Like Graham I like the factory alloys best. Not a fan of most modern designs. I do like the alloys on the TR7 headroom brochure though. They kind of look like my Integra factory alloys.
The only wheels that look better than the standard alloy wheels are ones with polished rims. I've often wondered how these wheels would look all polished and clear laquered... perhaps one day i´ll have a try, i´m tempted, but the idea of doing the four of them is just too daunting!
I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of the factory alloy.... BUT, it totally changes the look of them when they are polished! I think that is the best looking factory alloy I have seen yet.
Polishing is not really as difficult as many make it out to be. In my former job as an Orthotic and Prosthetic tech we polished every single aluminum and stainless component that we used or machined. Somewhat for looks but mostly to alleviate surface stresses from scratches and machining marks that could lead to a failure.
All that being said I have polished a few rims for myself and friends. I made a jig using an old spindle to mount the wheel to and spun it with an electric motor and belt. Much easier to sand down through the grits. I would start with 80grit on a rough rim and go all the way to 1000 (usually 80-120-400-1000) and then a coarse cutting compound, fine compound and finish up with jewelers rouge, wash with mild liquid hand soap and wax. With the cutting compound I always use a sewn cotton wheel (have a few different sizes and widths) and with fine compound I would also use the sewn wheel but plucked out about an inch of threads to soften them up. To finish with the rouge I use a cotton fiber wheel that is very soft. Clean the wheels often to remove dirty compound (serrated wheel or even a screwdriver run across the wheel while it is spinning does great)
It is not hard to learn and as the previous picture shows does an amazing job.
According to the youth of today a TR7 is old fashioned [:p] So nothing wrong with old fashioned wheels [:D]
1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road) 1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng) [url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]My Weblog[/url]
Although I don't like the colour of TR8 factory wheels (with their greenish tinge) the Spider colour factory alloys with it's standard Argent Silver are spot on. The unique styling of the TR7 doesn't need any bling like polished wheels which only takes the eye off the line of the car. The silver windscreen strip maxes out the bling limit of the car.