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Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:46 pm

Front: before and after 15x5.5, chromed and detailed, Al Reed.
Rear: 15x6 Deep (Heart)

Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:12 pm

Those look really good, macnut.

Can Al Reed fix wheels that have small amounts of curb rash and minor pitting?
I was gonna send my wheels out to a place to have them repaired first then to Al Reed's for Chrome/Detail.
I'd rather send em to one place to save on shipping.

Mon Mar 07, 2011 2:43 am

Al Reed is a one stop shop. He can take care of the welding. About 5-6 years ago he welded a 4½ for me that the PO curb surfed.

Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:43 am

Dave, as Bruce said, Al Reed can take care of it all. Very high quality work and good people. Hand painted caps are done by Al's wife Diane.

Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:37 am

Bruce wrote: Al Reed is a one stop shop. He can take care of the welding. About 5-6 years ago he welded a 4½ for me that the PO curb surfed.

themacnut wrote: Dave, as Bruce said, Al Reed can take care of it all. Very high quality work and good people. Hand painted caps are done by Al's wife Diane.

Thanks for the advice guys. It's kinda scary shipping 5 wheels 2,600 miles away to be worked on - my faith is restored :)

Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:01 am

Give him some time. His wife just went through a cancer scare and even though she is back at work she is still recovering. Things that used to take weeks may take longer. He ALWAYS gets back to customers when they call it just may take a bit longer now.

Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:21 am

mr. warehouse wrote: Give him some time. His wife just went through a cancer scare and even though she is back at work she is still recovering.
That's right, Al's getting up there, and he's likely got a bit of a backlog happening. Remember, the P guys found him first, so they send a lot of wheels too.
Since you're in the rust belt, you're not gonna be driving your car anytime soon. So give Al some time.

Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:06 am

Im putting chrome fuchs on my 64 ghia but do not want the butterfly effect on the back wheels ........does that happen if you go to low...?

Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:22 pm

INLANDGHIA wrote: Im putting chrome fuchs on my 64 ghia but do not want the butterfly effect on the back wheels ........does that happen if you go to low...?

Inlandghia, there lots of threads on lowering in the Ghia forum, that may answer your questions. Check here, and note the sticky threads at the top:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

If you are speaking of negative camber (wheels angled in at the top on really low cars), on a swing axle VW the lower you go the more negative camber you will have.

Here is an example from the gallery:

Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:53 pm

These are on Craigslist right now in LA.
If you are a hunter- these might be up your ally.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/pts/2283378787.html

Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:02 pm

good price, but those are not early 901s.. those are later flat 911s :cry:

Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:05 pm

heres the diff between both.. :wink:

Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:45 pm

If anyone is looking I have a local guy with five 4.5's looking for $800 each.

Wed May 25, 2011 8:50 pm

4.5's

Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:47 am

5.5's

Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:22 am

themacnut wrote: 4.5's

What's the tyre size on those? Look a little bigger than 165/50's.

Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:29 am

Daniel wrote: themacnut wrote: 4.5's

What's the tyre size on those? Look a little bigger than 165/50's.

They are 165/50's. May look bigger because they are on a 4.5" rim. Here is another picture on a 5.5" rim.

Tires- Federal Formoza's
Fronts- 165/50R15
Rears- 185/55R15

Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:09 am

Cheers for that, looks like that'll be the combo I go for as well!

Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:48 pm

Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:10 pm

There was a question posted in another topic about mounting tires on early 5½s and 6s. Here's some info for your tire shop:

Mounting and dismounting tires from the early deep wheels is a real problem. That's the reason why Fuchs changed from deep to flat Fuchs. The flat Fuchs have their drop centers much closer to the outer rim, so getting the tires on and off is much easier.

I highly recommend you have the tires installed from the backsides, not the front. That's because the drop center is closer to the inner rim than it is to the outer rim. I would show the tire guy the wheel and explain why you're asking him to do it backwards. I've been told these wheels are called "reverse drop centers". Maybe mention that.

My buddy's shop has a tire machine that uses 4 rim clamps (AKA Euro machine). I searched online and found the supplier that sold plastic covers for those clamps and bought them.

When you go into your tire shop, have a look at their machine. Most today will have the 4 rim clamp Euro machine that grabs onto the outside of the rim. Ask if they have any plastic protectors for the jaws. Then, as an added measure, I would place a clean shop rag over each jaw as it clamps down on your wheel.

If your tire shop is willing to do this, make sure you slip the tire guy a tenner for this extra service. Then, they'll remember you next time.