Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

[Justin Rio]

Wiring harness install continued:

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Hockey tape used to support the cloth sheathing at the fuse block leads as well.

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First step of pulling the harness through the under dash metal shroud completed.

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Then it was onto feeding and arranging the leads throughout the rest of the car.

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The next challenge for the harness and installer was getting both it and the battery cable to pass through the metal conduit located on inner upper corner of the tunnel. It started out fine but it quickly began to get very tight and resistive. Towards the end I was thankful for every slight move forward it would yield to me.

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Rear leads all pulled through at this point. Gone as far I could back here for now as I had to come up with a rubberized sheathing for the section under the rear seat pan. Posting that up later.

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By contrast pulling the leads up into the trunk was much less hassle.

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A section of MIG wire taped to the headlight leads made for a good primmer lead to get it passed through the conduit.

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Onto wiring up the new fuse block next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Justin Rio]

Hooking up the fuse block:

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Making sure the block is oriented correctly per instruction. The top of the OG block has terminals which are linked. New block shows corresponding linked together terminals.

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As for reference through all of this I was fortunate to have a factory shop manual and the original fuse block to this car which has never been unplugged.

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last but not least a detailed diagram of all components with wire codes provided by Y-n-Z's.

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Started out with a mock up arrangement of the upper leads.

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Then began arranging and separating the bottom leads.

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Then it dawned on me that the bottom leads need to be set first before the block can even be mounted. The shoulder of the sheathing will be directly in my way if I try to feed them in after the fact. I'm learning...its my first one.

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Bottom leads in with fuse block mounted to the wall. I was really happy that they tucked themselves away down into the sheath once the block was installed. Now for the upper leads.

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The instruction sheet and manual is nice but again there is no substitute having the original example right there as it went. So glad I never broke this down.

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Done; The upper leads and took extra time and a few retries to arrange them in the smoothest and least stressed position that I could. Onto the next deal.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Justin Rio]

Custom bi-metal wheel project:

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Over the years I had scrounged together a set of Original GT bi-metal wheels for this project. A pair of 4.5 GT's with the heavily negative offset for the front and a slightly wider pair of 5 inch RSK rollers with a little positive offset for the rear. Though I wasn't 100% satisfied with the width on the rear I had plans of maybe installing the centers into new wider hoops; at least that was the initial plan. However after finally mocking them up with the car for this photo I was less than excited about them.

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They where okay but didn't convey the look I had built up in my mind. I'd figure out what was lacking a few weeks later; A bit by chance.

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A buddy of mine bought a stash of Pre-A 16's here locally and had the seller drop them off with me for an eventual shipment out to him back east at some point. Didn't think about them much for a couple of days until one evening...

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A mock up with my drums with a silver pair "just to see". I knew the minute I stepped back that this was the look I wanted.

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A mock up with the rear wheel spacers solidified it for me even further.

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What made the difference in my eyes was in the vent hole profile. The holes are larger and the flange runs taller and turns softer where as this area on those GT wheels is scrunched and turns quicker fit down into those smaller 15 inch hoops. That's what I wasn't liking though I couldn't put my finger on it at that moment. I had to focus just on the faces here as the width of these wheels would distort my dream but I knew the direction I was headed.

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I went directly into the planning phase of rounding up some 16 inch centers, figuring out the final widths and offsets then locating an outfit that could build the alloy hoops and mount the steel centers for me. Harry Witham came to mind first. More on this custom wheel project next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Adam Wright]

You need some of these, real deal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284282187427

[Gordon White]

Those are going to look great
anxious to see finished wheel

Gordon

[Justin Rio]

Too Skinny and too Expensive my man...

Thank you Gordon, I actually finished building this set a couple of years ago; just working up to that part.

Began my search for the Steel centers:

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First consideration were the New chinese repop centers. They look good but I was warned about potential brittleness issues due to the unknown carbon content in chinese steel. Probably wouldn't be an issue but,

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I eventually determined the mounting flange width was about 5mm too shy for comfort. Not only that but a narrower flange limits offset range especially to the outside as the rivets would be into the stepped shoulder of the hoop much quicker.

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Another little quirk with these is that the vent holes are indexed just a touch off with the lugs so the vents in the drum end up off center.

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Originals of course mount centered. Not a big deal for sure but it was just more confirmation that these where not the direction I was going in.

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I was now looking at original steel wheels for my donor centers. Fortunately this little stash provided me with all the info I needed as to which ones I was looking for and ultimately I found 3/4 of what I needed right here. It was meant to be...

