ISO 16" rims and soft top in Vermont

[Snowboy71]

I am in the middle of reviving a long dormant 1970 series 2a 88. Time has taken its toll on the rims and they are going to need to be sandblasted and painted (or powder coated) and reshod with new rubber. I'm not sure it's worth doing that if I can locate 5 used rims that are reasonably close by. Besides slapping freshly painted rims on a weather worn 88 is just going to look plain weird.

Anyone in Vermont or New Hampshire have 16" rims they may part with that fit my 88?

Also would love pull the hard top off and replace it during the good weather with a soft top. So also on my search list in the same geographic region is a used (sticking with the theme) soft top, hoop set, and tailgate.

[jimrr]

I bent some electric conduit into a nice frame and had a fabric shop make a top out of some stuff they use for boats. I put it on during the summer and have zero complaints, it wasn't that hard.
I think you'll find cleaning the rims you have and slapping a couple coats of paint on there will serve ok, they'll look like a match to the rest of the rig soon enough.

[Snowboy71]

Good idea about the hoops and soft top. I'd be curious to see how it turned out. Any pictures of it and how the attachment points work?

Point taken on the wheels and you are probably right that sandblasting and painting is likely the where I will end up. Just thought there may be some decent wheels in the area that I could use to save the hassle of having to clean these up. They are REALLY rusty.

[jimrr]

well ............. It's possible you could have wolf rims? those things can rust 40% or so till you have stock rims! yea, I'll get a photo for you but it may take till mid-summer. I think I have about $700 in it all told and in my opinion it looks nicer than what's on the market. It's just the top, doesn't come down the sides to the tub, just the top. Has custom hand holds ...... simple electric conduit stuck in the OEM holes with some tractor pins in it ........ looks pretty sharp !!
I'll get a photo when I get the top on. i'm getting old enough I don't care to make the switch much but the reward is prob worth it. the real answer is to have 2 land rovers (that both run) !!! ............. one for summer, one for winter.

[Snowboy71]

Nope, these are not the wolf rims but the "standard" 16" rims. Looks like there isn't going to be much luck finding some decent used rims here in VT or NH so I may be forced to find someone to sandblast them and hope they are salvageable. But what I can't figure out is if these are the narrower or the wider rims. Seems the 88s came with a 5.5" rim and the 109s with a 6.5" rim? I measured the width of these and they seem to be wider than 6.5" even. Could I be measuring incorrectly using the outermost points of the rim? I assume I am and that they are the 6.5" rims.

Tires? I'd love some suggestions on a tire that is on the tall / skinny side (what size???) that is A)not overly expensive and B)has a good mix of on & off road traction and C)looks proper on the 88. Aside from the cost I do like the BFG KO2 ATs.

Suggestions on size and model? Currently there are very old LT235/85R16 installed. They seem a bit wide judging by the fact that the front windshield cannot lower over the hood mounted spare tire and be close to horizontal.

[jimrr]

Michelin 7.50 x 16 x rated (expedition rated) is what appears to be on most Land Rovers seen on the trail. I wouldn't go any wider.
Our hosts may still have some and i regret buying what I thot was the last set available. The ones I have I got WITH wolf rims for $600 cash but I had to drive to L.A. to get them (750 miles) but it was a great drive.
When I was young we ran I think Bridgestone "jeep service", those were either 700 or 750 on 15 or 16" rims. the weight on a narrower tire gives Rovers excellent traction and many times I have climbed hills a side by side could not.... impresses the H out of everyone!!!!
I am looking for a high aspect ratio 16" traction tire for my ranch truck. It is so beat up a nice set of tires is worth more than the truck but WOW do they look sharp!, I may break down and just buy them and switch them from truck to truck as they'll last many years here on the ranch.

[Poppy1969]

Hello

There are a couple of Craigslist posts in VT and ME that you might want to see if they can help:

https://maine.craigslist.org/pts/d/b...470036377.html

https://vermont.craigslist.org/pts/d...467173914.html

Hope this helps. Cheers, Tom

[roverp480]

Nope, these are not the wolf rims but the "standard" 16" rims. Looks like there isn't going to be much luck finding some decent used rims here in VT or NH so I may be forced to find someone to sandblast them and hope they are salvageable. But what I can't figure out is if these are the narrower or the wider rims. Seems the 88s came with a 5.5" rim and the 109s with a 6.5" rim? I measured the width of these and they seem to be wider than 6.5" even. Could I be measuring incorrectly using the outermost points of the rim? I assume I am and that they are the 6.5" rim

.
The width of the rim is taken inside the faces where the tire sits. S2 88" came with 5" wide rims and 109 with 5.5" ones & that stayed the same up to and including S3 . I am not sure of the width of the 15" wheels supplied with some US models The offset changed on the 5.5" wheel on the later model pushing the rim further outwards on the disk . The 1 ton and Forward Control models had wider 6.5" wide rims although there were two offsets on those as well.
There is an interesting list of part numbers and wheel sizes in this link http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/wheels.htm

[Snowboy71]

Thought I'd post an update on this search. A good set of used rims were tough to come by so I ended up purchasing a new set of tubeless rims from RN and mounted Kumho Road Venture MT71 in a 285/85/16. Balanced using ceramic beads. I like them and they are definitely aggressive and really not that noisy. The Rover far and away is louder at speed than the tires.


But back to the original post, and now that wheels are sorted, I am still hunting for a soft top, hoops, and tailgate for the warmer weather. Must be someone in the upper NE area that has this stuff unused in their barn or garage...