92GTA

iTrader: (11)

I'm about to pull the trigger and buy a complete set of reproduction GTA wheels from Classic Industries. They sell for $199 each, fronts and rears.

First off, can they be had anywhere for less?!?!?!?

Second, does anyone have these and are they PERFECT reproductions? I know the later GTA's used a slightly different color gold than the early ones. Which gold are these repros? I do notice they are the 88-92 style and not the 87 style.

I just want to be sure before I buy these repros and then clean and sell my original wheels. My clearcoat is long gone and they require constant cleaning to not pit from brake dust and the gold is a little tincy tiny bit discolored.

Thanks!

Alex

EDIT: Anyone know how much it costs to totally recondition my stock wheels, gold powerder coating, clear, and all? Or would that be more than the $800 repro wheels anyway?

Thanks!

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

There is a thread about the Classic repro wheels...Seems like nobody that NOBODY that has seen them in person liked them.

Way too easy to find good OEM wheels. I JUST (shipped yesterday) mine 2 fronts.....no peeling gold or clear......and still have the rear 2 for sale. I coulda sold ya the full set.

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

K, I'll do a search right now and see what I can find here for reviews...

Thanks!

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

Hey man,check into the places that do wheel restorations.
They fix your wheels and bring them back to oem condition

I don't remember any links to them right now but I know they exist and I don't believe it will cost more than a set of re-pops cost to have your originals brought back.

And yeah,like Stephen said,the classic industries re-pops don't have a good rep. as far as I have read (so far)

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

Wow, no joke. I just read through all the posts. That sucks

I'll start getting quotes to have mine re-done then.

Thanks!

Alex

TTA850

I have a set on the way, if they are as bad as everyone says I'll send them back but I want to see for myself. They were $699 for the set ($717.14 shipped to my door). Most wheel places were quoting me $640 to redo a set, or about $160 a wheel, so for a little more I figured I'd give it a shot and could always sell off a set of stock wheels, which seem to bring several hundred dollars even in rough shape, to offset the cost.

HTH,
Steve

TTA850

Overall I'm pleased, other than the varied amount of gold on the back side of the wheels I think they are just what we need. Are they perfect OEM reproductions, no but then the price reflects that. Quality looks good though I wonder how they would hold up to some 1.4 short times on my GTA

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

Wow, not bad!

Thank you VERY VERY much for posting the pictures!

Mikos_89

Alex,

They're not perfect reproductions and if you're as **** as me, which I believe you are, you will be very disappointed in these new repro wheels from CI. The previous black versions sold a few years ago were old GM stock. That's why the black versions sold a few years ago were OEM perfect.

I looked at several gold repro versions and came away very disappointed in the paint quality so I decided not to get them. At $199 per wheel, I could send my originals out to be redone to perfection. The problem is the clearcoat on the polished rim section. The clearcoat appeared very grainy and foggy, like they misted the clear on or something, and I don't think you'll be able to buff them out. I tried to lightly buff one wheel when I was there with some wax/polish they gave me, but it didn't do anything. I'm afraid the only way to fix the clearcoat is to wet sand, but then you run the risk of going through the clear. The clearcoat paint appeared to be very thin on the polished rim section..

If you decide to get the originals redone, there's a place called Wheel Collision in Bath PA. I called them a few days ago and the guy on the phone was very helpful and seemed very knowledgeable. They also have a website. I'm thinking about sending my wheels over to them to get refinished. $140 per wheel plus shipping. They seem to know their stuff when it come to these wheels including the exact gold color (Aztec Mayan Gold) they should be painted in. They also carry a huge inventory of refinished wheels including most 3rd gen wheels. Unfortunately, they don't have a full set of refinished '88-'92 GTA wheels in stock right now if you wanted to buy them outright

It's about $125-150 per wheel on average not including any surface damage that may need to be fixed. That's an extra charge on top of the refinishing charge.. According to Wheel Collision, they paint their wheels instead of using powdercoating due to the limited color availability in powdercoat. I know you could probably get a color match to Aztec Mayan Gold in powdercoat, but it becomes very expensive due to the fact you have to order a minimum quantity which is usually a few hundred pounds or so of powder. They probably don't want invest in that much powdercoat just to refinish a few GTA wheels. That's the only thing keeping me from sending my wheels in right now. I'd prefer powdercoat over regular paint. Also, I'd like to see a sample wheel before I send my wheels in to see what the quality of the refinishing looks like. However, they offer a lifetime warranty on their materials and workmanship so that's a positive thing.

Decided to keep the 'ole '92 GTA after all?

-Mike

TTA850

Here's a thread from TurboTransAm.com where some other owners bought some sets, along with a discount code where one purchased a set for 20% off coming to $612.44 shipped to PA.

http://www.turbotransam.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=3163

Here's the discount code

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/classicindustries.com

I didnt know about the discount and paid $717.14, I may have gone with Wheel Collision if they would have quoted me at $140/wheel the same as Mikos_89. Several months ago they quoted me $160-190 per wheel depending on what work was needed and which wheel (front or rear) needed the work. That would have put the cost to refinish my wheels at $640 to $760 a set, for my needs the new set was the better deal.