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Lemmerz wheels Provided no usable flange.

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Welded KPZ was close with a nice flange but reliefs where carved out of it so it was a no go. Sudrad wheels had the same reliefs so they too where not good candidates.

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Riveted KPZ where the ones. Again, having all those Pre-A wheels on hand proved invaluable. I had 3 of the 4 donors right off the bat. Rear pair harvesting and prep next.
Thanks for looking.
Justin

[Justin Rio]

Harvesting the steel centers for my rear wheels.

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This pair I decided would be perfect for the rears as the vent holes have that additional relief pressing around the openings for a slightly more aggressive look. These were really early as they were the even more narrower 3 inch width and had no holes added for brake adjustment. One was stamped VW with a very early KPZ logo but the centers where a perfect match otherwise. No date codes on either.

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Out of that small stash of 16's only three were the riveted version so the choice was sort of preset but it all worked out.

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Before I began dismantling them I did a few visuals just to be 100% sure this was what I wanted. These where 750.00ea. donors at the time and once I began removing the rivets they where mine no matter what. Their narrow profiles really put things into question so I had to come up with illusions like this to help me make up my mind. Once shown doubled together for a 6 inch width I was comfortable to proceed.

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Began grinding and punching out the rivets. No going back now...

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They didn't just come out once the rivets where removed. They are pressed fit so it took a few carefully leveled chest high drops to my shop floor to finally get them free.

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Another mock up for a glimpse of what was planned with a drum sitting in the backside of a 6 inch Fuch wheel; It was promising

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Cleaning and prepping the centers next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Joris Koning]

Very very cool Justin. Good to see you posting again

[Greg Scallon]

I agree with Joris. Good to see you back. Plus, this is an awesomely engaging project. Thanks for sharing.

-Greg

[Bil Brown]

Nice work Justin.....enjoying the challenge and experimenting. There`s a certain odd Lemmerz 4x15 riveted wheel that might be VW. It has a center very similar to the 4.5x15 Carrera offset wheel. I had a pair a few years back and never did find out what they belonged to. I`ve seen a listing in the last year or so of a couple for sale.

[Justin Rio]

Thank you Joris, its very much appreciated.

Greg, Thank you too, that was very nice of you to say.

Bill, Those do sound like some good candidates for something like this. I've come to realize that there where many unique stampings and configurations with these early 1950's 16 inch wheels for VW and Porsche. Thanks, this side project turned out to be quite the undertaking. Trying not get too detailed here but I want to convey what went into all of this and that they just didn't show up effortlessly at my front door one day. I had to work for them but it was all that much sweeter on the day that they did.

Thanks again guys...Justin

Rear wheel center prep:

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Part of my prep was adding in a detail that Bill Brown actually made me aware of. All the factory Bi-metal wheels had this raised nipple to signify their identity. While I was wiping out that VW logo I thought I'd add in that detail for fun.

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Centers are back from media blast and was in process here of treating them with some black oxide. Other than a thin coat of clear this was going to be the final finish I had planned for them to really highlight that they are alloy/Steel.

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I've always been an admirer of Greg Young's GT speedster and I really liked the way he set up his RSK wheels to emphasize their composition. Here is a shot I took of it waay back in 1990 at Villa Casa Blanca show.

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I'm following his theme but instead of painting them in graphite I'm leaving them raw, oxided with a mat coat of protective clear. Another mock up with my Fuch wheel to help keep me motivated.

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With the car for fun. I had to block out that extreme negative offset but I was just trying to keep the fire lit under myself.

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Both centers all cleaned and treated. I was now onto determining the final width and needed offset. I was also in process of finding someone who could actually build the wheels for me. All of that coming up next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Bil Brown]

Justin.......there is a factory service bulletin about that dimple on the center. It meant that wheel had a thicker steel center than the previous wheels......which were prone to cracking. I had several that cracked around the lug hole.....maybe from the spacer?

[Justin Rio]

oh that's right Bill, I do remember you sharing what those meant some time back.

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I don't think the extra thickness solved the issue. Those RSK wheels I had where gas welded several times in and around the vent holes.

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Some were steel and some beads where brass but all done a very long time ago. An old VW mechanic once told me that Germany had issues from time to time in the 50's with impurities in their steel. He said it attributed to a lot of chipped or broken gear sets in his time. That was his story to me anyway. Maybe that carried on into other components?


Dialing in my rear back spacing and width.

