Restoration of original GT40 Halibrand wheels

[Another Project]

Hello, I'm going to restore a pair of original 6-pin wine glass GT40 Halibrand magnesium rims to factory finish, readying them for sale. I understand that the rims were originally treated with 'Dow 7' which gave them their characteristic colour. Does anybody have any advise or feedback about the restoration of these rims, the use of/application of Dow 7, or recommended service providers in England? Many thanks, Jamie

 

[colin artus]

Are these the ones just sold on ebay uk? I would be very cautious about using these wheels for anything but static display as mag from the '60s
deteriorates internally.

 

[Chris]

Are these the ones just sold on ebay uk? I would be very cautious about using these wheels for anything but static display as mag from the '60s
deteriorates internally.

I saw those too, even had a dabble at £300 but no way was I buying old magnesium for £2k

Jamie, if you intend to use the wheels, I would get them x-rayed/magnafluxed before even considering paying further out of pocket on restoring them. Additionally you can go the route of of plastic injection where the old porous magnesium is removed and injected with a polymer to make the wheel stable.

As it stands, the wheels have the POTENTIAL (not guaranteed, nor am I trying to be a doom monger) to be brittle and/or fragile for any use other than static display

 

[Another Project]

Are these the ones just sold on ebay uk? I would be very cautious about using these wheels for anything but static display as mag from the '60s
deteriorates internally.

Ok, noted and understood thanks.

 

[Another Project]

I saw those too, even had a dabble at £300 but no way was I buying old magnesium for £2k

Jamie, if you intend to use the wheels, I would get them x-rayed/magnafluxed before even considering paying further out of pocket on restoring them. Additionally you can go the route of of plastic injection where the old porous magnesium is removed and injected with a polymer to make the wheel stable.

As it stands, the wheels have the POTENTIAL (not guaranteed, nor am I trying to be a doom monger) to be brittle and/or fragile for any use other than static display

The plastic injection route sounds interesting. I will take a look into that

 

[Mark H.]

Hello, I'm going to restore a pair of original 6-pin wine glass GT40 Halibrand magnesium rims to factory finish, readying them for sale. I understand that the rims were originally treated with 'Dow 7' which gave them their characteristic colour. Does anybody have any advise or feedback about the restoration of these rims, the use of/application of Dow 7, or recommended service providers in England? Many thanks, Jamie

Hello, do you still have these wheels and would you want to sell? Thanks Mark