This should be an easy one. My 68 GS350 has 14" rims(chrome). Do the 15" chrome rims have the same bolt pattern, so I could swap direct to 15's? I would guess so, but can someone tell me for sure?
Yes, the 15's are a direct swap. Just don't get the "big car" (Electra, Riviera, etc.) rally's that have the 5x5" bolt pattern. As long as they came off a Skylark/Regal you'll be fine.
Thanks guys, I suspected as much. There are plenty of 15" rims at the local salvage yard. On big models, unfortunately. :ball:
How do you measure the bolts patern ? Was it straight in line one to another ? My car is on 15'' (aftermarket wheels) i'm looking for 14'' Rallye wheels , I also hope that I could direct swap them .
Can someone confirm if the late 70's Rally wheels like those on this picture (79 Skylark) have the same bolt patern and could fit in 68-72 Buick like mine ? I didn't found any like those yet , but that would increase my chance to do so if i'm looking for a 11 years range (68-79) instead of 4 (68-72) o No:
rallyes i am 99% sure that the rallye rims upto the mid 80's (whenever buick quit making the regal - 1987 ?) will fit . from 1978 - 1987 they were all 14" rims . u can make a template out of a piece of 1/4" plywood cut into a circle . hold the plywood against the axle bolts & strike the plywood hard enough to leave an imprint on the backside of the plywood . centre drill plywood thru the imprints with a 7/16 " or what ever the bolt size is . recut the plywood to a usable diameter on the outside & inside of the plywood so that it will fit inside the rim neatly . will look like a big washer . take the plywood template with u when u are searching for rims to be sure that u are looking at 4 3/4" style rims .
Some of the big cars did get the small bolt pattern wheels in the late 70's-80's (not exactly sure when). Another way to spot them is to look at the slats. Small bolt pattern wheels have a wider slat than the large bolt pattern ones. I can fit all four fingers through on a small bolt, but just my tips will fit through on a large bolt.
The newer rally rims are the 4 3/4 bolt pattern that you are looking for. As stated in another reply 78-85 Lesabre rims are also 4 3/4 bolt pattern 15" but the backspacing is'nt too user friendly on a smaller car. At least on my Gbody. Puts the backside of the wheel to close to the frame in the rear and to close to the control arm in front. Wheel Vintiques makes a nice product. I had them make me a set of 15X8 3 1/2 back space Buick rallys. $175.00 ea. Hope this helps.
Ralleys The big car wheels are 15x6, for the record---- the later 14x6 wheels (starting in '78, i'm guessing) have 3 1/2 inch back spacing, as opposed to 4 1/4 on the earlier ones, but they fit the older cars just fine and they are much easier to find than any others, i've found..... Also, some '77 and later full-size cars used the 5x5 pattern 15x6 wheels, instead of the small-pattern 15x7, for some reason
I'm sorry these pictures stink, but maybe they will help. The smaller wheel is a 14" ralley. The small bolt 15" ralley is nearly the same shape. The larger wheel is a big-bolt pattern ralley. You can distinguish them from the one's you want by the large flat area thats big enough to fit a toy Buick. All the big-bolt ralleys are like this. If you see that large flat area, its NOT what you want. Hope this helps.
