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In my opinion, the quality and "true-to-original" appearance of the current reproduction wheels is excellent. They're, of course, discernable, but given the current prices for originals, they are the only way to go. If I wanted a set of these wheels for a mid-year, the reproductions are all that I would look to. It's absolutely crazy (and, humiliating) to pay ridiculous prices just to get a few nuances of detail.
I don't know just when the Western Wheel versions of these wheels appeared on the market. I believe that it was many years ago for, at least, some of the 63-67 wheels.
Western Wheel was/is a manufacturer of custom wheels. They first appeared on the market in about 1967 and were, at that time, a direct competitor to American Racing which was the then "dominant force" in custom wheels.
Western Wheel was acquired by Kelsey-Hayes quite a few years ago. However, I believe this happened some time after the first Western Wheel reproductions of the 63-67 wheels appeared. In any event, as a division of Kelsey-Hayes (now Hayes-Lemmerz) Western Wheel remains a supplier of wheels to both the OEM and aftermarket.
I don't know if the current reproductions are manufactured by Western Wheel, some other Kelsey-Hayes division, or some other manufacturer entirely.
In my humble opinion, the direct bolt knock off is the ONLY way to go on a driven car. I have a set and they offer the same appearance but no worries. I believe Corvette America is the only manufacturer of those wheels. Don H.
It is my understanding that the currenct KO wheels are manufactured "offshore" for Corvette America. There supposedly is a visible difference in the latest wheels and the ones Western manufactured.
I don't know how the embossments went. There was so much in the way of "corporate mergers" here that I don't know how or if that had any effect on manufacturer's ID.
I believe that the vast majority of cast/forged aluminum wheels used in the OEM are manufactured in foreign countries. This includes the OEM Corvette wheels for quite a few previous model years----probably as far back as, at least, 1991. I think the aftermarket aluminum wheels are also mostly foreign-manufactured. So, it's not surprising, at all, that the reproduction 63-67 aluminum wheels would be of foreign manufacture.
I don't think that Kelsey-Hayes (i.e. Hayes-Lemmerz or whatever parent company now owns that brand) manufactures any aluminum wheels in this country. They may still manufacture some steel wheels here or that may be "gone", too..
I have an old set of repro KOs -- probably from the late 70s manufacture. The spinners each have "USA" cast onto one of the ears. The inside of the wheels reads "Western Wheel Corp. K-H" and "306065" and "15X6". All the markings are cast, not stamped. I have a couple pics, but don't know how to post them. If interested, email me & I'll attach pics to a reply. They do have the indexing pin provisions on the spinner & adaptor.
There's a DRAMATIC difference in appearance between the repro bolt-on or knock-off wheels made in past years and those produced in the last 18 months, since Corvette America sent the tooling to China to reduce their manufacturing cost. Although the President of Corvette America told me that there had been no changes whatsoever to the tooling, he is apparently clueless, as the machined surface of the fins are at least twice as thick as they were before and the wheels look like crap.
Is the tooling that Corvette America has the original tooling as used by Kelsey-Hayes and/or Western Wheel to make the original wheels and "original issue" reproductions or is it "something of their own creation".
If it is "something of their own creation", does anyone know what happened to the original tooling?
Thanks for the info John. A good friend just ordered a new set so I hope I can talk him into canceling the order before they're shipped. (one month back order) I tried to explain that his new repro wheels were not going to look the same as my genuine KH wheels but now I'll have to further explain the radical departure from correct.
Also, I didn't realize that there had been such a degradation in the quality/configuration of these reproduction wheels. The last set I looked at closely was well over a year ago and those wheels may have been a year or more old at that time. They looked excellent to me; not perfect, but very close to the originals.
------To me there is a delicacy to original KOs and bolt-ons (67) that has never been duplicated on any reproductions ever made. Of course, it may somehow be necessary in todays world to have these new wheels thicker in every respect, but that doesnt change the fact that you can pick out an original from 10 feet away,,,,easily!!! Its wonderful that there is a manufacturer out there willing to take your hard-earned $$$$$ and deliver a set of "knock-off wheels" to you but for the amounts in question I sincerly believe that the wheels could have been cast and machined in a more original manner. Oh yah,,,That also goes for the spinners........Bill S
Photo below shows the traditional Western Wheel/Corvette America reproduction bolt-on wheel on the left, and one of the new ones from China on the right. I sent this photo to the prez of Corvette America when I asked what happened, and he said "nothing has changed", although he admitted to me that he hadn't seen his own wheel from China yet. I never heard boo from him after I sent the photo. That was about 18 months ago, and I don't think they've corrected it - I saw a new set for sale by one of the vendors in the MegaCenter at Bloomington last month, and they were EXACTLY the same as the one on the right
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