V1Rotate

Hey Gang,

I'm planning on getting some KOs for my 64 sometime this summer and have a quick question. I've browsed through the threads on KOs in the FAQ pages, and can't seem to find the answer. Or if I did, I was just overloaded with info and my feeble brain just didn't absorb it.

I realize they were different for 63-64 and the rest of the C2 years in regards to finishes and center caps/spinners. But is the only difference being the finish between the spokes on the actual wheels themselves? I've looked closely at pictures and they all appear relatively the same (casting wise).

MY 64 is an unrestored original, so instead of going for a set of new KOs, I'd try and find a set of used 64s (preferably the bolt on style) that has a little patina on them to match the rest of the car.

Thanks!

Cheers

62Jeff

The wheels are physically the same

JohnZ

Yup!

65 Pro Vette

The old repro wheels where the wrong thickness in the fin part of the wheel, the new repro is the same as original.

miles and miles

Actually the oldest repro wheels from the 70s were the same as the originals.As they used the same tooling as the originals.The changes came when the suppliers went off shore for production and new tooling was used.The fins as well as other little nuances on the wheels changed through out the years as well as the quality took a dip.Many wheels were found to have the individual fins not run completely from end to end.The newest wheels being manufactured by the two biggest producers today are very close to originals right down to the correct size of the fins,the color between the fins and the correct shape and size of the outer lip.I bought my first set of repops in 1974 and a set in each decade since.A classic look on a midyear

HHZ06

How close are the Western Wheels to the KH?

JohnZ

In the era when Western Wheel made the reproduction KO wheels, Western was the wholly-owned Retail subsidiary of Kelsey-Hayes; except for the lack of the K-H casting logo on the back side, they were pretty close.

HHZ06

Thanks John. When did Western Wheel start making the Knockoffs? How can one tell the year?

JohnZ

I dunno - have never worked with the reproduction wheels.

65 Pro Vette

The early ones they made with the safety pins are the wrong fins they are to wide, as noted the very early wheels 72-73 where closer to original and the latest wheels made by America's finest are not bad. I will post a close up picture of each when I go down to my garage

TheSaint

I have knock offs on my car and there is one thing i might regret and that is that i should have bought the later 1965-66 knock off wheels that are painted between the fins

I think the 1965-66 knock off wheels looks better, but they are nor correct for my 1964

If you buy knock offs that is attached with the center spinner the tool on the picture to the right is a working great and do not make any marks on the spinners

1963-64 to the left and 1965-66 to the right

MikeM

I need a clarification on what is wider. Is it the machined portion of the fin or is it the width of the fin below the machined surface?

I started hearing about the wide fins maybe 7-8 years ago. Maybe about the time I heard CA sent the product to China. I saw a picture of those wheels. The spokes did look fatter but if they were fatter, it seems there would have to be a reduced fin count on each wheel.

I have two sets of repop ko's. I don't know how old they are but both sets have safety pin slots. I used a digital caliper to measure both the fin width on the machined surface and below the surface and noted no difference in dimension between my wheels and known originals.

Just curious.

JohnZ

Took the photo below at Jerry's shop in 2005 - the wheel on the car is an original N89, and the other one is one of the first CA reproductions made after they sent their repro tooling to China, with the "fat fins". CA caught a crapload of trouble over it, and it took two years to make new tooling (which makes very nice wheels).

MikeM

I think it was at Jerry's that you first told this story to me and I saw the difference. The only thing I'm saying here is, the earlier repop wheels like I have are not made like the Chinese wheels.

I'm thinking it was the first edition CA wheels made in China with the fat fins. Correct?

JohnZ

CA had been making a pretty nice reproduction wheel here in the U.S. before they moved the job to China; the Chinese messed with the aluminum mold tooling and with the machining processes, and the Chinese set that showed up at Jerry's hadn't even been seen yet by the CA folks (which tells you about their follow-up/quality assurance activity at the time).

When I called CA from Jerry's after that set of "fat-fin" wheels showed up, their Manufacturing VP said they hadn't made any yet and hadn't submitted samples for quality approval - I told him to go check their retail outlets, as the system was full of the junk "fat-fin" wheels. He beat a hasty exit, and called me a week later with the whole sorry story.

Oaker57

Hey Saint, that's a nice tool, but at almost $500.00 US, that's very pricey..., and that doesn't even include the 19% shipping fees.....and since it's mostly for cosmetic reasons, at those prices I can buy a new set of spinners.

MikeM

That is the story as I remember it.

provette67

The earliest ones did not have the pins and they were not wider than originals.As others have posted here later on the fins got fatter.

ricks327

John,
Sometime back on a different subject you posted a video of a Chinese stamping plant where the workers (about 4 of them) were sitting inside the unit and they would place and remove the product in between the press coming down and then retracting. By chance do you recall that video and do you still have it? I think the thread subject matter was a safety issue and OSHUA standards.
Rick

JohnZ

I think you mean this one