Chrome 21 Point Wheels... getting cheaper?

[TBIRD II]

History For those unfamiliar with the wheel choices:

Like most of us, the first time I saw the new TBird, it had 24 point wheels. Eventually they changed to a 21 point, and a 7 point for the production car.

The painted 21 point wheel is standard on the Deluxe, and the 7 point chrome is standard on the Premium. Only the limited edition (200 cars) Neiman Marcus has Chrome 21 point wheels.

As I mentioned in some of my posts, I ordered the Deluxe just because I loved the look of the 21 point wheel. When BlueOvalNews.Com published the part numbers for the chrome 21 point wheels, I rushed with excitement to my Ford Dealer to find the price, but it was about $650 per wheel including the hubcaps! That's $2600 per set!

Well, it looks like the prices are getting better. I just ordered 4 wheels for $1000 from a guy on eBay!

The thing is, I've already talked myself into the notion that the painted wheels look best on the Blue TBird. My car has not shipped yet, and I've never seen a blue one with 21 point chrome, so I guess I'll have to try them on to see if I like the look.

If not, I'll just sell them and keep the painted wheels. Ditto for the Chrome Hood Scoop... I ordered it, but I'm still not sure how it'll look on the Blue car.

It's frustrating ordering stuff for a car that I still don't have... wondering how it'll look. I feel like an expectant father in the 10th month.

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[thenewtbird2]

noted that there's a set of the 21 spoke chrome wheels on ebay this week. wonder if it's the same seller?

 

[TBIRD II]

That's the one... It was on the 4th page searching for "2002 Thunderbird" (my standard search).

The opening price was $800, and the "Buy it Now" price was $1000. I didn't want to take a chance that somebody else would beat me to it, so I phoned the seller and confirmed that they were actually giving a 4 wheels, plus the hubcaps for that price, and to confirm that they were factory originals.

I'm not sure why the price was so low. I even told him what I heard the price was from the dealer, and he said he got them from a dealer. I guess there is a pretty hefty markup in them. He also said he had a set of 7 point chrome and a set of 21 point painted that he was considering having chromed. I asked him if this one was chromed by him or OEM, and he said these are originals.


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Joe
TBIRD II - My License Plate

 

[thenewtbird2]

good going on the auction then.

 

[Tbird eh]

T Bird II

You lucky guy, I was emailing him back & forth about shipping them to Canada when he said someone had just bought them. They are new in the box, you did well. I SNOOZED

 

[TBIRD II]

This was one of the photos from the listing on eBay. I love the 21 point and 24 point wheels, the only thing is I am still not sure if I want all that much chrome on a blue car. If I install them, I guess I should consider the chrome scoop, but since I've never seen photos of a blue one with real chrome wheels or the scoop... I'll never know until I try it myself.

If it turns out I'm still on the fence after the wheels are installed, I'll sell them.

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Joe
TBIRD II - My License Plate

 

[GABIRD]

mtt

 

[bigmac011]

The dealer portfolio has a flaw all the cars are shown with 21 spoke chrome wheels. And in my opinion the blue looks great with 21 spokes.

 

[NuttyGambler]

You DOG you!

Good buy! I'll take a set too.

 

[Tbird eh]

Dealer in Oakville Ontario has a torch red bird sitting on show room floor with 21 spoke crome wheels, looks great!

Triple black, #2 of 2, Vin Less.

 

[Eyelawdoc]

Sorry for the thumbs down icon on the header, but I clicked on the wrong one. The board won't let me go back and change it to the thumbs up I had intended.

Nice buy on a classy set of wheels!

I think you will find the chrome wheels and hood scoop are going to look fantastic on your Blue Bird. I also saw the dealer portfolio with the chrome 21 spoke wheels and thought it looked great! The silver-blue sparkle of the chrome finish compliments the Thunderbird Blue color nicely. Post us a picture when you get the car.

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[TBIRD II]

I'm hoping to get the car within the next week (crossing my fingers... I've been waiting since April).

I love the look of the 21 point wheels. It's just an issue of chrome vs the silver painted wheels that I'm waiting to see. My guess is I will go with the chrome, but I still admit the painted silver push my buttons. When I found out the Premium included the 7 point chrome, I re-ordered my car just to get the painted wheels.

The odd thing is that almost every pre-production publicity photo was with 21 or 24 point wheels. You won't see a single die-cast or other model with the 7 point. I wonder why? The 7 point has been "Official" for quite some time now.

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Joe
TBIRD II - My License Plate
Waiting for #9476...