1:24 10 inch JBW D1

The smallest diameter that makes sense

Ten inches is the limit below which a production passenger car practically never went. A wheel of that diameter appeared on cars with a transversely mounted engine and the axle pulled into the corners of the body, where every centimeter of interior space counted. For the builder it means one thing: the part really is small, and everything done to it has to be done twice as carefully.

What this part replaces

Kit wheels are often molded as one piece together with the tire, or they have a coarse layout of spokes, because the mold cannot undercut sharp edges. A cast rim gets around that limit and brings sharp edges to the openings, a legible floor to the spoke and a hub with an offset. The difference shows above all from the side and from the front, where the wheel makes up a substantial part of the silhouette of the car.

What to watch out for

Without a tire the rim is vulnerable, above all at the outer edge. Handle it by the hub and support it when sanding the mating surface so that the edge does not break. Apply the paint in thin coats, because a thick coat fills exactly those fine edges the part is bought for. And expect to have to find tires separately; the diameter of the tire should match what the car has from the factory, otherwise the assembly will not fit into the wheel arch or will float in it. Trying the fit dry is quicker at a diameter this small than correcting anything after the glue has dried. One last small thing concerns the center: the hubcap on this type is usually polished, and a distinct bright point in the middle of a matte disc gives the wheel a depth that no shading can replace.