Marv,
Before ruling out painted wire wheels, I urge you the reconsider. My 140 FHC
is cream white with wire wheels. Instead of chrome, I opted for painting
them bright red. First, the change is completely reversable, and second, I
think it looks great. On your silver car, you might try gloss black for a
stealthy look. I too thought having the wires the same color as the body
would look washed out and very boring. Guess I belong to the “it’s my car
and I’ll do what I want” camp. Maybe you could try a little experimentation
on photoshop with different colors befor getting out the spray cans.
Marv,
I like your selection of red painted wire wheels on the cream-white Jaguar. I am in mid restoration of my XK-140 which will be Pearl-Grey (…looks almost white in some light conditions) and I am torn between red painted wires or body-color (Pearl-Grey) I am concerned the body color will be too bland so I am favoring red. I would love to see a photo of your car. The other issue I am considering is bright-red or a more muted dark-red. I think the bright chrome is overdone, particularly with the wide white wall tires. …over emphasized the tires and detracts from the great body-lines.
Tom A