Libre's for sale in Canada

[bigoak]

Often see people looking for Libre's here. See the following link:

http://vancouver.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-parts-accessories-REDUCED-RARE-MAGNESIUM-RACING-WHEELS-W0QQAdIdZ7269157

13x7's mind you...

I'm not the seller, just found them online.

[sblake01]

Looks like the ones I had on my 1st 510 back in the 70s. That's how much things have changed. His asking price is $300 ea (Canadian?). That's about what I paid for four of them including tires and mounting/balance etc. back then.

[Arne]

Good for a 510, but won't fit over the front brakes on a Z.

Price seems high to me as well.

[Carl Beck]

I believe they are magnesium - not aluminum... These are not wheels you would want to run on the street - way too hard to maintain

[WingZr0]

I believe they are magnesium - not aluminum... These are not wheels you would want to run on the street - way too hard to maintain

Why would they be hard to maintain?

Is it because they're magesium?

[WingZr0]

OK did any body happen to also see this near the bottom of that link?!?

Rim and Tire Financing

Apply Today - Fast Approvals Shipped Mounted & Balanced

redicredit.com

Whats up wit that!?

Financing for some rims...:eek:

[Carl Beck]

Why would they be hard to maintain?

Is it because they're magesium?

Yes.....

If you want to keep them in their "natural" cast state (ie. uncoated) - the magnesium alloy wheels corrode very quickly if subjected to water (spots/drops).. the outer lips dull quickly too, so they require almost constant polishing (relative to what the aluminum wheels do).

If you want to paint them - to protect the magnesium alloy - there are very special processes for cleaning, then special primers that have to be used prior to painting.

The best method I've found so far, to maintain the magnesium alloy wheels, while letting them gray out to their natural color - is to coat them with Gibbs Brand Gun Oil. If you do get them wet, you should wipe them down as soon as possible with a cloth dampened in the Gibbs Oil. If you don't they wind up with white corrosion spots.. that eat the metal and leave pits.

If you look closely at the wheels offered for sale - you can see the lighter gray area's and dirty white spots ... that were most likely white a few weeks after they got wet... and/or it is possible someone just tried to paint over the corrosion. ... which doesn't work for long before it comes through the paint.. Hard to tell without having them in hand for a physical inspection.

If you bead blasted them - they would come out looking like the normal aluminum wheels - silver in color - but with a month of two they would be turning light gray, then in a few more months they turn dark gray..

Also - the mag. alloy wheels have a safe service life.... much shorter than the aluminum alloy wheels.. mostly because of the differences in their corrosion rates.. and the fact that most owners won't take the needed care required for the mag. alloy wheels.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[george71z]

Is there any surefire way to tell the difference between the aluminum and magnesium wheels? I have (ahem) acquired a set of these and need to get them clean before a deal is finalized. There is a lot of 'baked on' black stuff like brake dust on them. I am thinking of getting them media blasted; but would not want to ruin them if they are made from a material that won't tolerate that. Two are marked American Racing Equipment and the other two have what looks like a small peace sign cast inti the backside of the rim.

[Carl Beck]

"Sure Fire" way - Yes, hit them with a acetylene torch and see if they melt, or turn into a huge sparkler!! <VBG>...

I can't think of a non-destructive way to test the materials... there is most likely some type of acid test to see the reaction, that could be done on some scrapings...

Really - just pick them up. Magnesium Alloy wheels will be noticeably lighter - about 65% of the weight of a like Aluminum Alloy wheel.

Left to sit for months/years the Mag.'s will turn all but black, and when you remove the thin layer of black, you'll see a tell-tail layer of light green corrosion. The light green is a pinta somewhat like the light green of weathered copper. Only on the mag,'s most people think at first that the light green is a primer of some kind.

I'd say scrape some of the black off the back side of the wheel - a thin layer at a time - and see what's under it.

Another clue - is very few wheels are actually magnesium alloy. American did produced a very limited quantity of the 13" Libra's in magnesium alloy. The 14" were a slightly different design - the Le Mans wheels.

I don't know what would be on the back of the 13" American's cast in magnesium.. I've never had a set..

You can use medium size/grain glass beads to blast the mag.'s - using a lower pressure than normal... about 90psi instead of 125/150psi. As I said before, they will come out of the blast cabinet looking like raw aluminum wheels.. Just make sure you don't blast the outer rim, if you want to keep it polished..

The best stuff I've found for polishing the outer lips - is the old stand-by - Metal Bright (cotton wadding in a can, treated with who knows what). Applied with a lot of elbow grease....

Did you buy the wheels in the ad this thread was started with? Or did you find another set here in Florida?

FWIW,

Carl

[george71z]

I got them here in Fla. from a friend who bought a 77 280 from Va. with them on, and he wasn't too thrilled with the look. I said I would buy them from him, and he bought some new 17" wheels to put on the car. He needed room in his garage, so he gave me the wheels to clean up in the meantime. We are still discussing price.

[fuzze]

Those are what I have on my car in the 14 in size , they work well and cleaned up good with sos pads and water , I then finished them ip with Eagle one wheel and tire cleaner , seem to work pretty good IMO .