What kind of wheels do I have?

[71ghiavert]

Howdy. Trying to find out what kind of wheels I have on my ‘70 Ghia, which I bought 4 years ago. I remember the PO maybe saying something about grinding off and polishing something on the wheels, so they may look different from original. Asking because I’m curious, but also because the center caps are losing their chrome and I’m wondering if they are still made or I can track down an old set or some sort of replacements.

These were put on the car around 1990. Thanks for any thoughts/info.

[Alstrup]

https://vwparts.aircooled.net/American-Eagle-Rivie...iviera.htm
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435993

[b-man]

Riviera wheels.

The later versions had a raised flat polished area on each spoke, the rim edge and the raised area were aluminum finish the rest was painted black.

The earliest versions had no raised area on the spoke and the entire wheel was bare aluminum with a machined rim lip. My friend’s dad had a 1970 beetle with the early version, pretty sure he bought the car new with those wheels being a dealer option.
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[Teeroy]

They look like Riviera copies (look like Eagle or EMPI)that had the spokes ground smooth and repolished. EMPI sells a cener cap that looks like yours in black or chrome (plastic)
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[Rob Combs]

Looks like a later-style set of polished Empi Rivieras with the spokes ground down smooth to look like early-style Rivieras (based on what the former owner told you).
I've recently seen center caps in a similar style available new, but in black plastic. I believe they're Empi as well.
I think Empi chrome center caps that fit those wheels are still available new (I have the same wheels and picked up a set of chrome center caps a few years ago at Import Parts Connection in Hawthorne). Not sure if the specific style center caps you have are still available in chrome.

Hope that helps!

[Vanagonsgoslow]

Those are not Riviera wheels, but are an earlier wheel that was lighter in weight called “Formula Vee”. I have a set on my 1970 Porsche 914. They measure at 5x15”, while Riviera’s measure at 5 1/2 x 15”. That said, the Rivieras are a more robust wheel design than the Formula Vee.

[Busstom]

[Rome]

The PO's statement supports your wheels to be "later" (aftermarket) Rivieras which started as the one in Alstrup's link. I have a set of VW of America official accessory Formula Vee wheels, and there are some differences to the later Rivs:
- FV outer edge of the wheel does not have a thin lip
- FV tire valve stem mounting area has a small rectangular depression
- FV outer end of each spoke sits slightly outboard of the "web" of the wheel; the late Rivs' spokes are inset and sit on the web.
- FV spokes did not have the flat raised pad. Those pads would've been ground off to smooth the spokes.

Here's a photo of a FV wheel (BadWeb gallery). The one set of FVs I have are painted flat black on the spokes, which was an actual accessory style in addition to the blank non-painted style.

Your wheel:

[Busstom]

That's interesting. I would've thought they'd be early, if anything, based on the location of the valve stem (i.e. not down on the out-facing rim portion).
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[71ghiavert]

OP here. Thanks everyone. I'm a lot clearer now about what I have.

I checked out the replacement caps. The chrome ones, alas, have a big logo which I'd rather avoid. Thinking about getting a black one and, as a test, trying chrome paint (there's a guy online who tested a bunch of varieties side-by-side--side; the Dupli-Color seemed to come out best).

If that looks lousy I'll think about re-chroming (the caps are plastic, but I gather re-chroming is still doable) or look into the Alsa product, which looks like it produces a great result but is expensive ($199 for the base kit).

If anyone has any thoughts please lemme know. I'm hoping Dupli-Color, carefully applied, looks good. At $9, it certainly seems worth a test drive . . .

[Rome]

Maybe this could work for a center cap? https://vwispwest.com/center-cap-fits-reproduction...treagle-l/

[71ghiavert]

Wow! Rome! Cool! These look like the answer. I'll go out and measure my caps and see if they match. Clean, shiny, understated, no logo. Just what I was looking for. Many thanks.

[Typ3nut]

What is the size of center hole of your wheels?
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=990869

[Rome]

The ad which Typ3nut listed shows yet another variation of the "Riviera"/Formula Vee rim. The ad rim has no outer lip along the perimeter, yet has a "dip" in the inner rib where the valve stem is mounted. Each spoke's outer/bottom end also sits outboard of the rib, just like a FV wheel. And most obvious, the raised flat pad on each spoke.

I don't know why the ad mentions a "Carrera" wheel, if it is generically referring to this particular style. I'm not aware of yet another brand of this general style if that is what Carrera refers to.

Another styling difference between the FV wheel and your Riv is the radius of the curve where each spoke transitions to the center lug section. The radius of the FV is much smaller than that of the Riv.

[Typ3nut]

Carrera & Riviera were made by "PI"- Pacific Italia which used the same center cap.

Volkswagen sold them as G.T. Mag Type Wheel

[Rome]

[71ghiavert]

Howdy. OP again. Just took off a wheel, and inside the cap it says “D & D Machine, Pasadena” and the size is marked as 2.52 inches, which is 64 mm. Looking around online, that seems to be a fairly common size cap. So far I haven’t found one I like (most are kinda flat) or a duplicate. Will dig around a bit more and post if I find a good solution.

Thanks everyone.

[71ghiavert]

Found these on Amazon. Only ones I could find in the correct size (2.52 in. or 64 mm, with a 2.34 in. diameter where it clips into the wheel) that also protruded (i.e., aren't flat). Not an exact match, but they will probably look OK. If not, I'll look into restoring/rechroming the originals.

https://www.amazon.com/Rheedal-Center-Rim-Chrome-S...5&th=1

Thanks.

[Typ3nut]

Here is a Pacific Italia Ad that shows both style Riviera Wheels

Eagle Alloy both styles... Series 076

[71ghiavert]

Howdy. OP again. Thanks for everyone's help. FYI, I found some inexpensive centers ($27 for 4!) online that seem to work really well. They were a fraction small for the hole in the wheel, but I wrapped electrical tape around them, then fit in very snugly, and I added some silicone on the back for insurance. Seems to work so far.

There were chrome copies of the originals available from Empi, but they had a big blue "Empi" sticker across the front, which I didn't want as part of my car's look. MIGHT have been able to remove the sticker, but was worried I'd damage the chrome, which I'm sure is a thin coat on plastic. So, doing this for now. Some day may try rechroming the originals.

Here's pix, before and after: