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Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:48 am

I was reading the section in the Bentley on tire rotation and it said to rotate the spare with the other wheels. That got me thinking - my 55 has wheels that are painted beige and green, which appears to be original - but the spare is just black, so I dont think I would rotate that in. The spare appears to be original too - it even has the old dunlop bias ply on it. I was looking at some other VW's at a show on Sunday and some had painted spares. What is correct in this case?

Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:16 am

I have an all original Aussie 57 CKD RHD Oval, and the spare rim is the same color as the rest of the rims. On my Oval the paint I believe is L41 black and L81 parchment white.

My rims are all stamped 5/57. I think you should check the date stamp on all your rims and that may tell the story whether or not your rims are original to your car.

EA57RHD

Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:56 am

Where is the date stamp on the rims?

Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:03 am

The date stamp will be in a circle to one side of a lug bolt hole with the month above the two digit year.

Joey

Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:22 pm

According to a PO, my five rims were found in a VW mechanic's basement unused after 35 years, apparently swapped out from a new 62 for chromies. They all were painted the correct complementary colors for a turquoise body, so I have to assume the spare came painted as well as the other rims.

Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:04 pm

All 5 rims on my Sept '53 car have sealing wax red hubs and sahara beige rims and are dated 3/53.
The previous owner had the car from 1965-2007 and assured me the car was exactly like that when he bought it, so have to assume it is the factory colour scheme...........

:wink:

Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:04 pm

Found the date stamp of the 4 painted wheels....5/55 which is right. Couldnt find the date stamp on the spare (did see the VW logo though), but it looks like it may have been painted black by somebody because I saw a run. I also noticed the tire is a Dunlop tubless on the spare, which means thats not OG becuase I think the car would have had tubes from the factory?? Also does anyone know if there are date codes on old dunlop tires?

Thanks for the help!