Looking for Bellett, 117, Gemini OEM wheel information

[JT191]

I am doing a little project to identify the original equipment wheels that are identifiable with specific RWD Isuzu cars. The Impulse/Piazza designs were relatively easy to find and identify. The Bellett, RWD Gemini, and 117 Coupe are a little more obscure and challenging.

The idea would be to find the wheels that an Isuzu fan would be able to recognize as going with a specific car. I was leaning toward only including alloy wheels, but some of the steel wheels appear to be just as unique. I think the four slot black steel wheel with the chrome center cap would be one for the Bellett, and the chrome Bellett wheel cover that might be a six or eight point star.

These are the ones I have so far:

[dave]

Heya JT,

You might be right about the first one; it's got that lion-dog mashup motif going on there.

However I can definitely fill you in on the second lot of wheels. They are without a shadow of a doubt OEM fitment Chrysler (Aust) Sigma Scorpion wheels.

This was sold elsewhere as the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda or in your area of the globe, the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo.

These items were on the Chrysler Australia-badged version of the car which, unlike the regular Sigma sedan and wagon, was fully imported from Mitsubishi in Japan. That weird double-triangle symbol looks almost-but-not-quite like Isuzu's symbol nor is it anything to do with Chrysler Australia.

Because of the international flavour of the car, I'd have to assume these wheels were fitted to most of the first generation Scorpions, 1976 to 1980. The stud pattern would be the same; there's more than one Bellett is running Sigma wheels!

Chrysler Sigma Scorpion - crop.jpg (48.04 KiB) Viewed 20975 times

As for the last lot, that's anyone's guess.

Cheers,


Dave

[JT191]

However I can definitely fill you in on the second lot of wheels. They are without a shadow of a doubt OEM fitment Chrysler (Aust) Sigma Scorpion wheels.

OK, I'll pull the second one out of the file. Too bad, aside from looking like it was from the post 1972 era but having the pre-1972 bolt pattern, it looks pretty good.

Time to forage through brochures and books, the easy part of the search is over.

[redback]

The third ones remind me of a Toyota Tarago - early style - maybe?

[dave]

I know the ones you mean Redback but I don't reckon that's right.

Certainly from something with a chronic case of the 1980s!

[mrflibbles]

they look very similar to some of the early telstar wheels.

[PR95]

I thought Telstar, and also one of the Camiras.

[redback]

Hey Dave,

Yeah I think you are right - the Tarago ones have TOYOTA on the rim somewhere.

These seem to have a marking on them - if you look closely on the bottom left rim there is a logo or wording on the second from left stripe that says: TT or IT??

Neil

[JT191]

Looks like I will have to confirm everything in some historic reference before including it.

Paging through the Neko Piazza, 117 Coupe, Bellett GT book:
Bellett GT, 1964-66: six spoke star hub cap with the wide star points.
Bellett GT, 1966-71: Six spoke star hub cap with narrow points and little flutes in the points.
Bellett GTR and 1800 GT: four slot black painted steel wheel with polished rim and chrome center cap.
117 Coupe, 1968-73: nine half-round hole silver painted steel wheel with large chrome center dish shaped cap.
117 Coupe, 1970-76: the same four slot black painted steel wheel with the polished rim and chrome center cap as the Bellett GT above.
117 Coupe, 1977-81: the twelve slot aluminum wheel pictured above in this thread.
MX1600-I: the four slot black painted steel wheel with polished rim and chrome center cap similar to the Bellett GT above, but with more dish and chrome highlights on the slots.
MX1600-II: dark painted alloy turbine style wheel with twelve raised spokes.
R6 Coupe: looks like the four spoke BRE Datsun wheels with the ball shaped spokes.
R6 Spider: no good picture of the wheels.
Piazza Ace of Clubs Prototype: alloy wheel with dark circle around lug holes and chrome center cap, zig-zag pattern in bright outer circle.
Piazza early: 13 inch alloy wheel with two circles of 18 square holes each.

It looks like the steel wheels with hub caps are identifiable with some of the models and not like later cars where the steel wheels are more of a standardized design.
That's seven. The later Piazza/Impulse are four more (tic-tac-toe, turbine, three-slot-RS, and five-Y-star-Turbo).

[dave]

Bellett GTR and 1800 GT: four slot black painted steel wheel with polished rim and chrome center cap.

I reckon those rims are the same 13" steel rims that were fitted to the Chrysler Sigma. Don't have time here and now to throw a pic up but some Google imaging should get the desired result! Unsure what else they were fitted to, but if they're not the correct rim, they're damned close!

Cheers,

Dave

[JT191]

Found another set of wheels identified as being for Isuzu cars.
Anyone know which one this one might be from?