Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Time for another Wednesday Wheels roundup – but this time, I’m looking at some great steering wheels I found. Check out the rare Volkswagen Petri model – or the equally rare Personal Audi Sport wheel. Then there are a brace of Momo Mercedes-Benz wheels including a neat original AMG wheel, and why not throw in a Ruf wheel for giggles even if it costs more than some cars? What’s your favorite?
For a long time, enthusiasts have claimed that you need to have rear wheel drive to enjoy a car’s dynamic abilities or have a successful race car. However, while limited in their application, front-drivers have a very long and successful track record dating back to the 1960s. Let’s not forget the Mini, SAABs and even some early Audi rally efforts which used front-drive platforms and were winners. In touring cars, Audi ran Coupe GTs and front-drive 4000s in Group 5 and later Volkswagen took the idea of the performance hatchback to their Golf platform in the GTi. Wildly popular as a budget racer since new, the Golf’s basic layout and platform evolved into the Volkswagen coupes – both Scirocco and later Corrado. While the early Sciroccos also gained much success in SCCA racing in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Corrado introduced a new level of performance with the VR6 engine. While the torque-laden application would seem on the surface to be a bad match for a front driver, the Corrado when properly set up is truly an impressive car and massively quick – a great alternative to the E36 chassis, for example:
There are some pretty distinct tuning periods, such that you can generally peg the time frame that a car was modified if it was “cutting edge”. For example, when I saw this 2002Ti pop up on eBay, I immediately thought it was a late 80s/early 90s modification. Most of that, to be fair, came from the dated wheels, but the boxy styling, attempt to update the grill and paint scheme just said to me that M.C. Hammer may have been playing in the background when this car was revised. And like early modified cars and even more recent examples, dated mods sometimes make a bit of a mess – and this car certainly looks dated to me. Despite that I think there’s still a lot to like here; the base is a clean 2002Ti, the box-flares aren’t horrible and inside there are some great Recaros and a Zender wheel. What would you do with the rest?
Time for another wheel roundup, and today I’ve focused on some great looking 5-spoke wheels. One of the cult BBS designs in the RF 3-piece wheel that was sold alongside the more common RS, RM and RA wheels in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This set looks awesome! The MOMO Stars look great and period correct on that M3; they’ll need some work but would be a cool winter project. The 993 Speedline Targa wheels are some of my favorite OEM Porsche wheels, and the Speedline Mistrals are a favorite aftermarket design – I’ve owned a set of one-piece Mistral wheels for some time that are for sale in the self-service classifieds right now. Then we have some great OZ Mitos, a popular design with the Porsche crowd, along with some Borbet Type As that are popular with the BMW and VW crowd. Both to be great in their custom configurations. Lastly we have some Fittipaldi wheels that were likely intended for a Fox-body Mustang but could work on a B3 Audi Coupe Quattro and would be really neat. I think the offset is a bit too aggressive for the early B2 cars but with some flares and stiff springs you might be able to make it work. What’s your favorite?
Here’s another roundup of some of the cooler accessories I found on EBay this week. The Nardi steering wheel is an absolute classic design and would really dress up a classic Volkswagen. I think the Mercedes-Benz reserve gas tank is too cool, even though it’s technically not a tuner accessory. It makes me want to buy the entire car just so I can slot it in! That DKW racing manifold certainly has a small number of applications, but it’s sure neat to see something for the old classics. Grabbing an original radio might not seem fun, but I love how the Blaupunkt-made Gamma units look for the Audis and you could return your car towards stock. Much as the Metric Mechanics team offers great motors for BMW, Techtonics Tuning offers this well-built 2.1 8V motor pumping out an impressive 150 horsepower with plenty of torque and instant response. Zender accessories are always popular, especially when they’re original items. And one of my favorite wheels has always been the MOMO Monte Carlo – what a stellar looking steering wheel! What’s your favorite?
