My 'new longer-term project' ...

[michel]

andy
Just tripped over the entire thread...my only suggestion more posts!

By chance were the wheels procured from a Mr Witham ?


quote="Lightweight_911"]Coincidentally during this same period I was looking for a set of original magnesium Campagnolo wheels for my '59 Giulietta Sprint &, during my internet searching, I came across an advert for a set of steel/alloy Alfa SZ wheels for a very (comparitively !) reasonable asking price.

The guy selling them was in Sicily but on further investigation these turned out to be recently fabricated wheels rather than originals ... since they comprised steel centres rivetted to aluminium rims I asked if he could get others fabricated - an affirmative response but, again, the cost was prohibitive & they were an unknown quantity being fabricated by an unknown individual ... back to the search.

Finally, by way of contact in the US, I got to hear about someone in Australia who had been repairing & fabricating Porsche 356 Carrera/550/RSK steel/alloy wheels for many years & he agreed to make a set of wheels to my specifications !

Since this was going to be an expensive venture, I wanted them to appear as correct as possible so I started to look for a suitable set of steel donor wheels (to provide the centres) with appropriate date stamps ... they had to be dated '64 or '65 since these were the only 2 years that the early 904 body style was produced ...

Unfortunately over the preceding 12 months the price of original steel wheels had increased dramatically but a 'wanted' add on the Early S Registry produced a set of (4) 65-dated wheels in very good condition at a sensible price :



- so I bought them & had them shipped directly to Australia.

I can't say that the wheel fabrication turned out to be a smooth, trouble-free transaction - there were a number of problems along the way - but I did end up with a set of 4 steel/alloy wheels.

After a lot of research (& measuring original cars) I decided to go for a set of 5 1/2's & 6's & here are a few shots of one of the wheels:








- & a comparison with a std steel wheel:






- now they just need painting so that they look like std steel wheels !!!


.[/quote]

[Lightweight_911]

By chance were the wheels procured from a Mr Witham ?

Yes, Michel, Harry Witham made the wheels for me.

The steel/alloy wheels have now been painted so that they look just like all-steel wheels ( ) & are waiting to be fitted with a set of Dunlop CR65 Historic race tyres (5.00Lx15 front & 5.50Lx15 rear) - the 6"&7" steels have been fitted with 185/70 (F) & 215/60 (R) Avon CR6ZZ's. I have 2 x 5.5" steel spares - one with a 5.00L CR65 tyre & the other with a 185/70 Avon CR6ZZ.

[Lightweight_911]

You might remember earlier in this thread I mentioned that my intention was to run 2 x MSD 6AL spark boxes + 2 MSD Blaster coils as the ignition sytem for my twin-plug engine but that these would be hidden from view & I would use some visible 'dummy' Bosch CDI boxes & Bosch black coils to appear period-correct.

I wasn't happy about the extra weight of the extra pair of ignition coils ( ) so decided to 'backdate' the MSD ones ...

I started with a pair of high vibration MSD coils which have the advantage that they're black to begin with.

First job was to remove the 'flashy' decals - one done for comparison:





I then masked the black main body of the coils & sprayed the tops with (red) plastic primer (after 'keying' them with 600 grade wet n dry) :




- then added the Bosch decals & used some original Bosch coil clamps :




The proportions are different to the original Bosch black coil (the MSD ones are longer) but they're going to be mounted upside-down below the CDI boxes on the rear bulkhead in the engine compartment so hopefully won't be too obvious.


Now I need to 'age' them so that they don't look quite as new ...

[Nick Moss]

The proportions are different to the original Bosch black coil (the MSD ones are longer) but they're going to be mounted upside-down below the CDI boxes on the rear bulkhead in the engine compartment so hopefully won't be too obvious.

Now I need to 'age' them so that they don't look quite as new ...

I think you and Mike M need to go into a small room together and stay there until you get better

[sladey]

Yeah! Like either of them are ever going to be better

[haasad]

Those coils look great where do you get stickers like them ?

andy

PS I found a set of those harnesses you renovated from an old powerboat ...watch this space ...

[Gary71]

The proportions are different to the original Bosch black coil (the MSD ones are longer) but they're going to be mounted upside-down below the CDI boxes on the rear bulkhead in the engine compartment so hopefully won't be too obvious.

Now I need to 'age' them so that they don't look quite as new ...

I think you and Mike M need to go into a small room together and stay there until you get better

Personally I'm disappointed with the compromise

[Lightweight_911]

Personally I'm disappointed with the compromise

They're already 'grating' on me so I might end up going back to my original idea ...

[Nick Moss]

I have another solution for the coils.. I'll send you a PM

[Gary71]

Personally I'm disappointed with the compromise

They're already 'grating' on me so I might end up going back to my original idea ...

I was joking

[911hillclimber]

But where are you with the car build?

I would simply put the coils in the tollbox for a short time or let them knock about the bench for a while to patina them on the edges.
However, they will soon be bruised when on the running car after a year!

[Highfield]

Now I need to 'age' them so that they don't look quite as new ...

Andy, I am really enjoying this build thread, but if you take as long as Mike the coils will age naturally

Ian

[Lightweight_911]

But where are you with the car build?

Engine & gearbox are now in - next are fuel, oil & ignition systems.

Andy, I am really enjoying this build thread, but if you take as long as Mike the coils will age naturally

Ian

The car will be on the road this summer ....

[Barry]

Can't wait!

[sladey]

Get him to clarify 'this' - ideally to add a number - like for example 2012