit the spare wheel well. Really depends on the wheel tyre combination but don't modify anything until you have fitted and tested them. If you have to remove the bump stops you really should add bump stops to the shock absorbers to compensate.