Seeking Opinions: Early Versus Late OEM Alloys

[Conserv]

On 10/4/2022 at 1:28 PM, billy g said:

Some very informative and helpful responses so far. So the consensus seems to be early alloys for round tails and late alloys for square tails. The great photos from @AceAndrew nearly settled it for me. Then I dug up this old BaT listing...

 

Euro 1974 BMW 2002tii

BRINGATRAILER.COM

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Bid for the chance to own a Euro 1974 BMW 2002tii at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #46,508.

 

So the early alloys were available on Euro spec '74's?

Let’s slow down, eager beavers!

All four early OEM alloys on the Taiga metallic ‘74 tii are modern repro versions: produced from ca. 1998 until very recently. How do I know? Without even seeing the casting date on the rear of each rim, the cast-in “FPS” mark is on the face of the rim; period early OEM alloys, in addition to generally having a casting date on the rear of the rim, had the “FPS” mark on the reverse side (photo below showing one of the tii’s rims).

 

These rims are, therefore, obviously not original to a July 1974 car. Don’t assume alloys on a 50-year-old ‘02 are original to the car. We’ve all gone through lots of changes since 1974! 😉

I’ve seen dozens of 1974-dated late OEM alloys by now — both FPS and Mahle versions — and even a few dated late 1973.  I’m not convinced the early OEM alloys were offered as a factory option on Euro-spec square taillight ‘02’s. I’d want to see more evidence before I signed on to that idea. Meanwhile, more than 20 years of producing the repro early OEM alloy rims — again, ca. 1998 through recently — has led to their presence on many ‘02’s. But an early OEM alloy added to a car in 2008 does not make that alloy a factory option! 😉
 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

[billy g]

1 hour ago, Conserv said:

Let’s slow down, eager beavers!

All four early OEM alloys on the Taiga metallic ‘74 tii are modern repro versions: produced from ca. 1998 until very recently. How do I know? The cast-in “FPS” mark is on the face of the rim; period early OEM alloys had the mark on the reverse side (photo below showing one of the tii’s rims).

 

These rims are, therefore, obviously not original to a July 1974 car. Don’t assume alloys on a 50-year-old ‘02 are original to the car. We’ve all gone through lots of changes since 1974! 😉

I’ve seen dozens of 1974-dated late OEM alloys by now — both FPS and Mahle versions — and even a few dated late 1973.  I’m not convinced the early OEM alloys were offered as a factory option on Euro-spec square taillight ‘02’s. I’d want to see more evidence before I signed on to that idea. Meanwhile, more than 20 years of producing the repro early OEM alloy rims — again, ca. 1998 through recently — has led to their presence on many ‘02’s. But an early OEM alloy added to a car in 2008 does not make that alloy a factory option! 😉
 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

Good catch Steve! Another clue these wheels are repro is their glossy finish as @Don Bower pointed out. I read through all 152 comments in the BaT listing and nobody commented about this. Lots of controversy about the roof rack though!

[SydneyTii]

2 hours ago, Conserv said:

 

Bloody nice looking wheel date not withstanding 😜

[popovm]

20 hours ago, SydneyTii said:

Bloody nice looking wheel date not withstanding 😜

 

Agreed! I didn't realize these "spoked" alloy wheels were factory. They remind me a bit of Campagnolo wheels which I also love, not just for the connection to cycling.

 

To answer the question from earlier in the thread on what I run, I personally run e21 turbines on my '76, because they fit my budget ($) and are an alloy wheel, but I would love to run some Campies or those early alloy wheels.

 

 

 

[Conserv]

On 10/5/2022 at 8:00 PM, popovm said:

… They remind me a bit of Campagnolo wheels which I also love…

 

The similar Campy’s were introduced before the BMW OEM rims. So, yes, some “borrowing” was involved!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[billy g]

So...I found a set of late alloys for sale by a local gentleman. They were the original wheels on his '75 Polaris and seem to be in great shape! The price was reasonable, so I didn't hesitate to grab them. As luck would have it, I'm expecting my CN36's from Longstone any day now.

 

I really do prefer the look of the early alloys, though!

[JohnS]

Scored!  😄  13" wheels rule 💪

Edited October 18, 2022 by JohnS

[Charles in PA]

Nice pickup! And they will look even better when those Pirellis are mounted on them.  

[2002#3]

All nice rims.  All good points.  All good opinions.  This discussion made me rethink bottlecap/dish rims.  I never much cared for them; however, I quite like them now.

 

Sometimes it's hard to beat old-school, heavy, boring, workaday original steel rims.  And sometimes it's not.  

 

 

 

 

[JohnS]

29 minutes ago, 2002#3 said:

All nice rims.  All good points.  All good opinions.  This discussion made me rethink bottlecap/dish rims.  I never much cared for them; however, I quite like them now.

 

Sometimes it's hard to beat old-school, heavy, boring, workaday original steel rims.  And sometimes it's not.  

 

 Very True.  It's getting hard to even find the (FPS) later production repros of the early 13" alloy wheels anymore.  Let alone the later style which are even harder to find.  I love it when people find what they're looking for.  It's like American Pickers for the 2002 😁  

Edited October 18, 2022 by JohnS

[2002#3]

I found my reverse-side FPS alloys in Quebec four years ago.  $600.  I thought that was a deal.  

Any idea of the current price?

 

[billy g]

4 hours ago, 2002#3 said:

I found my reverse-side FPS alloys in Quebec four years ago.  $600.  I thought that was a deal.  

Any idea of the current price?

 

Wow, those look amazing! Even four years ago $600 would be a steal in that condition. These days, a single original wheel in restored condition would likely cost at least $600 (if you could find them). Friends and family, perhaps one could do better.

 

Just for fun, I priced out how much a set of repros would cost (BMW website still shows them as available, but I've confirmed they are not). One of those would cost over $400 (wheel, center cap, lugs, shipping). I'd happily pay that price, if available. That's how much I like those early alloys!

Edited October 19, 2022 by billy g

[Blue 02]

On 10/2/2022 at 12:20 PM, tech71 said:

They really are.

I'm not a purist regarding wheels so if I wanted the "pie pan" look on my 76 I would just mount my set of bottle caps. Relatively cheap and plentiful, I know they get a lot of bad press here but there's a lot good to say about them.

My early alloys still sit in storage, freshly painted, new tires mounted. Never installed on my car, yet.

Go steelies!

Wheels are like accessories, most of us here have multiple sets, I current ly have 4 sets across 2 cars:

FPS alloys

Steelies

Bottle Caps

320i turbines

Other folks out there, what choo got?😉

I have a set of FPS alloys getting cleaned.  What color did you paint your wheels?

 

Thanks - Rich 

[tech71]

24 minutes ago, Blue 02 said:

I have a set of FPS alloys getting cleaned.  What color did you paint your wheels?

 

I used Wurth silver wheel paint followed by a light coat of clear.

Lots of other options in rattle can aluminum also look quite good.

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by tech71

[Bassie81]

Anyone familiar with these?