goinbroke

I could sure use some help verifying some facts about rally wheels. First let me say that the wheels on on my 74 are not correct although they are very close. I know this because I have to use 3/16" spacers on the rear to keep the tires (235/60) from rubbing the E-brake cable retainer clips. The trim rings also will no fit all the way onto the rim until flush. I have found a set of correct (15 X 8) rims which I plan to buy. First question....is 4" backspacing correct? Next....the previous owner said he thought these were Camaro wheels, but after some research it appears that Camaros had 14".....is this correct? If so, then these may be earlier C-3 wheels...67---15X6 or 68---15X7. Last question....should I be able to find any numbers on the rims identifying them as corvette?

All thoughts are greatly appreciated

Tom73

Believe that the Vette back spacing is 4.5". There should be a two letter id stamped on the wheel near the air valve (may be on the inside opposite the valve.) The '74 wheels were AZ coded.

tom...


[Modified by Tom73, 11:40 PM 3/28/2003]

Zack Wenning

Yes 15x8 with 4 inch backspacing is correct for 69-82 stock wheels(Aluminum and rally).

Chuck Gongloff

You'll find a bunch of numbers/letters stamped on either side of the valve stem hole. Corvette 8 inch rally wheels are coded AZ. The system goes like this:

K 1 X(year) Y (month) -- Valve Stem Hole--- Z(day) AZ

K is Kelsey Hayes, 1 is Chevrolet.

So...example: K 1 9 4 HOLE 24 AZ translates as Kelsey Hayes, Chevrolet, 69 or 79, April 24. :) Chuck

GREGG-73

Z-28 Camaro's came with the 15 x 7 rally's, be sure your rally's are 15 x 8.

I hope you are not buying from Lorizurinsky@cs on E-bay :_dupe:

:cheers:

goinbroke

I sure appreciate all the help here. I have found a place in Arlington Texas that sells new and used vette parts. I talked to them by phone and they sell sets of 15X8 rally wheels cleaned and repainted correct color for $200. Good price and just a short drive into the city for me. The question is......what to do with the old wheels? I'd hate to trash a set of 68 vette wheels (15X7). Is there a difinitave way to tell the difference between Camaro and Vette wheels? From looking at the catalogs they appear very similar. I'll take a look at the #s on my rims today and see if I can find anything helpful.
Thanks again

GREGG-73

The valve stem lettering is (I believe) different. From Camaro vs Corvette.

i.e. AZ Corvette FW Camaro something to that effect, tell me what they are and be sure to check all 4 rims, and I will tell you the year and application. :cheers:

goinbroke

Gregg, looks like you're right on the money here. I pulled the trim ring off of two ( easiest to get to)...cramped space. One reads K-12, (one side of valve stem) then 17 FW. The other reads K16.....17 FW. Not sure if this is all the numbers...several coats of paint to scrape through. Not completely sure about the width....hard to do with the tire on. I thought 8" but could be 7". The trim ring is the give-away....it hits bottom (where the 5 elongated slots are) and still needs about 3/8" to seat flush at the outer face, where the balance weights would be. I'm going to assume these are Camaro wheels. Just wondering what to do with them.

Thanks again for your help

Chuck Gongloff

Corvette 7 inch rally wheels are coded AG. The dating system is the same for all, I believe. What to do with the old ones? Sell 'em. :) I'm unfamiliar with Camaro, Monte Carlo, etc. rally wheel "letters". Chuck

goinbroke

You're right Chuck. There's got to be a Z-28 guy out there somewhere wanting a set of original wheels. I'm really not interested in asking a lot of money for them. I just hate to pitch something that may be helpful to a Chevy guy. We have a Super Chevy weekends (big swap meet) near here fairly often. I'll try to do something with them then. If I run across a guy on a limited budget like myself I'll probably just give them to him.
Thanks again.