Classic Alfa Forums

this is what many once beautiful fake split Speedlines look like today. through no or little fault of the owner, the finish and design of that particular wheel meant it ready to rot from the day it was made!

but all is not lost, trust me, even this nasty example can be turned around, and once again grace your Alfa smartly.


this is a quick thread on how i did it.

shrew

Before anything else, you're going to have to concede that the fake rivets have got to go, and being plastic, there's only one real way to do it, and that to drill them out.

i start with a 6mm or bigger hss drill bit, just in a battery drill, no need for massive speed or torque, and push down just enough that it bites through the first few mm of the head, cracking it away from the actual threaded bit, so that you are left with this.

this really doesn't take a lot of effort or push, just a steady hand, and a decent battery!
carry on around until they are all off, and then phase two, removing the core threaded part.

6mm hss drill is what you need, no smaller, no larger, its the right size for the job.

place the drill bit on top of one of the craters left from removing the heads, and drill down gently.

at around 15/20mm deep, you'll hear and feel the drill bit break through the core of plastic, pull it out, shut your eyes, and blow out the debris!

if you inspect the hole, you'll probably just see the remains of some white plastic, so gingerly drill a little further, until you stop seeing anymore white plastic removed from the hole, and the first tiny bits of swarf of aluminium from the wheel body itself, STOP!

this will be at a more definite 20mm deep or thereabouts, and at his point, wrap some pvc tape around the drill bit to give you a safe depth marker, and this will allow you to carry on round the wheel drilling out the plastic cores far quicker than scarily guessing at every one of them!

keep on checking as you go, but you should soon get the feel for it and when the drill speed and feel changes at the bottom of the hole.

ok, so now you have a rivetless wheel, what next?

well, in my opinion, theres only one answer when the parts are corroded, and that is a shotblast.

a chemical strip will remove the paint, sure, or weeks of sanding too, but what they won't do, is open up the weak pockets of corrosion and erase the contaminated areas of future threat.

this has to happen, even at the risk of resulting in a less than glass like final finish, without eradicating the source of the corrosion, you won't have any finish at all!

these weren't too bad, but still came out with occasional evidence of the corrosion in the form of this heavy pitting.

and heres the wheel, at the bad patch, shotblasted, and da/hand sanded with 40 grit abrasives, and blown of all dust and debris.


Now its into the oven, at between 180 and 190 degrees centigrade, for at least 10 minutes, probably more like 20, to try to cook out everything possible from those pits of corrosion.

Once cooked, it will be on with the first base layer of Powder Coat, i use a plain matt/satin black, and plenty of it!



More to come as the paint goes on,



shrew

Following this with interest as I have some Speedlines for my 16V Sprint!

Oh come on !!!

Thought it would be a Beginning/End thread, was anxious to see what he got out of the oven

Oh Chris, you have no patience!


But, you're quite right actually, and they have been out the oven now for a while.

John agreed that i would experiment with one single wheel first, before deciding on the final outlay, as he couldn't quite picture the Graphite Grey i was describing, plus to make matters a little tougher, i was also talking about a further stretch from the standard by polishing a slightly different area too.


So Graphite Grey it went, and i set about the polishing.





and i'll get you a more up to date picture tomorrow! ha ha!!


shrew

Here you go Chris

this is how the wheels look today.

Graphite Grey, with the U shape polished to mimic diamond cut, not mirror finish, instead of normally taking the polish to edge rim as usual.


The owner of these, John, has been waiting for a long time now for a guy to get hold of some replacement studs, but i'm not sure if they are ever going to arrive!


So today, i've come up with a better plan which i'll be discussing with him asap.

sexy

Very nice

pictures don't do 'em justice, i've seen them and they are fab

Cheers Guys


yeah its very tough to get the Graphite Grey to show up properly in a photo.

I have come up with another method of replacing the studs today, and at very reasonable cost too. Just need to run it by John first to double check he's not got his plastic push in jobbies.

OOh, tonights final update, is John is fine with my method, so hopefully next week i'll have these beauties bottomed!

Final build up soon....

should be seeing the man himself tomorrow mate

are you going to fill your boot/s again mate? ha ha!


I got John on the blower earlier tonight so we have a plan now, all sorted.

petrolhead wrote:are you going to fill your boot/s again mate? ha ha!


I got John on the blower earlier tonight so we have a plan now, all sorted.

lovely job mate

just going up to have a nosey at the Q4

may grab some bits but space here and time to sort bits etc etc.....

They look the bees knees in real life, as Kevin says. Looking forward to seeing them on a 75 I know of.

Awesome job Shrew. I remember someone got some of those plastic studs once and they were extortionate in price.

Hi Lee

yeah John had a guy who refurbed his last set i believe, who was organising some more of what he used last time, and i gather they weren't cheap.

Ive ordered a box quantity of stainless steel UNC cap head bolt, about 3/8ths long, and these will self thread into the powder coat that has narrowed the holes, aswell as being bonded in with Sickoflex, Demon Stuff!

These will make a really nice contrast to the graphite grey and polished recess, and should look a more realistic split rim effect than most others too.

Fingers crossed!

OK, quick update,

Finito!



picked up the cap head allen bolts i'd sized and ordered in A2 stainless, 3/8ths long, UNC Coarse thread, and offered them up, they looked like they'll be great.

these are a good bit oversized for the hole, particularly as they are now thick with powder coat, but no bad thing, so i ran a blind thread tap into every hole to give them a start


the good thing is, they then went in a dream, and tightened up to a very respectable torque too, so even though they are decorative bolts only, at least they should be going anywhere in a hurry!


so here they are, all done, and although not really as Speedline did them, i'm thinking they look better, way better, and on a rosso red 75 V6 Veloce, they're going to look awesome!

Very nice chap ! Look the part now

cheers JB


ive put your Atev A's in classified adverts for you now, feel free to go ahead and buy them.......

Lol I did see them very nice , but I think there sadly at the back of the list

ha ha! yeah,

a very verrrrrrry long list!

The Speedlines are now on my 75 v6, and they look a million dollars, thank you Shrew. NB, that's not what he charged. This has been an upsize from 14 to 16 inch wheel diameter, and the benefits in handling are real. The ride is slightly stiffer on the lower profiles, but not as crashy as the 164QV on the same wheels with slightly higher profiles and 'Sport' selected on the dampers. Rear wheel drive is winning at the moment, if only 'cos the steering is so, er, nice.