Hey fellas, i've done a lot of research on this to hopefully not have to post a thread, but i still have not found exactly what i am looking for. As of now, i acquired a full set of what i thought were early rallye wheels. They have a date code on the back of "8 16 1960" but from the info i have gathered, Rallye wheels were not available at that time. Dimensionally they are identical to WD code wheels ( i know that because i have a set of those too. These "1960" wheels have the hub ring on the back of the rim face just like the WD's which do not allow them to seat on my buick drums. I have heard of people cutting these out and was thinking of doing that but am concerned about fitment issues that might come up in addition. Any info would be great, the steelies just aren't cutting it right now. Thanks
I put a set of early Buick wheels on my '61 LeSabre. Same set-up as the Electra. I had to knock out the centering rings. But they still didn't fit over the larger '61 hubs. I removed the drums & cut a 45* angle on the hubs until the wheels fit over the hubs properly. On the rear I had to pull the axles & do the same with the hub. Just leave enough "Meat" on the end of the axle so the drum has a centering portion for the bigger O.D. of the '61 rear drum. Tom T.
thanks for the quick response! so i was correct, just knocking out the rings themselves would not get the wheels to fit. If that is needed just to get buick wheels on, what kind of crap do you have to go through if you want to out aftermarket wheels on?
I have 4 of the '64 wheels which came with my car. One is dented and needs straightening so in the meantime I picked up a set of #802's which are for drum brake cars. Once I cold chiseled the centering rings off they fitted perfectly. The one downside is the 2 1/8" center holes on the 802; my 2" Wildcat caps wont stay on. At some point I guess I'll have to get that one wheel fixed and the whole set cleaned up and rechromed. I'll keep one of the 802's as a spare - haven't been able to find another '64 wheel in two years of looking.
Yeah, the large diameter of the hub makes buying ANY aftermarket wheels a pain. Then you have the fins on the drums that cause problems. If you go with 16??, but definitely 17" wheels the fins aren't as big of a problem. I don't like using spacers on the BIG cars. To me it puts TOO much stress on the wheel studs themselves. Just my opinion. Tom T.
okay so i have two sets, 853's and 895's. would either set work? the 895's i was able to mock up but something still didn't seem right. and they don't have the ring. either way, i think i can just make the stock setup look good. just trying to go for an early bellflower style cruiser.
