72 wheel color

[Joe R.]

Have an early 72 which was judged 2 years ago. Got counted off for bright silver spare tire wheel. Other 4 are silver argent. Looking at the judging manual it states that wheels should be bright silver. Who do I believe?

Thanks

[Kenneth T.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Joe, I am new here and I have not received my C3 book yet. However, my 71 came with a black steel wheel spare, no rallye type either.

[Joe L.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Have an early 72 which was judged 2 years ago. Got counted off for bright silver spare tire wheel. Other 4 are silver argent. Looking at the judging manual it states that wheels should be bright silver. Who do I believe?

Thanks

Joe-----


The wheels (all 5) were painted what is generally referred to as "Argent Silver". Actually, "Argent Silver" is not a precise color formulation. In fact, at least a few different "shades" of it were used in PRODUCTION (and, I'm not talking about the slight greenish tint seen for 1968-70; that's another variation altogether). In any event, it was a metallic-type paint and it certainly wasn't a "traditional" silver paint. Many vendors supply this paint and all the ones I've seen are close to the most commonly seen original "shade".

[Joe L.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Joe, I am new here and I have not received my C3 book yet. However, my 71 came with a black steel wheel spare, no rallye type either.

Kenneth-----


I think that someone replaced your spare wheel somewhere along the way. SERVICE wheels were not painted "argent silver" but were supplied in black "primer". That was the case whether one got the wheel from GM or directly from Kelsey-Hayes (Hayes Wheel). So, someone must have replaced the wheel and not painted it. I think if you check the date code on it you'll further verify this.

[Kenneth T.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Hi Joe Lucia,

Two Joe's so I being formal. I am the original owner and my spare is black I guess black prime or semi-flat, also not a rallye type.

I am glad I never got rid of it, I am finding out now, too late how difficult can be to get the car straight again.

[Dick W.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Kenneth, just to satisfy my curousity, what is the spare tire?

[Kenneth T.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Dick,

While most cars I saw that year had Firestone, mine came in with Goodyear raised white letters---F70-15.

I had four flats within less than three months and chucked them for BF Goodrich TAs. My first mistake for originality.

[Dick W.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Kenneth, I have to believe that someone switched your wheel at some time. ALL '68-'72's came with a ralley wheel in the spare

[Kenneth T.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Dick,

Could have been the dealer, I guess but the only wheel I ever had back there is the black one. Now, you have my interest though. Is there a number on the rim that I can look at to see what it is. It's too late to go back and complain.

Besides, you have given me one more thing to put on my list.

[Joe R.]

Re: 72 wheel color

To The Top

[Jack H.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Argent is a generic term. From Wikipedia:

"The name derives from Latin argentum, which derives from the Greek 'Αργυρος, translated as silver or white metal. The word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon, from which it passed into the English language."

The exact composition of argent silver paint as used on rally wheels is known to have changed over time. Early wheels (from '67) are known to have had a distinct green undertone while later wheels (starting in 1970) have much less or no green tint content.

I've got an original 1972 wheel/tire in the garage that has approximately 35 miles on it (used once in a road emergency to get to the nearest service station) and there's NO visible green undertone. Methinks the judges made a mistake on your car....

[Dick W.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Jack, he states that it is a non rally and painted black

[Gerard Q.]

Re: 72 wheel color

I had the same judging issue with my 71. My wheels were painted with what I thought was a correct argent silver....however I was told the tint was not correct. While I was at the FL reg this year I took this pic of what I believe is a 70/71 wheel that had it's original paint on the parameter and new argent silver paint on the center of the wheel. I was told by a judge this clearly demonstrated the color difference of today's paint and that of the factory applied argent silver.


IMG_0808 (Medium).JPG

[Michael W.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Jack, he states that it is a non rally and painted black

There's now two different subjects from two different posters that are intertwined in this string. The OP asked about which of two colours is 'correct'. The other post involves an incorrect spare wheel.

I thought only Che F*rt could make things so complicated.

[Joe L.]

Re: 72 wheel color

Dick,

Could have been the dealer, I guess but the only wheel I ever had back there is the black one. Now, you have my interest though. Is there a number on the rim that I can look at to see what it is. It's too late to go back and complain.

Besides, you have given me one more thing to put on my list.

Kenneth-----


Yes, there is a way to ID the wheel. There are also dates coded in several places on the wheel, 2 of which are easy to see.

First, the wheel code used for 1969-82 Corvette rally wheels was "AZ". You will find this stamped near the valve stem hole. If you have another non-rally wheel for the spare, it should have a 2 character code, too. With this code, we can identify the wheel.

Dates easy to discern are also stamped on the wheel near the valve stem hole as well as on the center section. There will be a sequence like "K 1 0". The last digit indicates the YEAR of manufacture.

A situation like yours is very strange. I find it very unlikely that St. Louis would have installed a non-painted wheel as a spare. However, for the wheel to also be not a Corvette-type rally wheel, seems almost beyond belief.

Some photos of a 1969 original wheel are included. These show the location and configuration of the stampings. They also show the slight green tint that 68-70 wheels are usually noted to have. The tint has faded away in the exposed portions of the wheel but can be seen in the area that was covered by the center cap. It's somewhat difficult to see in the photos, but it's very obvious when looking at the wheel "in person".

Also note that the "argent silver" is somewhat darker on these wheels than that seen on most other wheels and darker than any "argent silver" paint I have found.