Bundts retired for 14x6 steel rims and hub caps. Found these 215 70 14 white walls on ebay. I look forward to seeing on the car.
Hi Phil seeing as the correct size 14 inch tyres are almost impossible to get. I would look for the 15x7 inch steel rims from a W126 300SE there should be a few in wrecking yards. I had them on my old 6.9 before buying 17x7.5 inch rims.
Thanks - that's really good advice. Wider would certainly be easier and look very nice. Those are photos I took when they landed last week so too late! There are still a few tyres around from corvette clubs but you are damn right, rare as hens teeth. No regrets, thought I keep it detail original and will be going on crayford that we are busily restoring and converting into a hearse (of all things) for my funeral business so tyres will do low and slow miles.
They look great and so much better than the alloys. The tyres are still available even white walls - not cheap though. I keep trying to persuade myself to get a set and will one day.
And if you get the 15 inch steel rims. You will need to find the hub caps from a W100 to have the steel hub caps. Last time I checked Classic Centre had done a run on late W100 hub caps. Not cheap though nothing for a W100 is.
Or you could go with the nice plastic W126 hubcaps..... ;) :o ??? ;D
No way - has to be steel. Think that the Classic Centre has also done the 14 inch but as you say not cheap. Considering how they are made not surprising. Have got a spare set just in case I lose one.
Gentlemen, all is good (as long as they still have the parts ::) ) that said; i went through the 15 inch steel rim replacement for my knackered 14 inch rims with crap tyre selection about three years ago so this is the goods as follows (prices are April 2011 subject to change...)
15 inch W126 (late model) steel rim - 126-400-28-02 at US$275 (NET price, no tax as coming out of USA)
15 inch Cap 115-401-04-24 at US$195.50 (NET price, no tax as coming out of USA, apparently stainless steel and i believe them!)
Wheel cap clips to hold them to the rim 123-401-01-28 at US$2.04 each (NET price, no tax as coming out of USA, need 4 per wheel)
Shipping & handling was US$93 per box of 1 rim, 1 hubcap & 4 clips.
Our contact for these parts is Tom Hanson at Mercedes-Benz Classic Center USA (based in Irvine California) who is well known to W116.org members, top bloke and tell him you are a W116.org member and you get a discount 8) email classiccenterusa@mbusa.com Tom often checks in with the W116.org site to see whats going on so taking that as a compliment to the sites good work 8)
If bringing into Australia and you have patience (took me two months) get sent over a box at a time because if the value goes over AU$1,000 it will hurt when it arrives at Australian soil (Nathan can verify that when he got his 15 inch bunts) :o
As for tyres i went for Bridgestone Turanzas 225/60R/15 as they are designed for European luxury cars but hear that Maxxis MA-P1s are pretty good to and cheaper (around AU$165 if you know someone). With this size you get larger rolling diameter so an implied 'overdrive' ::)
What you get is wheel arch space fully filled and more proportional to the vehicle, you will need to get the caps painted and our W116 meet some time ago to a new MB approved paint shop in Perth said they could no probs. For me, being a fan of stainless steel i am quite happy with the silver shine but do get ragged every time we have a group met :-[
G
FYI, the Classics Center sells 14 inch steel rims and 14 inch hub caps. Naturally you will need to have the hubcap centers painted body color on your own.
Michelin sells 205 14 70's. They only come in the "S' rating. The owners manual states that the correct everyday tires size is 205 14 70 "H". I looked all over for "H" rated tires and couldn't come up with anything from a name brand company. I ended up purchasing a set in the "H' rating from a company named Hi Fly. I hate them. The tires don't grip the road very well. When this set wears out, I'll replace them with a set of "S" rated Michelins.
I really prefer the look of the steel rims and hub caps over the Bundt rims. The shine of the chrome and the large Mercedes stars on the caps really makes a classy statement.
Not sure what size tyre people are looking for, I recently found some new 205 70 14 whitewalls made by Sumitomo, got them at Goodyear tyre and auto for $100 each, 215 width are more easily available also in whitewall but I have these on a 123 and that's about as wide as I can fit without problems on standard offset rims.
Hello, I'm confused. Are W116 hubcaps (not bundt wheels) aluminum or stainless steel? How might we polish out any scratches or swirl marks.
Quote from: 90077merc on 27 March 2021, 01:03 AM
Hello, I'm confused. Are W116 hubcaps (not bundt wheels) aluminum or stainless steel? How might we polish out any scratches or swirl marks.
I am reasonable sure they are stainless. (someone may correct me and say chrome plated) You would need a good buffing wheel setup to polish them good.
Polishing and buffing would be good but is stainless steel a surface coating that might be polished off?
If made from stainless, then the entire metal part is made from it.
put a magnet to it, most all stainless is not magnetic.
For the record, early one-piece hubcaps on the W100 and other models of the time (mid 1960's) were chromed steel, but MB migrated to stainless steel in the late 60's, probably due to salty roads causing rust issues.