[Will]

hwystr455, there is a very good chance that your damaged wheel can be repaired. Start searching around, there are quite a few companies that can do this.

I wouldn't buy from Centerline again after that either. I'd also try to find out who their CEO is and write him a letter explaining in detail why. Maybe put in a link to this thread, also.

[JKGTO]

You might try talking to Scott Esterle at Summit or Ron Landis at Jegs. They may have more success with Centerline. They are Pontiac guys and members on this board. Jim

[HWYSTR455]

Bill Bowman1 - I ordered directly from them because one, I've had great luck with them in the past, and two, why not go to the manufacturer to order one replacement wheel?

JKGTO - Don't think I could call Summit or Jegs directly at this point, since I've ordered already directly from them (Centerline)...

71 Ventura II - Yes, I found it very odd that there are only sales departments, and the fact that everything you choose goes right to 'Louie'. Like I said, dead end.

Will - No chance IMO, the outter half would have to be replaced, and fear the cost would be higher than buying a new one. I will try finding out who the CEO is, which is public information, and may try writing him, though honestly, I have a strong feel he either already knows there's a problem, or doesn't care. Or both!

ClassJ - I think maybe if I ordered a full set, I would probably have gotten better service, and a better turn-around, though from your experience, still not sure. Once you got your wheels, seems they didn't really want to deal with you either! And weld splatter? Damaged center caps? Where's the QA? As for clearing a caliper, look at the Billet Specialties Street Smart line, at about $325 a wheel (for a 17x8), it's the same price as the Centerlines. Now, one last thing, I've had multiple sets of Centerline, like I said, USED to swear by them, so, if you want a center cap, let me know, I have a selection of spares. PM me and I'll send you one for free...

[steve]

i bought a used centerline off ebay a while back. it was months before i put it on and found that the silicone seal was leaking. luckily less than a year earlier i had bought one retail so i was able to return the used one under warranty. i had no problem with customer service then ????

[ClassJ]

Thanks...only the one cap was badly damaged, the other was just a scratch and I buffed it out mostly. At first they said no problem, two caps are going out today. Then two caps of the wrong style and size arrived. It took them a few days to figure out what cap was correct and I had to measure the cap on the wheels they sent me which seemed really odd. Then they sent me only one correct cap. So being a decent guy, I sent the two large wrong caps back to CA on my coin and asked them to send me 1 more correct cap. Nothing ever came.

Here is the fully story......

It was a slightly strange buying experience even getting a full set. First off all google led me to a website that had their prices listed. It let you build the wheels, pick your backspacing, sizes, etc. Then it spit out a price and said to print the page then call with a credit card to pay. Ok.

I called, credit card in hand, and they said, sorry, website is wrong and old, that page should have been taken down and you can't access it from our home page anymore. The prices have changed and are now $50 higher per wheel! WTF. So after arguing with them I sent the link, and bossman approved the lower prices.

Wheels came on time which was a month lead or so. The did indeed have spatter. Some of the welding on the back looked improper but they swore left and right that the welding was ok. I had one badly damaged center cap and one light dink. The caps were packed in loose fitting foam sleeves and ended up bouncing around in the back of the wheel cavity during shipment.

I also questioned why the inset parts of the spoke were not polished. They don't look bad but it was wierd. I was told "these are machine polished wheels, for the prices we charge we do not hand polish the crevices and they stay as machined".....I said "you list "full polished", not surface polished, just because the wheels are on sale and normally $400 list does not mean you don't polish the whole wheel"

They wanted me to send the set back at their cost to fix some of the issues. But it would have been 3 weeks with the shipping from NJ to them, etc.

But the wheels looked great even with the issues. I waited a month for them, had tires ready to go on from tire rack, car was on stands already, and they were one of a few that fit the car and were 17x7" (for my 1965 t bird landau w/factory disk brakes). So I ended up buffing the spatter and anything else that bothered me over the course of a couple evenings in the garage.

So now over the winter I want to do something with the wheels on the goat. (67 disk brake car). But I am not sure if I can deal with them. I hear cragar is doing custom work now. Maybe I will end up with SS's on the car if they can work the caliper clearance and BS.

[HWYSTR455]

ClassJ - So what style did you get out of curiousity? Center of the spokes, like did you get Thrusters?

Also, like I said, check out Billet Specialties, they have a number of wheels that are affordable, custom backspacing, and around 325-350 a wheel. The vintec and street smart line look ok.

http://www.newstalgiawheel.com/billet_special.asp

And like I said, if you want a center cap, let me know, I'll shoot one to you, no problem...

[ClassJ]

Hi....thanks for the offer on the cap but I have a good set at this point after taking that one to the buffing wheel so I am good. But thank you! :)


I bought the 5 lug meteor 17x7". This is what they look like on a chevelle

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/fe.../photo_04.html


Since they were going on the tbird I wanted something a bit gt-40 cobra wheel like. I like em. But see how the spokes are recessed in areas around the middle. Those end up just as a machined finish. They have a interesting look to them just machined like that, but at first thought they missed a step.