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It’s a day ending in “Y”, so you better believe that my mind has been on wheels. I stumbled across a few neat sets this week and though I’d post them up for any wheel whores such as me. We’ve got a neat set of Schnitzer classic 5 spokes for E30s, along with a rare set of 924 Turbo Manhole covers. They’re forged and the proper setup for the narrow body 924, and fairly rare to see. Also rare to see are a set of the Penta AMG replica wheels. Not as valuable as the ATS made wheels, they’re nonetheless pretty neat. There’s a mega set of BBS RAs that would just be stunning on an early 80s Mercedes SEC and a neat and very rare to see set of BBS-like Melber wheels. What’s your favorite?
The words “authentic” and “original” become quite contested when it comes to 1980s AMG products. That’s mostly because, in truly un-Germanic fashion, most of the records of the early AMG cars were lost in the move from an independent company to incorporation in the Daimler-Benz Goliath. That’s really unfortunate, because it opens the opportunity for interpretation; without documentation, how is one supposed to truly show that their car is an original modified version? There are also questions about what level of modification makes a “authentic” AMG; because, technically, you could buy a steering wheel, wheels and aerobits from an authorized dealer in the 1980s and be able to claim it’s an original car. But the big money tends to be reserved for the cars that were fully modified with upgraded engines, suspension, interior and exterior upgrades. We’ve seen a few of these variously modified SECs cross these pages, and today we get to look at another. This one straddles the middle ground of mods; a steering wheel, reportedly correct “Penta” wheels, and aerodynamic bits adorn this European market 500SEC, but the car also has the correct AMG suspension as well. With lower miles, will this 1980s spectacular dipped white example set the market ablaze?
Yesterday, Adam at Fast In Fast Out posted an article covering some of the best vintage racing wheels. I love wheels, and it was fun to see Adam’s article – plus, it also got me thinking about another wheel roundup. Adam asked in his article what was missing – so I found a few that I thought where absent from the lineup but are always fun to see. There’s a set of mega-rare and mega-expensive Campagnolo racing wheels for early BMWs; boy, do they look impressive though! Then there were some great Audi S6 Speedline-made “Avus” wheels. Later models were made by Ronal, but the originals came from the Italian manufacturer. Speaking of, there are a set of the infamous and often-sought Pirelli P-slots for Volkswagens below. Then there is a wild set of Gotti wheels – in some cases, these were raced on factory Porsches as an alternative to BBSs. Check out the width on those rear tires!!! Rota has made some replica wheels recently of some great designs; these both copy the BBS race wheels but also mimic some MSW and OZ designs as well – and boy, are they affordable! Then there are a great set of Ronal R9s that mimic the ATS-made “Penta” AMG wheels; the ATSs are usually more valuable but harder to find. And finally, another set of Speedlines – this time a Techart set for Porsches that just look incredible (and, oddly tasteful for Techart designs). Which is your favorite?
Following up on our trio of AMG-equipped cars Tuesday, a W126 500SEC AMG that I wrote up last year has resurfaced on eBay. Last time around the car sold for $13,100 – but there’s a twist this time, as it appears that the current seller (who, it should be noted, has zero feedback) is offering the car at a discounted $10,000 with a non-running engine after having driven it less than 1,000 miles. Condition appears to be equal to December’s auction with some better photos this time around. I’m still not a fan of the chromed wheels, but refinish them in graphite with polished lips, tone down the tinting and in my opinion this car would be a stunner. Is it worth the rebuild? I hope someone thinks so!
The below post originally appeared on our site December 17, 2013:
The awesome looking 4-speed 280SE from 1977 that I wrote up in late July has reappeared on the marketplace, having not sold the first time around. This car appears to be really unique and well presented and would certainly turn heads at any show. I especially love the AMG-spec wheels and Euro-goodies that slim down and beef up the S-Class just a bit. At $12,000, this seems like a good deal for a great vintage Benz:
The below post originally appeared on our site July 26, 2014:
