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Need some sage advice on what to put on Abby for wheel covers since I just noticed that I lost one of the “metal-like” ABS Fiberfab wheel covers from the front passenger side wheel. To add insult to injury, I lost the cover while returning from Royal’s house, where I was admiring the wire wheels on his car…!!!
I was going to order a replacement wheel cover from MG Magic, but since having seen how good your cars wheels looked while we were at the car show in Va Beach, I know there is a better solution.And since I now have to do something about the missing wheel cover, I may as well see what options I have.What is available that will fit these 14″ 4-bolt stock VW wheels? What about trim rings? MG medallions?Thanks, JackOOPS!! it even says 165R15 on the side of the tire — I just finished replacing the front brake pads on my Ford Ranger so I had 14″ wheels on the brain…
Thanks Roy —I guess I have too many cars with different wheel diameters…I don’t have a good picture of them installed, but these are the hubcaps I have on silver-painted wheels — the common “flat-style” with Empi world logo, widely available:
With these resin-domed decals covering the Empi world logo in the center, in red on silver instead of red on black:
With these 1.5″ stainless steel trim rings:
KentT2014-02-15 23:48:46
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Thanks Kent. That site with the logos is pretty amazing — lots of options. I like this one as well:
I’d like to see a picture of your finished wheel when you get a chance. — JackYou can also use the original-style MG medallions. Moss has them for $11 each–which is more than I paid a few years back. You can surely find them cheaper.
I”m told the “empi” logo shows just a little on the sides but a piece of pie tin could cure that.I just found these at SOCAL — do you think the MG medallions will cover the 3 holes?
Ed, I think I remember that you had trim rings on Bridgett at one time? Worth the $$? I also found that apparently there are Aluminum Beauty Rings that have holes and SS Trim Rings that are solid???? Opinions?Thanks, JackThe reason I chose to go with the resin-coated decals is that I could order the size that I needed to cover the Empi emblem — though I don’t recall what size that was…
In addition to the adhesive on the back of the decal, I used clear weatherstrip adhesive to get a good bond.The stainless steel trim rings are shinier than the aluminum ones… and match the chrome better, IMO. Of course, you could likely polish the aluminum for a better shine…KentT2014-02-16 10:52:27
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...I have aluminum trim rings on the steel wheels on my car. I have never been pleased with the finish on them in comparison to all the other chrome on the car. They’re ok , but not quite right.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"I took the trim rings off last year for the auto X & had a hard time getting them back on. Hard enough that I started to like the look without them better.
I used the “old school” ones that fit down below the weight lip. Stainless, and expensive so, given the amount of time they were on the car, probably not worth the money, in retrospect.I might put them on my wife’s car tho in lieu of hubcaps.Jack, I’ll try to roll it out from under cover this week and get a pic. We’re supposed to have milder weather. After looking, my centers are actually octagonal red and MG lettering, on silver, instead of round. I intentionally wanted something more subtle because of how large they needed to be to cover the Empi emblem. I considered the “nipple style” like you linked, but decided they stuck out too far for my taste.
Allen (newkitman) is using the rounder, smooth domed hubcaps…Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...The new hubcap emblems I ordered should be in Tuesday latest. When they come in I’ll snap a pic and post it. They are the same as what Kent T described…silver octagonal with red MG lettering. I’m using the smoothie hub cap from EMPI and bought at the Florida Bug Jam.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackHey Kent, I forgot about your cold weather when I asked you to “just run out and take a picture of your wheels and post it” — bright sun and 56 degrees today down here in Coastal North Carolina — warm enough to drive Abby around with the top up and side curtains off.
When I told Roy of my missing wheel cover earlier today, he put out an email within his community of River Bend and about 5 minutes after I ordered 4 EMPI-like flat hub caps without logo from SOCAL, he called me to let me know that he got a call from someone in his neighborhood who spotted my wheel cover — Roy was kind enough to drive out and pick the wheel cover up out of the woods where it landed when I turned the corner into his community.So emergency resolved and I will shortly have 4 new hub caps to experiment with and eventually put on the car.Looking forward to seeing your post as well as NEWKITMAN’s pics and others as they weigh in with their opinion as to what is the best way to adorn the wheels on a TDr. — JackI did a search but not very sure of the subject heading. I know someone on this forum did a run on the hub cap medallions showing how they fit. Possibly Ed?
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackThis is one of the hubcap threads:
https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/make-the-vw-steel-wheel-into-stock-td/
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Thanks Paul. I ordered 4 of the no-logo flat hub caps. I’ll post the center dimensions once they show up.