HTH,
Steve

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I for one am a guy that was lucky enough to purchase some of Classics NOS wheels several years ago. They were very nice and even had the wheel code stickers still on them.
I have sent several sets of wheels out to several places to be redone and all of them came back not so well done at all.
Most plasces blast or strip them, fix damage, paint them and then chuck them in a lathe. Thats where I have a lil problem. Most every place removed soooo much of the wheel that the centercap didnt fit right and the wheel lips were very thin!!! One was a formula wheel that had so much removed, they had to put a decal on the spoke where it was supposed to have Pontiac cast in it !! (I never sent any with curb rash or dents) Im all for lighter weight but not when its done like that.
I for one would rather put my stock wheels in the attic, wait for a lil better way to restore them and buy a set of the classic wheels (that are made at the same place with the same molds) and enjoy a nicer looking wheel..
Im sure some of the CL wheels arnt perfect, as the OEM specs arnt followed as close anymore.. Heck they are prolly just selling all the old reject stock anyway!!
The pic of the repos look great!!
If memory serves me the overspray of color on the back of the rim is correct... I think..
I wish I wouldnt have sold those black CL rims years ago...

RPM WOT L 98

iTrader: (3)

Steve, thanks a lot for the pics. Is it possible to get an up close shot of the lip? I am really concerned about this clearcoat problem that people are talking about. I don't need 100% perfect wheels for my new JY TA, it will be a bit of a driver, but I am really picky about the lips on these wheels. If it is smooth and not "grooved" from the lathe, and the clearcoat isn't bad or dull then I will pick up a set in black for what I think is a reasonable price that they are asking.
So please if you can, some pics of the lips.
Thanks
Mark

Guest

From the pictures it looks exactly like what was described above, the clear over the machined area (is it even machined right under there?) is kind of foggy. There should be more shine on a new set of rims than that. They just look kind of dull to me. Other than that, at least someone is making these things.

TTA850

Here's one taken with flash and one without, I personally think the wheels are pretty good, perfect for a car thats going to be driven some, and I'm curious how many people will be able to tell they are repops when I have the car out at some events this summer.





HTH,
Steve

snowman383

do you know where i can get the center caps for those rims..i have those on my 88 bird and all i need is the caps with the bird on it

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Which ones?

Silver cap w/silver bird?
Black cap w/silver bird?
Black cap/gold bird?
Black cap w/gold WS6 lettering?

Those are the 4 variations that I know of.

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

I have also seen Black cap w/silver WS6 lettering. I've been looking for the gold now for months and all I can find, including from Classic Indistries, is the silver.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Ah......I still have the silver pop-in retainers & the black caps, gold birds, which are correct for 87 GTA (the WS6 was put in them starting in 88) after switching to my 17" Snypers.

And a spare black cap w/silver bird.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

I have 4 new in the bag Black and gold WS6 medalians only for those wheels. I wont be back infront of the computer till mon tho..
I also have the Black with silver WS6 medalians on the new caps that I bought around 96 or so. they only have 3,000 miles on em.. Im keeping them!

scottmoyer

Not that I'm interested in these, but what makes them not high quality? They look round, the finish looks consistant and there isn't gold paint on the polished section. What exactly makes them inferior to OEM?

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

The quality of the clear coat and the finish of the machined lip.

Based on the pictures in this thread I think I'm going to go ahead and order a set and take my chances on the finish, my GTA is more of a driver than a show car anyway.

scottmoyer

Can the finish on the wheel lip be manually polished or will that ruin the clear?

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

Looking at the pictures it looks a bit milky and with a couple thin spots on the very edge of the lip. The only thing you could do would be to reclear the whole thing.

Looking closer I think the real issue is that there are no machine grooves that go around the lip like the original so it has this weird flat texture to the metal under the clear. Can anyone verify?

I still have to admit, they look good enough for me.

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

They look good to me too!?
I don't see the problem?
92GTA, I think the machined lip,and clear issues you see are only caused by the pics.

Perhaps TTA850 could post up a pic of at least one of the wheels outdoors in the sunshine?

RPM WOT L 98

iTrader: (3)

I'm pretty convinced that I'm gonna get these. You really cannot beat the price, with the 20% off promo code, that's $140 off from $699, add some shipping and that is not that much more than I have seen people pay for a decent used OEM set!

As far as the centercaps go, GM Restoration parts actually has these, I am not 100% sure if they are reproducing these or had some old stock stashed somewhere but on ebay, do a search for WS6 cap, I did last night, you'll see a number of sellers that have these sets in the neighborhood of $60 to $80 for a set of 4 black or silver caps, with differerent color inserts and the metal retainers also! If you do not see the exact combo you need, email the guy and ask, I did and am getting the Black with silver on black for these new wheel I am planning on getting. It is an excellent deal considering that when these were available from the dealer, the cap was $35, the center was $15 and the metal retainer - don't even want to know!

I personally purchased a set of the GM Resto caps a few yrs back, Black with gold on black, and I was absolutely blown away by how original they look. This is not a sticker on the inside, it is the actual center piece that was at the dealer. Anyone will be pleased, they also do have them for Formula wheels as well.

BTW thanks for the up close pics Steve.

Guest

Maybe I will have to go over there and look at them.