[T3] Beauty Rings

[Jim Adney]

On 2 Jul 2013 at 11:35, Dave Hall wrote:

> My '71 had black backs to the wheels, and the black centres with slight
> silver overspray.  Obviously the factory painted them black then the outside
> visible rim was painted aluminium.

That's how I believe they were all done from '70-on.

> However my '72 appeared to have had silver all over, and didn't have
> evidence of the black at all.  I suspect that the factory may have changed
> their process from mid '71, but obviously it's hard to be definite.  I think
> it unlikely that anyone would have cleaned off the wheel back if they had
> repainted the outer part, as they hadn't rusted away much even after 20
> years.  

I've owned all years '71, '72, & '73, plus many other cars which have 
passes thru my hands for service. They all had wheels painted black 
overall originally. This is especially easy to see with the tires 
removed. The original paint is most commonly found on the spares.

I've never seen a wheel that appeared to be factory silver all over, 
but I suppose it's possible that VW had different suppliers for 
wheels and different vendors could have done this differently. If so, 
the overall silver must have been in the minority.

Or could the overall silver have been a "feature" of a lower price 
trim line that we never saw in the US?

> The centre part of the wheel also appears to have changed around then from a
> rolled edge on the centre hole to an angled flange, maybe to make it a bit
> easier to centre the wheel when replacing it.  

I see those in '73. They must have been $.02 cheaper to make that 
way, because that design actually centers less well. OTOH, I don't 
think our cars were ever supplied new with rotors with the centering 
ring. Those rotors appear to be aftermarket, and they are much nicer.

I've never seen any kind of centering ring on the rear hubs. Has 
anyone else?

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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