Replica (Empi) Fuchs, Are they worth considering? Options

[ThreeV8s]

I was hoping to get some feedback on and/or pics of the Empis pictured below which are available thru auto atlanta, sierra madre, etc. I am involved in a restoration of a 1.7 which has very rough rivieras on it, which might be in the vw offset since 185s barely clear the quarter panels. It is in no way intended to be a show car, but with Porsche center caps, will these look close to correct or will they scream after-market to the average car guy? I am leaning toward the first wheel below since the second wheel is advertised as “chrome”, which is definitely not correct for that wheel compared to the two different finishes the wheel had from the factory.

I have considered buying a used set, but from what I have seen and heard, they are very expensive to refinish correctly and the ones in nice shape are very high relatively speaking.

I have searched through several different threads concerning this topic, so I am sorry if this has been hashed out previously.

[Tom_T]

I was hoping to get some feedback on and/or pics of the Empis pictured below which are available thru auto atlanta, sierra madre, etc. I am involved in a restoration of a 1.7 which has very rough rivieras on it, which might be in the vw offset since 185s barely clear the quarter panels. It is in no way intended to be a show car, but with Porsche center caps, will these look close to correct or will they scream after-market to the average car guy? I am leaning toward the first wheel below since the second wheel is advertised as “chrome”, which is definitely not correct for that wheel compared to the two different finishes the wheel had from the factory.

I have considered buying a used set, but from what I have seen and heard, they are very expensive to refinish correctly and the ones in nice shape are very high relatively speaking.

I have searched through several different threads concerning this topic, so I am sorry if this has been hashed out previously.

Just to start with, if you like/prefer the 5-spoke look of the Rivieras & can live say 165 or 175 tires on your 1.7 or see rolling fenders below, then you can probably refinish them at home yourself for much less & have some very nice looking & also period correct style wheels.

Yes, if the 185s rub, then they're in the VW offset, since the original run Rivs on my car since "almost new" by the OO before me had fit the 1980s 195s in without rubbing in back (but the fronts rubbed on almost-full lock-to-lock). BTW, you can also roll your rear fender lips for more clearance, as long as it doesn't bother you to do so, but do it prior to repaint so you don't crack/stretch your fresh paint.

As for the Fuchs Repops, it's really up to you whether you prefer black backgrounds or all chrome/shiny look. Yes, the black background is immediately identifiable as repop, but if you like the look, go with it (I personally never liked the starkness of the 4 "paddles" look) .... otherwise, the chromed ones look like the folks who've done a full polished finish on the original Fuchs.

Lastly, you can still find a set of originals yourself for a decent price & refinish them yourself at home using the Easy Off method to strip the anodized finish, then polish them. There are a few threads on that "how to" in here, but you'll have better luck searching for them from googling, than with this site's search function. I don't know if you'll save any money over the new repops with this method, but it's possible or at least get close.

The Fuchs 2Ls are expensive to have refinished by the top pros Harvey Weidman & Al Reed in the range of $80-120+ each wheel, but just a lot of elbow grease, wheel polish & Easy Off ... & your time to do yourself for DD quality (same for refinishing the Riv's refinishing, but add black paint for the backgrounds).

As for center caps, you'll be best served to get the billet aluminum repro ones sold by the usual sources & over on TheSamba.com, since they're more sturdy than & less expensive than the Porsche ones recently reintroduced by Porsche Classics. You can also find chromed lug bolts with the proper "acorn" head by sellers over on the Samba site as well.

So that's my advice from a wheel snob on here! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

PS - if you go the Fuchs repro route & then decide to price shop, make sure you're getting the 40ET offest for the 914, since those wheels are prolific in the VW Bug & Ghia world in the VW offset.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[ThreeV8s]

Just to start with, if you like/prefer the 5-spoke look of the Rivieras & can live say 165 or 175 tires on your 1.7 or see rolling fenders below, then you can probably refinish them at home yourself for much less & have some very nice looking & also period correct style wheels.

Yes, if the 185s rub, then they're in the VW offset, since the original run Rivs on my car since "almost new" by the OO before me had fit the 1980s 195s in without rubbing in back (but the fronts rubbed on almost-full lock-to-lock). BTW, you can also roll your rear fender lips for more clearance, as long as it doesn't bother you to do so, but do it prior to repaint so you don't crack/stretch your fresh paint.

As for the Fuchs Repops, it's really up to you whether you prefer black backgrounds or all chrome/shiny look. Yes, the black background is immediately identifiable as repop, but if you like the look, go with it (I personally never liked the starkness of the 4 "paddles" look) .... otherwise, the chromed ones look like the folks who've done a full polished finish on the original Fuchs.

Lastly, you can still find a set of originals yourself for a decent price & refinish them yourself at home using the Easy Off method to strip the anodized finish, then polish them. There are a few threads on that "how to" in here, but you'll have better luck searching for them from googling, than with this site's search function. I don't know if you'll save any money over the new repops with this method, but it's possible or at least get close.

The Fuchs 2Ls are expensive to have refinished by the top pros Harvey Weidman & Al Reed in the range of $80-120+ each wheel, but just a lot of elbow grease, wheel polish & Easy Off ... & your time to do yourself for DD quality (same for refinishing the Riv's refinishing, but add black paint for the backgrounds).

As for center caps, you'll be best served to get the billet aluminum repro ones sold by the usual sources & over on TheSamba.com, since they're more sturdy than & less expensive than the Porsche ones recently reintroduced by Porsche Classics. You can also find chromed lug bolts with the proper "acorn" head by sellers over on the Samba site as well.

So that's my advice from a wheel snob on here! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

PS - if you go the Fuchs repro route & then decide to price shop, make sure you're getting the 40ET offest for the 914, since those wheels are prolific in the VW Bug & Ghia world in the VW offset.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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Thank you very much for all the replies.
I don’t think the 185/70s will rub…it looks like quite a few miles were put on the tires that are on there. I was hoping to go up to 195/65s, but that might not be a possibility with those wheels, and I don’t want to get into rolling the sheetmetal. I’d be fine with the rivieras if they didn’t need any attention, but if I’m going to refinish anything, I’d prefer to go the stock route or just buy the replicas.

If it were $80-120/wheel to get the fuchs refinished, I would buy a set and send them out. One estimate I received from a guy who specializes in Porsche wheels in my area was $250/wheel to completely blast, re-anodize, and refinish correctly. I’d be okay with that if I was planning nut and bolt restoration, but there are other places I’d rather drop nearly $2K (including the cost of the wheels and lugs) into this car. I am all about DIY, but I unfortunately do not have the time to do a project like that correctly right now between work, kids, etc.

If anyone knows of a shop that does good wheel work in the tri-state area for reasonable $, please let me know. I still have time for this as there is much to be done still. My real concern is that the Empi’s look generic from the factory pics. I would hope that they have more of a machined look in the flesh.

Also, the Empis are ET35 with supposedly 4.5 inch backspacing. Should I be concerned about fitting 195/65s?