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If I wanted to replace my 14" wheels with hubcaps with 15" or 16" wire wheels, which brands should I be looking at. Will I get the center caps with the Olds logo
The 1953 Buick Skylark and the 1953 Cadillac El Dorado had beautiful Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels .
I think , at least the Caddy wheels are available as re-productions .
They are 15 inch and have the 5 on 5 bolt pattern you need .
Their cousin the Olds Fiesta , did not have wire wheels . Instead it had " spinner hubcaps , that were so popular with early Hot-Rodders .
I’ve got 15” X 7”wheels on both of my ‘66’s - a Starfire and 98 convertible. Nothing radical, just wider. As fitted from the factory the wheels were 14x6” with the 5x5” bolt pattern. Fake wires work great on the Starfire and don’t fit at all on the 98.
Here’s what I’ve learned from fake wire wheel hubcaps. As distinct from actual wire wheels on which I claim no experience at all. Real wires would be cool, if distinctive.
The problem on the 98 are the rear fender skirts. GM fake wire wheel hub caps won’t fit under them.
The ‘caps are too wide (deep). I’ve tried ‘66 3 bar spinners and even the ‘67 no bar centers. Neither fits over period correct non-Olds fake wire hubcaps.
Olds never made a 15” fake wire in the 60’s, so you’re relegated to using the 15” Buick Riviera fake wires or later Chevy Monte Carlo fake wires, then swapping 2 or three bar Olds spinners in the center to be clever. To my eye, they look right, or at least better than the late 70’s/80’s stuff some people like on these old cars.
I suspect with the right backspacing and offset 15 x 8” wheels would be the best solution, but I’ve not figured out yet what the backspacing and offset should be to accommodate those wider tires & wheels.
Good luck. Would love to see the results when you pull the trigger. Kelsey-Hayes look great on most of the cars from ‘53 to ‘64 - especially Caddies, Buicks and T’birds. They just look right.
I've considered knock-off wire rims for my 71 98. The number one supplier is Dayton. If you want Daytons be prepared to pay many thousands of dollars though.
Tru Spoke sells replicas of the old Cadillac wheels. Go to their website to see some cool wheels. Apparently, Tru Spoke is even going to reproduce the Cragar 30 spoke Star Wire. Currently, you have to find them used.
While browsing the internet I found two 1968 98 convt with wire wheels and wire hub caps.
The first two cars have hub caps, the last one has wire wheels with wide white walls
i had a set of tru-spokes on my 64 starfire.had the 3 bar knock-0ffs.man they looked awesome,i have had 3 or 4 sets of em thru the years and i know i still have a set of the 3 bar caps,and might still have some of the round caps.those 3 pics its hard to see the middle one but looks like it has the round center cap on the back wheel,i doubt a 3 bar spinner would miss the skirt on a big bump.
June 28th, 2021, 07:23 AM