I was initially thinking about getting greedy and going for a 7 inch wide rim but after some internet study and education on what actual final tire and wheel widths are I was back down to a more realistic 6 inch wide rim. I'm sure a lot of guys know this but this is for the ones who may not. What I learned is that a designated 6 inch wide rim is actually 7 inches overall in width. The width down between bead shoulders is what they count as "width" then you have to add in a half inch on both side for the bead lips. After that you have to account for the tire in which they recommend yet another half inch for both sides. So a 7 inch wide rim could easily be 9 inches across in final form. The quarter panels are stock; not pie-cut or excessively crowned so I thought I better save myself the aggravation.

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I set the backspace up to utilize the GT spacers. I understand their original purpose but like a lot of guys I think they look tough in there so I wanted to run them. The center is snugged up with the spacers here to begin determining my sweet spot. Had to load the end of the makeshift "axle" here to gain a little more negative camber as it will eventually have.

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A couple of paint stick work as my representative wheel and tire. Green/black lines measure 6 inches apart. The secondary lines at both ends represent the additional standard 1/2 inch where the bead is. So the overall width is actually 7 inches. The upright stick in this shot represents a tire and is another 1/2 in width.

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Began by determining just how much backspace clearance there is before its into the shock, bump stop and spring plate. I exaggerated everything just to be on the safe side.

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I didn't want them too dished or deep so I was staying to the positive side. This position represented 5 inches of Backspace and it was too far away from the lip of the fender even with the spacers. The other thing I'm looking for is to have this rear well just stuffed to the edge with its wheel and tire. Can't stand it when its sunken in or weak looking out back Especially on a coupe, if the wheel and tire are too small in there the roof line just takes over; it has to stand strong under there to balance things out. IMHO

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After a lot of finagling, checking and rechecking I eventually settled on 4.5 inches of back space as my best compromise. This filled the gap at the back of the fender well nice enough. Needed a margin for error also.

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At the same time that position was giving me good clearance to the inside obstacles. Again the uprights are representing the half inch of tire overhang.

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Mocked up once again with that fuch with 2.5 inches of front spacing. A touch more dished than I initially planned but it would be fine as long as it sits right in the wells. A lot of prep and a lot of planning but it was finally Time to send these off to be built but I had to find an outfit to build them first. That was a journey in itself...coming up next

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Justin Rio]

KPZ/Borrani Specials


The first guy I contacted about building and mounting these centers into some aluminum hoops was Harry Witham however something must have been going on down there at the time as communication was thin and he couldn't commit to getting to them for the next several months at the soonest. Continuing on with my search I happened upon the manufacture in Australia that actually spins the alloy rims for him. I asked if they could spin some hoops alone for me and they were open to it however once I mentioned that they where going on a Porsche they directed me back to Harry; so that was a dead end. Jack Staggs recommended an old school wheel builder that did a lot of salt flat racing stuff but we found out he had since long retired. After that, I researched and contacted several wheel manufactures and metal spinning outfits; they were only interested in production runs and that was for the hoops only, no mounting. Next was a Motorcycle wheel manufacture that spun up some nice looking rims but they could not build me the widths that I wanted. By this point I was getting pretty disheartened then once again by chance I was watching an episode of "How its made" and they were featuring the legendary Borrani wire wheel company in Italy. Once I saw the part where they spun an alloy billet into a new rim I went right online for some contact info, it was worth a shot. Much to my great relief I had finally found a manufacturer that was open to building them. There was however two catches, One, a premium was going to apply for a custom one off build and two, I had to go through one of their authorized dealers to place the order. This meant some middleman action added into the final cost but at this point I was fine with it as I was at my ropes end. I just needed them built...and correctly too would be a nice plus. I was really excited about them doing the work; I couldn't improve on that. After getting the order and confirmation placed the centers where boxed and shipped to Milano.


They took several weeks to complete but the dealer was nice enough to send me several progress shots.

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New 6x 16 alloy barrels spun

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They were absolutely beautiful...

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Teaser mock up. As you can probably guess I was riding pretty high on the day I received these.

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final truing before the rivets

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Drilling for the rivets

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Rivets going in

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Completed and ready to come home

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That "one fine day" arrived in July of 2018

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I had them increase the amount of rivets to 20 as extra insurance.

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A shot in direct sunlight just before I rushed out to my shop to mock these up with the car. It was very exciting day to say the least. I'll post those next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Bil Brown]

Wheels look great Justin!