TheSamba.com :: View topic - Information on 3.00 16 kronprinz rim with old VW logo

Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:24 am

Hello everybody. sorry for my English . I am French. I am looking for information on my rim 3.00 16 kronprinz with the old logo vw. Thank you for your information

Sat Sep 21, 2019 12:20 pm

that vw stamp is kdf ! a lot of parts 49 and earlier have that stamp. there should be a date code stamped on the front .month and year. near the lug holes. under the hubcap area. hope this helps.

Steve

Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:08 am

Date stamp 04 9 = April 1949?

Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:45 am

bingo. yes April 49. missed that. it's normally under the hubcap area.

Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:11 am

ok thanks. So is the wheel of kdf ? 04 9 Is for avril 1949 OR 1939 ? or wheel of kubelwagen ? thanks for all.

Mon Sep 23, 2019 6:02 pm

April 1949 beetle/kafer. the kdf stamp remained on a lot of parts up to 49. wheels/door handles/ engine/trans cases .it is not war time or pre war for sure not 39 :roll:
my 46 has a lot of kdf stamped parts. carb/ intake/
wheels/outside door handles. shift knob. a bunch of stuff.

Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:51 am

All Kronprinz VW wheels are marked with KdF logo until end of 1950. This is 4-49, or April 1949 (definitely not 1939). The date is always inside the rim. Only Hering and Lemmerz had the date on the rim face. Hering quit in 1945. This wheel is however the same as earlier wheels 1941-1942 and 1946-1950. From 1951 to 1952 the wheel is the same except no KdF logo, then about 1953 onward wheels are no longer riveted but welded. Lemmerz had welded rims earlier, at least in 1951.

The 1949 wheel has one more difference to 1951-52 wheels: there is very little or no intendation for hubcap clip rivet. In 1951-52 the intendation is quite prominent so rivet will not touch the brake drum. Interestingly the intendation was present before 1943 but after 1945 was not added until 1951.

1943-45 have no holes for hubcap clips and are hard to find and filling the holes is a difficult job in the small space they are in.

Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:40 am

Thanks for all :D

Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:50 pm

As you say, wheels weren't supplied with hubcap clip holes from 1943 to 1945, because they didn't fit hubcaps to Kubels by then, as steel was becoming harder to get hold of, so why waste good metal?

The average Kubel on the front line had a life expectancy measured in weeks, so again, why waste metal on hubcaps?

I do recall many years ago, finding a 16" wheel without these holes, and drilled them, so as to fit the wheel to my split of the day. That was before I was older & slightly wiser!

Thu Oct 03, 2019 5:57 am

Yes, finding a 1943-45 Kübel rim without hubcap clip holes is a nightmare as many were modified to take a hubcap. Also the war time rims have taken a beating and are more often bent compared to post war rims.

Also, ALMOST all original war time rims were painted Wehrmacht Schwarzgrau or Dark Grey all the way to the bitter end in 1945 except a batch in the summer of 1943 which was Yellow (Dunkelgelb). Many wheels were repainted yellow in the field however. I have had just one yellow rim (one NOS KPZ with original paint dated 6-43) and thirteen original war time rims (KPZ, Lemmerz, Hering), all with traces of Dark Grey paint all years dated from 10-1940 to 6-1944 (except one black KdF Wagen wheel dated 11-41 and now in Ondra´s 1941 Beetle).

Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:53 pm

This is another question regarding a KRONPRINZ wheel that I’ve had for over a dozen years. I could never find a date code like other wheels that have the date set in a circle. I got the wheel in a bundle years ago and it had a tire mounted which was recently removed revealing what may be a date on the inner rim.
There is no cogwheel VW stamped anywhere on the wheel that I can see. I’ve supplied more than one photo of the 39 in different light.
I’d like to find out what year and application is correct?
Thanks! Dean

Sun Sep 06, 2020 11:00 pm

This is NOT a VW wheel, it is a 1939 Opel wheel, looks like 4-39 for April 1939, used on the 1939 Opel Olympia which was later produced in the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1955 as the Moskvitsh 400. The lug pattern is the same as VW and fits but the lug nuts are different (you can tell the pressing is different), also hubcap opening is smaller and a VW hubcap will not fit. Very common wheel in Europe and not very desirable as you cannot use it on a VW. Really only fits the small 39 Opel and the Moskvitsh. The Soviets copied this KPZ wheel too for the Moskvitsh and it is very common in the Eastern parts of Europe and very often has found it’s way to old Kübelwagens and VWs and are offered for sale as the desirable 16” VW wheels although they are not so buyers need to be aware.

Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:12 am

Thank you for clarifying this mystery wheel!
This post should signal any early VW enthusiasts what to look for.
The OPEL stamping is clear and there is NO KDF cogwheel anywhere on the wheel.
Very Best! Dean

Sat Sep 12, 2020 11:21 am

Here is the car, Soviet Moskvitsh 400, a copy of the 1939 Opel Olympia

And the 16” look alike VW wheel which it is not: