period wire spoke wheels for 107
 

Trying to decide if I think these would look good on my 107 chassis SL.I kind of like the "old school" look of them?.I almost bought a set shortly after buying my car.My chrome plated bundts are in pretty sad shape.Thinking of either spoke wheels or hubcaps for a period look.

http://modesto.craigslist.org/pts/1569274408.html

I think those are Zeniths, which IMO aren't as good as the Daytons, which I have. I will say that unless that is dirt covering perfect chrome, I'd worry about the chrome even though they may be from CA. Although my wire wheels are in pretty good shape, the PO didn't maintain them well (actually used them in at least one Northern winter). I called up Dayton and rechroming them is about the same price as new ones (~2000!!!!), which they don't make in exactly the same style as they were done in the 80's. Basically, they have to be cut apart, stripped, rechromed, and then re-wired, which they usually don't do unless the wheel is irreplaceable.

I also like the way they look, but:

14" tires look pretty dinky these days (these are very likely to be 14"), and it's actually difficult to find good, inexpensive 14" tires in this size.

They are also really, really heavy to the point where I can actually feel the difference driving pretty clearly between them and Bundts (real MB Bundts are very light, even in 14 x 6.5").

Cleaning them "sort of well" is a 1-2 hour job (which I did weekly in the summer). Thoroughly cleaning them is a wheels-off, 4-hour job (which I did at the end of the summer).

I'd really like to dump my bundt wheels and go with steel wheels w/hubcaps. Much nicer look IMO, and alot easier to keep clean.

I like the steel wheels/hubcaps on a show car, but they look very dated on the street. Clean, painted bundts look good; I have polished (not chromed) bundts, which took about 40 hours to do (the forgings are not perfect, the original paint is deliberately very thick, and it takes a LOT of work to get them to 98%). They get dirty, they get tarnished - but some polishing and they can always look like new.

I had not given a lot of thought to the weight issue.Less unsprung weight is always a good thing.I'm somewhat surprised you could actually feel the difference!
I was sort of hoping they were 15" but alas you were correct that they are 14's.There really aren't any good tire choices other than the raised white letter type commonly used on vintage American cars (Radial T/A,Dunlop GT,etc..)
I may keep the bundts and try a 225/60/14 tire.The 205/70's available these days do not have the relatively stiff sidewalls like were available when these cars were new.
I have seen a number of cars around my area with newer wheels in 17 to 20 inch sizes.I'm just not a fan of the "clown car" look at all!

Sumitomo HTR 200
 

Agreed, but now that the Michelin MXV4 is no longer made in a 205/70R14 (not that it was ever inexpensive), my tire of choice -- hands down -- is the Sumitomo HTR 200, available at the Rack for $58 per -- and for not-that-much-more as a special order at your local Sears Automotive. They have even performed decently during the recent East Coast snows -- not bad at all for a high performance summer tire.

Actually, either one is a good look on this car to me.

If you have the original build sheet on the car, then you can know how to equip it. --That is if you want the restore it to as was new.

If you like the spokes, check these out:

http://cnj.craigslist.org/pts/1595534612.html

Includes the Michelin tires too, looks like a good deal.

I will testify , cause I saw them , strifes wheels ( bundts) are a work of art.

Now then - were wire wheels ( spokes) actually a MB item or aftermarket or special order or what , I have never seen them in any of the original brochures as options?

The above statement is quite amazing, because my summer-only Kumho's turn my 560SL into a death trap at under 50 degrees, snow or no snow, unless I warm them up before disaster strikes. This is why I leave them on in the winter - so that I am not even slightly tempted to drive the car!

Thanks for the compliment! I put a lot of work into them that I'll never get back...the good news is that the chrome will never peel, because there isn't any :)

I'm pretty sure that the wheels were never actually offered by MBUSA, but were possibly dealer-installed options. Zeniths seem to be more prevalent on the west coast, Daytons on the east coast. Most were bolt-on (and done without ugly lug inserts, etc, they were actually built from scratch that way). At least some Daytons (and possibly Zeniths, I don't know) were built as true knock-offs, where the adapter was bolted onto the car's hub, with the lead hammer and everything. A member of the local MBCA chapter had a set of these for sale in not great condition some time ago.

got it , thanks, I am not sure I love the look, like perhaps:o

I realize this is only anecdotal evidence but, the two original SL owners with Daytons both said they were dealer installed options.

By the way, IMHO, when clean, bright and shiny wire wheels look really great on a SL.

You might try contacting Wheel Vintiques in Fresno and see if they could lace up a set using the MBz hub and their larger rims. I think they go up to 16 x 10.

Can't speak to your Kumhos, but the Sumitomos that I described in my post have actually rendered the 380SL as the best snowmobile that we currently have in the stable. Now granted, two 3-series and one 8-series BMW(s) -- all with Michelin Pilot Sport (high performance summer) tires -- aren't much snow and ice competition, but the SL certainly got us around just fine. I DID keep the top up though :)