Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: Bryan Boyle on Tuesday,June 20, 2023, 08:52:25 AM
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Got my steels back from the powder coater. Stripped, soaked in hot iron phosphate, powder primed, then shot with gloss black.
Threw an NOS cap/knave plate on...think they'll look the part on 3291R.
One of the 5 is a bit banged up; will use that for the spare (and throw a tube in it). The other 4 look almost new (accounting for the 50+ years since they were manufactured.)
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now all you need to find are the stainless steel beauty rings (embellishers)
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I am pleased to see that you have the cojones to go with black rims. My car came with black rims and I've been struggling with the decision to go black or silver as I must restore them due to rust and dents. Black is so unusual and "tough guy" looking but it tends to be lost in the wheel well. Silver shows off the Lotus shaped vent holes and makes the wheels look bigger. Decisions decisions...
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I am pleased to see that you have the cojones to go with black rims. My car came with black rims and I've been struggling with the decision to go black or silver as I must restore them due to rust and dents. Black is so unusual and "tough guy" looking but it tends to be lost in the wheel well. Silver shows off the Lotus shaped vent holes and makes the wheels look bigger. Decisions decisions...
No decisions necessary. I've done the silver rim thing. Done the grey rim thing. Have the GKN alloys which no one in my economically depressed area can seem to balance properly, so...dug into my stock of wheels from past deconstructions, picked out the best 4 (which, even though they're the best, certainly aren't pristine) and had them powder coated in what turned out was the cheapest color combo: gloss black.
The trim rings were called "Rimbellishers"; I recall seeing an ad for them which someone sent me a while ago...were meant to dress up plain wheels in the post-WW-II to late 60s time period. Subtle is good, as per your photo of Tara (Linda Thorson) and her red Europa. Balanced and true wheels are better. After all, what counts is how *I* think of the image my car presents. And...bonus, the steelies were the *STANDARD* fittment, though most spent the extra cash for the alloys...so, they'll be correct for the car, if not a little uncommon for the model...;)