My collector Edition rims have black paint in between the spokes...Is this OEM or is Cinnamin Bronzer the right color? Thanks in advance. Gino

Gino,
mine have black as well, but as far as i know, the bronze is OEM.

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-Stefan

Thanks. I know my caps to the rims are bronze, but my rim color beteen the spokes is black

I've done a comparison pic folder and here is a reference vette (not mine), with Bronze on the fins:




And here are mine, with black:



I like mine..

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-Stefan

Stefan, so are the ones we have nock offs? Did GM ever manufacture black rims? Thanks Gino

Stefan, so are the ones we have nock offs? Did GM ever manufacture black rims? Thanks Gino

I dont think so. Our wheels are a one time deal. Only on CEs. They are supposed to resemble the 60's fin style but they were only ever made for our cars.

I think, someone (That Bubba person we all know) didnt want to restore the bronze and after the wheel might have gotten scratched and needed some TLC decided to go black with them.

Someone correct me, but i dont think they ever came in black as an option. We could ask the NCRS, but, all i ever knew was they are supposed to be bronze. If you want to restore yours, there are places you can take them and have them take everything down to the metal and restore the color.

Looks through previous threads about restoring wheels and you'll find some examples.

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-Stefan

Thanks for your input Stefan. Very helpful. I'll look into it and if anyone else has any input, please advise.

These only came in the bronze for the CE. I bought a spare set on ebay and guess what...they were painted black as well. ( I still have the orginial tires and rims) I had them refinished from a place in Atlanta and installed some new goodyear tires. To get the right color, I sent one of my orginial center caps to help them to match the color.

At the last NCRS regionals event the 82 Team Leader gave me a thumbs up on the color.

Welcome Eamespn. Thanks for the info...Well If mine were painted black they did a superb job. It almost looks like a primer GM used under the bronze color. From what I can gather the center cap is a shade lighter than the deep bronze in between the fins; and that's the way it came from the factory. They were trying to go with different shades of brown (like the seats).

Why would they paint them black? Most of them on Ebay are black, maybe due to wear

I guess I could have mine painted or look for a set that is colored original.
Hey! There's one on Ebay right now, but his reserve is well over 2,400!
Ouch that's got to hurt! looks more and more like I just might have them painted.

Now as far as the caps go, I do have a repro set that are identical to the originals...Let's face it the chrome and paint does peel after 27 years.

Thanks for posting.

There's someone on Ebay selling rims off of a 82CE that was parted due to bad CFI engine. His son had bought the car 12 years ago and from a friend that had it since it was new. HE SWAERS the rims are factory, but they do NOT look like the reference vette in the pic above.

Am I carazy or is he?

Well, i am trying to find out.. I posted a thread on the NCRS part of the CAC that i am a member of (CAC, not NCRS).. Linky: http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/for ... stion.html

I'll update this thread if i get an answer.. (But, Gino, i dont think you are going crazy, well, just not as much like the rest of us. )..

As far as the ebay seller is concerned: I am a firm believer that people will say anything to sell something.

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-Stefan

Thanks Stefan... Let me know if you hear anything from the NCRS about the subject. Personally, I feel that the black may be some type of primer GM used under the deep bronze...My rims look to good to have been repainted. Cheers from RI. Gino

Ok, got some info:

On factory, the rims were a "moderately dark silver beige color for the wheels"...

Whatever "moderately dark silver beige" means.. But it's not black!

And further:

"Very dark(virtually black)background colors" .. "on GM Replacement wheels"

So, we might be looking at GM Replacement wheels.. Interesting to say the least. But, remember, the only way to confirm would be to talk to a factory worker that handled our cars in 1982.

Maybe the rest of the CE crowd here can state what they have on their cars to get us some numbers and see if the Replacements were 'popular'..

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-Stefan

GM replacement wheels are still GM made. Thanks for the info. Yes, I'd love to know what the other members have for wheel color on their CEs.