I have decided that my winter project this year is going to be to restore my rally wheels. I'm going to have the tires and stems removed, and then sand blast them down to bare metal and send them out for powder coating. I also intend to replace the trim rings due to a couple of scrapes and a general dullness. All of the suppliers have a set of trim rings for about $79.00 or factory GM for about $300.00. I really don't want to pay the 300 but I don't want them to look cheap either. I ran accross these parts on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-14x5-14x6-Chevelle-OEM-Rally-Trim-Rings_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10076QQihZ020QQit emZ300003457282QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

Has anyone used these or had any experience with this vendor? Are these just the 79 dollar trim rings that are being hyped up, or are they truly a better quality? Please don't bash the vendor in this forum, but if you have bad things to say about them please PM me. Thanks for any input you guys may have, as I really want the wheels to stand out next year.

Scott - your orig trim rings can be made to look better than new. They are Stainless-steel, can be hammer & dollied and re-polished. I don't know what the cost would be but I may have a contact for you if you want to go this route...

Scott:
I'd bet those are just the Wheel Vintiques O.E.M. series rings. (judging by packaging...)
If you check out their model #3000-14/15/16 (6") & 3001-A (7") rings they are identical.
I've bough quite a few sets and they're as good as O.E.M. or better.
Give Steve P (Steve's Camaro's) or Jim Dyer (Chevy Classics) a call to get pricing. I know Jim has them and his pricing on the last couple sets I bought was :thumbsup:

Hope this helps;
John

The trim rings offered as NOS GM for $300 or what ever are usually replacement items.. not TRUE NOS.
The real ones have four clips located along the outside that clip over the lip of the rim... like the lead weights... they are no longer produced. If the tire is low and you go around a corner... the tire rolls over the rim edge and flips the trim rings off. That is why the Federal Highway administration made them change the design.

First off, what is your wheel code? Looks like it makes a difference.

(This info is for 69 rallys)

I have a set of NOS 14x6 (and 14x7 for that matter) and the auction ones dont look like them. They are close, but the NOS ones have an oval hole for the valve stem (unlike the square slot of the repros), also the edge treatment on the repros is not as crisp as the NOS ones. The GM NOS ones do not have the 4 clip design either. Only the factory 69 versions were 4 clip (got some scuffed originals too :) )

These are closer. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300003457363&ssPageName=MERC_VI_ReBay_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=300003457282&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=CategoryProximity&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

As to repairing them, if the dings are not under the stiffening ring, then they can be fixed easily. Simple stainless buffing will bring them back (curb rash wont come out with buffing! :D). Just remember, they were not a mirror finish from the factory, there was a cross-hatch pattern of buffing scratches like engine cyl honing marks on the inner ring. Outside edge was more polished, but still not mirror.

Have fun!

First off, what is your wheel code? Looks like it makes a difference.

(This info is for 69 rallys)

I have a set of NOS 14x6 (and 14x7 for that matter) and the auction ones dont look like them. They are close, but the NOS ones have an oval hole for the valve stem (unlike the square slot of the repros), also the edge treatment on the repros is not as crisp as the NOS ones. The GM NOS ones do not have the 4 clip design either. Only the factory 69 versions were 4 clip (got some scuffed originals too :) )

These are closer. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300003457363&ssPageName=MERC_VI_ReBay_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=300003457282&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=CategoryProximity&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

As to repairing them, if the dings are not under the stiffening ring, then they can be fixed easily. Simple stainless buffing will bring them back (curb rash wont come out with buffing! :D). Just remember, they were not a mirror finish from the factory, there was a cross-hatch pattern of buffing scratches like engine cyl honing marks on the inner ring. Outside edge was more polished, but still not mirror.

Have fun!

The oval hole I believe is correct for the 7" wheels, as the trim ring is deeper than the 6" trim rings. My original GM trim rings have an oval cutout for the valve stem. I didn't know about the crosshatch pattern being a factory thing. That is basically what I don't like about my trim rings is that they look dull, but they look that way because of the cross-hatch pattern. Now I'm confused about what I should do with them, leave them stock or have them polished.

If you want real shiny ones, buy a set of repops. Hang your originals in a safe place in your garage in case you ever want to put 'em back on. That is assuming they are originals with the 4 clip design.

Here are the pics of the 14X6 and 14X7 valve holes on my trim rings.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=32976

I just bought the 14 X 7 Ralley Wheel kit from Classic. The wheels are made by Cragar, even though there is tape over the name on the box. The trim rings have grippers all the way around, whereas the originals had one about every 2-3 inches. The hole for the valve stem looks the same but I haven't measured it. Tomorrow if I have time, I will take pictures and put them on my website for you to see. The only thing I don't like so far is that the trim rings don't extend a little beyond the rim like the old ones, and so far I haven't put the center caps on. I tried one, but it didn't go on easily and was dark, so I didn't want to do any damage. I have been working 12 hour days for the last 10 days. I hate power plant outages!!!!!!!!!!! I did manage to talk them into letting me off tomorrow, even though we have 10 more outage days, so I hope I can at least get my stereo installed.

Scott- I looked at the pictures of the rings on ebay and they look pretty close to original to me, and $125 for a new set of SS rings is not a bad deal for a driver.

If you are planning on having your car judged you might want to consider Dennis’s suggestion of having your originals straightened and polished. A good judge will deduct points for aftermarket rings.

Here are some pictures of the rings that came on the 14X5 DA rally wheels on my 67.
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-011.jpg
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-008.jpg
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-010.jpg

Scott- I looked at the pictures of the rings on ebay and they look pretty close to original to me, and $125 for a new set of SS rings is not a bad deal for a driver.

If you are planning on having your car judged you might want to consider Dennis’s suggestion of having your originals straightened and polished. A good judge will deduct points for aftermarket rings.

Here are some pictures of the rings that came on the 14X5 DA rally wheels on my 67.
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-011.jpg
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-008.jpg
http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/Team_Camaro/Wheels/Ring-010.jpg
Steve,
Those are exactly the same as mine. Thanks for the photo's. I think I am going to take the suggestion of buying a "show" set of repro's, for the local shows, and keeping the originals for points judged shows.
Scott.

If the tire is low and you go around a corner... the tire rolls over the rim edge and flips the trim rings off. That is why the Federal Highway administration made them change the design.

The federal government had nothing to do with the design change in the retention system; that's another "internet legend". :thumbsup: