Are these wheel real BBS?

drhodgie

drhodgie

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Sometime in late 70's I was talked into buying a new set of "BBS" basket weave wheels for my 1972 3.0CS
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I purchased them from at A&E Performance in Campbell, CA. (They have long since gone out of business).
I had them refinished with a white powder coat white to match the the car color (the gold looked a little out of place to me)
They are 14" rims and I no longer have a need for them. Looking at them closely I see no BBS in the casting.
I do not want to mis-advertise these as BBS if they are not.
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Looks close to being like BBS Mahle wheels to me. But the center area is different and appears to require a waffle cap; unlike the Mahles.


You sure it doesn't say ANYTHING there on the center area??? Looks like something is there.

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teahead said:
Looks close to being like BBS Mahle wheels to me. But the center area is different and appears to require a cap; unlike the Mahles.
You sure it doesn't say ANYTHING there on the center area??? Looks like something is there.
Click to expand...

BBS Mahles do require a cap, either plastic or stainless steel. The OP's wheel looks very much like a Mahle, but I don't think that it is. The wheel that you posted (edit - also belonging to OP) doesn't look like a Mahle. It looks like a 90's BMW Style 5 wheel, that takes a plastic twist-on waffle. The little indicator line tells you that the plastic waffle is secure. and the protrusions around the center bore, and the little nub to the right of the alignment lign are what lock it into place. 70's wheels don't have plastic waffles like that - not the BMW ones anyway. BMW actually used the equivilent of a 14x6" Mahle in the 70's and early 80's.

@drhodgie ,

I'm pretty certain that it isn't a BBS Mahle. Most of the Mahle's from the late 70's onward have raised oval bases for the offset and part numbers. They are visible in the lug area. Also, the center cap is plastic, and not a mahle center cap. If I had to guess, it is a japanese wheel. Something like a Riken Mesh wheel. Ultimately it doesn't matter. If you like them - run them. They are all worth about the same amount of money. About $250 - $250 for the set. I sold my 16" set of spiffy mahle's with new tires for $1,000. A set of extremely clean set just sold on BAT for $1,000.

I don't think that is a BBS Mahle. Even though your wheels are from 1977, they look "newer" than your typical 70's BBS Mahle, which had a smaller mesh center with bigger lips.
 
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Do you have 2 different types of rims there? One is capped and the other one is the open lug type???
 
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Someone much more knowledgeable than I , but much less vocal shot me a text. It is a 77 BBS Mahle, with the Mahle logo on the lip sanded/polished off. I was told that the BBS RA’s with raised ovals with the kba numbers started in ‘83.

That oddball wheel still isn’t a mahle sadly.
 
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they look very close to these 7x15 MM rims, Italian made and light as a feather. These are going on to my E9 for the summer, lovley looking wheel.
 
I cannot believe that when I bought my E9 in 2011, the seller asked if I wanted a set of these rims which were brand new with brand new tyres, for FREE! I declined saying I’d got enough wheels.
Wish I’d known a little more about E9s back then.


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