Fiat Roosevelt "Libre" Wheels
"Backyard Style"

While eBay is a great resource for obscure and generally unobtainable parts, you have to be aware that what you might think as "nice condition" is not what the seller considered "nice condition" in his ad description. Here the bottom wheel is how I received all four of the F/R wheels. The upper left is after an acid bath and sanding and the upper right is after the rim has been polished and bolts and center added.

Well that's not what this is about. It's about how to backyard restore some pretty far gone wheels into something you can use for your daily driver. This project requires mostly muscle and time. If you don't have either, you can send the wheels off for professional restoration for between $90 and $125 a wheel. Having more time than money and some experience with aluminum and magnesium wheels, I decided to go ahead and give these a try. The most important rule is to "DO NO HARM" to the wheels. Don't try to fix or grind out any deep gouges. If your wheels have serious or terminal curb rash or dents, or missing material, then seek out professional help. A cracked wheel will fail and could cause serious injury or death.

Basically the restoration falls into three sections.

• Cleaning up and polishing the wheels
• Making some new wheel bolts
• reproducing the center caps

I am presently working on creating the center caps in aluminum. I also have patterns for the wheel bolts. These articles are not advertisements. I am not in business making these parts. I'm only trying to share information that I have gathered through my own experience and to help other Fiatsi obtain impossible to find pieces for their wheels. I make no profit on any of these items. If you are interested email me with your information and I'll put you on a list to let you know about costs and availability.

Update: 9-23-04
Well, almost two years have passed since the article was written, the bolts have been produced, the caps have been custom made with Fiat logos, and tires have been purchased and mounted. After working with the acid I determined that a more consistant "cast" look could be produced by a gentle glass bead blasting. Thanks to Danny Chiradonna's blast cabinet, the wheels got a really nice patina and the rims are contrasting polished.

The finished product actually look better than the photos below. While I could have sent the wheels out to be professionally refinished, they are over 30 years old and have come by their nicks and scrapes honestly. I prefer to spend the time to clean and polish them as any owner would and accept them for what they are.

Check out the links below for information on these interesting and controversial wheels.