baseball1

I live in Colorado. I am looking for the closest place to me that i can refurbish original 1969 Fuch Heart wheels. Any Suggestions??

WPOZZZ

Have you tried Al Reed Polishing in Coronado, CA.

rbuswell

... don't expect him to return your calls. You will need to make it into a "speed dial" quest whereby you call, call some more and keep calling until someone answers (don't bother with voice mail) then don't expect to talk to Al (he seems to be the only one who can answer questions) but rather a promise that he'll call you back, which he won't. He doesn't have a website and he can't do email.

I complained here on Rennlist about his poor response and I took a major flaming from loyal customers with comments that Al & Diane are doting grandparents, his company is just a mom & pop shop run by salt-of-the-earth employees and that I was the one being unreasonable. I never have heard back from him (I first started trying to get through in early October) so I'm going to try to restore my wheels myself.

He is regarded as the best there is however so if you don't mind being ignored or making it into a part-time job to get through over several month's time, I'd say go for it. Send me a PM if you get through. Maybe they've caught up and I might get to talk to Al as well.

dvkk

I "heard" that Al had some kind of medical problem forcing him to take time off work last fall. During that time his shop was really backed up. Word is he's caught up now.

JonH

Just as a FYI, I was quoted $700 here in Ohio for a refinish and slight lip repair of my fuchs, courious what others charge for this.

Rotten Robby

Actually, I would say Harvey Weidemen is the "best there is" but Al Reed is very good and much more reasonably priced. Harvey is in Marysville California and he does answer his phone. He knows more about the history of Porsche wheels than anyone I have ever met or heard of. He does the wheel restoration for Alois Ruff... I have 10 wheels at his shop right now and I saw at least that many "Ruff" labeled wheels in for correct historic restoration.

r911

I agree with RR's comment - there is a thread on Early 911S forum showing a Satin finish by Al Reed that I started. It is fine - you might grade it an A or A-. Commenters there said HW would do much better -- call it an A+. HW takes longer and costs more - But AR has raised his prices, so it is not a huge differential.

I found Al to be really nice guy - and he did answer and call me back - ~~ 2 years ago. HW is also nice and friendly.

So take your choice.

Edgy01

Start with Mike Lindsey in Oklahoma City.

I highly recommend him.

shaynes

David Martin at www.wheelenhancement.com in CA did my 491 wheels and they were top notch.

Rotten Robby

I think that the major difference with Harvey and his crew is that Harvey used to work for Porsche. He knows the history of these cars and what wheels went with what car.
My first contact with Harvey was when I first bought my 914. My car is a pristine one owner car that did not have the 2 liter Fuchs that the Certificate of Authenticity said it came with. I called Harvey to see if he had some for sale and it turns out that he worked at the dealership my car came from. He told me this story; in the '70s the dealership would pull the alloy wheels that came on the cars from Porsche and replace them with aftermarket wheels so that they could upcharge the customer on the window sticker for alloy wheels. Of course, everyone knows about rustproofing, and such but the dealer removed the alloy factory wheels to put on the crappy Westerns on my car...
Harvey is just a guy, his wife, and their son in a building with no sign in a tiny town in Northern California. They are both experts and craftsmen.

Tom Tweed

Al was in Anaheim, CA, last time I was there. I think you are confusing his street address (which is on E. Coronado in Anaheim) with the town of Coronado, which is across the bay from downtown San Diego, about 90 minutes south of there on the I-5 freeway.

Last time I checked, Harvey was in Oroville, not Marysville, which is about 27 miles south on State Highway 70.

TT

scottb

I think Rbuswell is being just a bit harsh. Last time I called Al, he (or Diane) called back within a few days. They're great people, and even if takes a call or two to get hold of them, it's worth it. Al does outstanding work. And, the icing on the cake is that he and Diane are just nice folks.

Tom's correct...Al's in Anaheim, not Coronado.

Peter Zimmermann

John Brown, owner of Wheel Enhancement in L.A., gets a big thumbs-up from me! So much care is taken there that when I needed a nail removed from a very expensive 18" tire on my Touareg they fixed the tire, put the lug nuts on by hand, and then torqued them to 118 lb/ft, which is correct! Doesn't get much better...
Pete

rbuswell

I had my rant on the Al Reed guys a couple months ago. Just wanted to warn a Rennlister so as not to have any expectations. Glad to hear there are others who are responsive. I may give Harvey another call.

BTW still haven't heard from Al ... six months and counting.

pu911rsr

I must of gotten lucky, I called Al's only once and spend 15 minutes chatting with him, very nice guy. I have used Harvey to redo some RSR wheels, he is excellent just don't be in a big hurry. My experience is anyone with real expertise, excellent quality and fair prices will be very busy.
Phil