1947 NG Wheels Painted or Chrome?

[david.jones]

I am puttting together a 1947 NG and would like to keep it as original as possible- There is a " very original and unrestored" one on the Ariel Gallery with black enamel rims, spokes and hubs and would like to do same with mine however not if this is incorrect - Any advice would be welcome and Thanks in advance

[brenton.roy]

Hi David,
It depends which country you are in, but black rims is right, or I think black with a green rim centre is an option if you had an export bike.
Brenton

[david.jones]

Thanks Roy I am in South Wales UK and would like to have the wheels, hubs and spokes all black - would this be correct?

[brenton.roy]

Hi David,
This is a long answer to a simple question.
I don't think there were many (any?) Green NG's in the UK, which is why I asked.
Re the all black wheels, I think so. Someone else may know differently and I am not an expert.
My earlier model NG had black rims (with green centres and gold lining), spokes and hubs.
My 48VG has just black. I can't see any evidence of Cadmium or Zinc plated spokes or nipples on the original VG wheels.
I also can't see evidence of gold lining on the VG wheels. They look to be original paint, just black.
When I rebuilt the wheels on the NG, with black rims and spokes, I did leave the new nipples zinc, which I think looks good, but may not be correct. It's hard to tell given this is a part of the bike that is very exposed and if they were plated, they may have been painted later due to rust. It's hard to tell between 60 year old paint and 70 year old paint...
Regards, Brenton

[david.jones]

Thanks for that Brenton - All Black it will be then

[Paul Slootheer]

The ones I have seen where all with black rims, black spokes, chrome plated petrol tank with black sides, top and dashbord. There are also some distinctive parts which sets it apart from previous and later years like frontforks, front hub, etc.
Therefore I think the one you have seen on the Ariel Gallery is quite representative.
As Roger Gwynn mentioned in the Knowledgebase: Green was an option from at least 1937, possibly earlier and continued up to about 1951, usually on the De-Luxe models and usually only for export.

[Dave.Barkshire]

If you can look at the factory archives then there will possibly be a note to say how it left the factory. I once had a 49 NH which had original black rims and tank and it may have been made to order for a fleet for a price. The Korean war affected the availability of chrome but that was a bit later and for this reason a lot of manufacturers dropped the chrome tanks and the styles changed. (about 1951ish I think).

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Perhaps this is of any use: A picture of my november 1945 NG with what I believe to be the original paint on the wheels & spokes.
Gent with the NG is Floris Thie (Dutch Ariel Club member) now well in his eighties and having rather severe eyesight problems, he did however reconise the NG !

Vincent