Hopefully someone can post the MGTD center cap dimensions and that would give us the rest of the story.–JackI’ll try to dig out one of the MGB center caps tomorrow to measure it,
in addition to domed caps seen on eBay that are used to replace the center of them.PMOSSBERG2014-02-17 08:45:29
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Though I didn’t roll the car out to get wider views, here’s a couple pics of my hubcaps and trim rings. As I said, I was going for somewhat subtle on the MG logo due to its size…
I also took some measurements of the MGB/Midget Rostyle-type center caps, for MGBs or Midgets:
I initially purchased a new set of four, intending to put them on the hubcaps like Jack linked above. After receiving them, and looking them over closely, I decided it was “too tough to do” with my limited tools. They have a serrated flange on the back that mounts inside the center of the wheel, held on with pressure, similar to how the grease caps mount on the VW front hubs. That flange sticks down below the edge of the chrome trim ring about 3/8″ so that when mounted the trim ring is flush and tight on the center of the wheel. The trim ring itself if 15mm tall — between 9/16″ and 5/8″ inch. To securely mount them to a hubcap would most easily be done by sawing (or machining) a 2-1/8″ hole with a metal cutting hole saw perfectly centered on the hubcap. Since I have neither a drill press nor metal-cutting hole saws, I abandoned that idea and went with the resin-coated decals shown above.The chrome trim ring on the Rostyle center caps is right at 2-1/2″ outer diameter, and the black/silver MG emblem in the center is 1-7/8″ in diameter. These domed, metal emblems are also sold separately for replacements:KentT2014-02-17 22:50:48
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Ed, I like the MG medallions — they give that “understated elegance” look
Hey Kent,I think I agree that drilling a perfectly centered 2″ hole in the hub cap and then attaching those Rotel-style caps would be too hard — and I do have a drill press but not necessarily the talent and patience to “get it perfect.”Those domed center logos look really good. And now I jhave an idea what a wheel looks like with trim rings.Now on to the paint — silver or black — does a particular brand work best? My ‘naked’ wheels look pretty ugly and would need to be sanded and painted, which didn’t matter with the “metal-like” standard FF wheel covers.–JackJack,
if you wanted to, you could cut a nicely centered 2″ hole in the cap using your wood lathe on super slow and a sharp turning tool. I doubt that it would take more than a few minutes for all 4/5 wheels.yea right!!
The last time I used the wood lathe on metal was when I cut down the aluminum mounting flange for my Flat Four steering wheel — that ‘only” took an hour and took the point of of the sacrificial wood-turning skew chisel…I think I’ll pass on the Rondel project… those domed plastic inserts are starting to look like a pretty good choice…As far as color….
Purely my opinion/thoughts, and I debated color a long time. It’s a personal decision!Silver (actually gray) was the original TD wheel color and goes with virtually any color car.Black makes the wheels “disappear” and focuses attention on the hubcaps/trim rings.White seems “Hey, look at me!” — and seems a bit teenage or something.Color-matched to the body color looks good, like it could be original, and can be quite nice. But color-matching 30 year old gelcoat can be a challenge and if the shade is off, it is noticeable.Bottom line: You can’t go wrong with silver. I used Rustoleum High Performance Wheel Paint from the local auto parts store. It supposedly is more scratch/chip resistant than normal paint. Guaranteed to stick and not to peel.My wheels were in pretty sad shape, dirty, rusted and pitted. This paint has just a bit of metallic in it, so it has a tiny bit of sparkle. Even as rough as they are, the paint made a HUGE difference…They now have a “semi-chrome” powdercoat that looks good (especially with clearcoat on top), and if time/money were no object, that would also be a good option. When you add the cost of dismounting/remounting tires, sand-blasting, and then powdercoating, you could almost buy a new set of chrome wheels for the cost…
KentT2014-02-18 10:24:52
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Kent, I hear you about the cost…I found Chrome stock VW wheels for $69 and silver painted ones for $49 =======plus $73 to ship 4 from CA…
Hmm — given my proven poor track record with rattle cans, it may be better to just go for the new… now to decide if its worth the extra $20 per wheel to go for the chrome…???–HappyJackJack,
Those are likely Empi chrome wheels at that price. Be aware that they’re likely made in China and have one (two at most) layers of chrome on them. If you don’t clear coat them or keep them waxed, they WILL rust… it’s only a matter of when and how much…The old-school chrome wheels of our youth, like those made by Appliance, were triple coated, but these are almost certainly not… not at that price. Just a cautionary note…Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...
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