I am sand blasting the wheels that came with my big brake 60. I want to determine if they are correct or not? They have a lot of pitting on the rims and I may want to replace them with regular wheels and caps. Can I use standard wheels and caps, and still be correct for judging? The wheels have on the inside rim a circular "kelsey hayes" and "15x51/2 K", is this correct? They also fit over the front hubs and have no nubs on the rim to hold full size hub caps.
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Discription?
The 15x5.5 inch wheels weren't necessarily 'tied' to the big brake option as they were available separately as RPO 276. They don't have 'nubs' for standard wheel covers as they were meant to accept the small 'dog dish' center caps. Last, yes, standard production 15x5 inch wheels (for Corvette) will have the nubs for full sized wheel covers and they'll mount for you. -
Re: 60 big brake wheels? Discription?
Bill, those are correct wide wheels, and I think you should use them if you can. Pretty darn hard to find a set of those these days.
-DaveComment
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Discription?
Thanks for the answers. 2 of the wheels are badly pitted, look like they were sitting in a field for 30 years. Can they be repaired or can I locate and purchase 2 better ones? Are the small hub caps avaliable? Prices?Comment
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Discription?
The last time I saw a set for sale, the guy wanted $3000 per wheel. He probably got it. I think at a minimum a wide wheel in nice shape is worth $2000. (If anyone thinks I'm wrong on this number, please let me know where you have seen a set for sale. I'm always looking.)
Hubcaps are pricey aslo. Probably around $100 each. I've seen them on eBay from time to time, and also in Hemmings and Driveline.
Can you email me a picture of your wheel so I can see the condition. I can ask the guy who blasted and painted my set.
-DaveComment
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Rivited?
Thease wheels are also rivited and not welded, is this correct? My thought to restore them is, glass bead, powercoat black for protection, and then sand , fill the pits with(?)body putty, and then paint the correct color. I believe this will work if replacements are that expensive. Any suggestions?Comment
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Also, do I need a spare wheel for judging? *NM*
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Yep... *NM*
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Rivited?
Bill,
The rivets are correct. Mine had been powder-coated white. I had the powder-coat heated/stripped/blasted off (it's a bitch to remove). An acid-etch primer was then used prior to painting them black.
I'm no paint expert, but I was told the powder-coat will not look like a factory finish. Also I wanted to preserve the Kelsey Hayes logo and codes as best as possible. The powder-coating is thicker than paint and it will fill in most of grooves so you won't be able to see the shallower markings.
In this picture you can see the rivets and you can tell the year of manufacture "58" under the 1/2 mark (I guess in this picture it's technically to the right of the 1/2).
-Dave
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5 beauties *NM*
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Rivited?
Dave--
Looks to me like those are May 1958 wheels. My experience is that the 5 stmaped there designates the month. I like the wheels! I'd keep the 8m originals I have under the bed if my wife would let me.Comment
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Re: 60 big brake wheels? Rivited?
Yes Mike, thats right. I forgot to mention the "5". My car was built November 1958 and from the information I have, I am assuming these wheels have always been with this car. At the very least they are an original set of five, all dated the same month, that have been with the car since '72.
-DaveComment
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Identify after tires are on.
2 of my wheels are badly pitted, A friend had some model A Ford wheels that had bad pits. He blasted to remove rust, then powdercoated for rust prevention, then used body fillers to level out pits and painted correct color to finish. Thease wheels still look great today. I want to do the same. Once the tires are mounted they become harder to identify on the judging field. What do judges look for when judging?Comment
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Re: Identify after tires are on.
Bill,
Depending on how bad the pitting is, these wheels may not be road worthy. If the pitting is deeper than half of the metal thickness in an area much bigger than a silver dollar, I don't think I would trust them much. You will load the wheels much more severly under normal driving condition for a Corvette than your friend does with his Model A (30 - 40 mph tops?)
You might be able to sand blast the bageebers out of them and then weld up the base material then grind it back down to the original thickness OK. Depending on the location of the repair area, this could be a nightmare to do with satisfactory results.
Judging the wheels is no different than anything else on the car with regard to Configuration, Condition, Finish, etc.. etc... My guess is the judges can spot an original wheel fairly easy regardless if it's mounted or not.
I wouldn't powercoat them either, you will lose points for an incorrect finish.
tcComment
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Re: Identify after tires are on.
Bill--
What do judges look for?
Condition and originality.
For originality on those:
no safety bead to secure the mounting of the tire (that didn't come until later)
large valve stem hole (vs. smaller that began in 63)
no evidence of small double-bumps near the valve stem hole to retain wheelcovers (63 and later)
No nubs for holding the large wheelcovers
Corvette "extra-hump" configuration of the wheel center (visible only with hubcap off)
GM stamping on center (visible with hubcap off)
Correct rivet configuration/location/style
no evidence of previous welding of center or outer rim
etc.
Hope that helps!
MikeComment
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