70 spokes is high.

TD aftermarket wheels would have been 48 or 60 spoke.

http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29904
http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=70300

Truespoke is another option. I could open up this conversation again:

https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/wire-wheels-for-vw/#post-239668

Well, crap. I can’t find my notes. But this was all recent and my memory is pretty good. So here’s what I found re wire knockoffs to be adapted to the 4-bolt VW:

1. The most likely candidate for a legit kit that’ll maybe fit is the Triumph TR3/4 hubs with 4.5-inch Dunlop wires.

I found them available at Rimmer Brothers for–here’s the link–about $1010 out the door. Shipping is more and the pound varies against the dollar. But that’s the bottom line, plus or minus $50.

2. The cheap kit is made-in-India 60-spoke painted Dunlop wires, needing tubes (supplied), hubs, spinners, special short wheel studs, etc.–all come with the kit. They even throw in a knock-off hammer.

3. Triumph hub adaptors do fit over VW bearing covers. On the front, you’d have to grind the lip off the grease caps–easy and cheap.

4. getting the bolt circle down to the required 4.5 inches would be doable by a good machine shop. Probably easiest to fill the existing bolt holes and tap new ones, then source shorter-headed lug bolts (or just cut the ones you have down a bit so the heads fit under the new wheels). Alternatively, you could get the shop to install the short lug studs with the kit. I suppose you could eve get your drums made with two lug patterns so you could switch back on no notice if desired. I’m guessing it’d be $50 per hub to do this but really have no idea. Could be half or double that.

5. The offset of these wheels is about 3/4 inches out. That is, if you,
like me, have stock VW steelies of the 4.5-inch persuasion, which means
zero offset–i.e. the outside of your rim is even with the mounting
flange–then new wires will set about an inch outside of that, allowing
for the thickness of the hub adaptors.

6. The wider track would require a narrowed beam in my own case. Add another $300 or so & an afternoon’s work. The backs might just fit–but will look a bit “wide.” That’s why I ceased my research. Narrowing front and rear track to fit the wires under the fenders was just more headache than I want to take on. Not to mention expense.

So bottom line guess on this idea is $1200 for wheels kit shipped, $200 machine work, $300 for narrowed beam and another $200 for contingencies, tubes, mounting, etc.–$1900.

Word on the India-made wheels was generally good on the Triumph/MG forums. QC issues from a few years back seem to have been ironed out. But still: these are old tech, and the hubs will spin if you run them hard with a lot of HP. The Dayton high horsepower patterns are a better bet for cars that might be rode hard and out away wet.

Though they’d not be quite as historically accurate, seems like the bolt-on Daytons would be a more sensible solution for us–to the degree that having non-wire wheels can be considered a problem in need of a solution.

For me, if I had $2,000 to blow on this car, I might consider doing a Subaru engine swap before I’d go for wire wheels. Triple the horse power vs looking really cool? No contest.

edsnova2012-03-28 22:07:02

Sometimes you just gotta say “WTF”?

How many of you counted the spokes? I know I did.
Seems to me sixteen sets of three spokes is a total of 48!
Maybe it’s that “modern math!

The wheels pictured by RAY10 look like the wires that Mel (LovMyTD) put on Mrs Peel awhile back.