I am wanting to match the exact look of factory style
SSII Rims - I know inside the front should match the
factory paint on the car but not sure what colors the back side was or the inside of the rim colors?

 

If you want SSII then there is only one colour on the outside, Argent Silver. Some will also say Cast Gray.

SSIII is body colour on the outside. The backside is black. Not gloss but not flat either, a mixture of both...semi-gloss?

 

what is the difference between the SSII and the SSIII rim?

 

Option code, part no. and colour. The SSII came out in 1968. The SSIII came out in 1973.

SSII = Cast Gray
SSIII= Body Colour

1968 SSII p/n 400422-14"
1969 SSII p/n 400422-14"
1970 SSII p/n 409937-14"
1971 SSII p/n 406069-14"
1972 SSII p/n 409937-14"
1973 SSII type 1 p/n 409937-SSII type 2 p/n 413087 (extruded hub)14"
1973 SSIII type 1 p/n 409937-SSIII type 2 p/n 413087 (extruded hub)14"
1974 SSII p/n 409937 -14" / 417796 -15"
1974 SSIII p/n 409937 -14" / 417796 -15"
1975 SSII & SSIII p/n 417796 -15"
1976 SSII & SSIII p/n 417796 -15"

 

442much I'm not an expert with wheels but I have several 14X7 bolt on center caps that are body colored. I don't believe they are argent silver underneath the body color paint. I thought, and I could be wrong, that they began painting them body colored in 1969. John

 

The SSIII wheel is very similar to the Super Stock II wheel, and in fact used the same 14" x 7" wheel (original part #406069) but is painted the lower body color instead of the standard dark gray. Center caps, chrome bezels, lug nuts, and trim rings are all the same as the 1970-72 Super Stock II wheel. The SSIII wheel first was available in 1971 as option code N67 and continued through 1972.

 

if this is the case, then as I understand it the only difference between the SSII and the SSIII is the color?

also, does this mean that the body colored wheels on my 72 442 are correct?

I am a Chevelle guy and this Olds stuff is all new to me.

 

Skryla, the only difference is the colour. As for the body colour being correct on a 72, it's incorrect according to the literature I have however it may be correct for your car. The information I have says SSIII became available in 1973, however anything is possible. Let me explain.

I have a 1976 L82 4 spd Stingray. Total corvette production for 1976 was 46,558. The last Stingray had, according to the factory, the VIN 1Z37L6S446558 (an "X" replaces the "L" if it is an L82) . This is what is printed on all factory documentation. However, it has been documented that a 1976 Corvette was found with the VIN 1Z37L6S446567 - nine more than is published. So 46,558 is not the last Stingray even though all the documentation says it is. Never say never.

The factory's information is not always correct. Perhaps the worker on the assembly line was out of SSII wheels, saw the SSIII wheels for the 1973 cars and instead of stopping the assembly line, grabbed the coloured wheels that matched your car and kept the line moving.

That was the problem with the Olds diesels in the late 70's. They were 350 blocks but the assembly line workers, when they ran out of manifold bolts for the Diesel 350's, grabbed the gas 350 bolts and they failed within months as the bolts made for an 8:1 compression engine couldn't handle a 22:1 compression Diesel. They were not well trained to know the difference. Later, after the workers were told, the Diesels ran great but the reputation of the early models was public and that killed it off. My recommendation? Don't sweat it. You have a great looking car in any event. Enjoy it.

Ken

 

Hi John,

The 69 wheels were painted. But I'm talking about the outside. Here is a picture of my SSII wheel. Below that is the SSIII wheel. The back of the wheel is not the same colour as the outside you see here - it's semi-gloss black on both.

DSC_2512.jpg

 

Go to Texas442.com and click on the wheels link on the left, nice line up for comparison.

http://www.texas442.com/

Allan

 

Ok, here's my 2 bits. Kinda surprised that no one else mentioned this.

SS11 and SS111 are NOT the same wheel. Yes, you are correct that SS11 are argent color and do not match the body color.

BUT, the BIGGEST DIFFERENCE is that the SS11 uses BOLT ON center caps, not the clip ons. This is really easy to spot when the wheel is bare and has no hardware mounted on it. Also, the SS11 wheels have a raised bevel around the 5 cutouts where the reveal trim pieces go.

Allan R

 

Here's some info on the rims. Hope this can help.

This is a great artical about the rims. Click this link.

http://www.oldsmobility.com/superstock.htm

Super Stock II
The SS II wheels were used first in 1968, with a size of 14 x 6 (option code N71). For 1968, all SS IIs for the Cutlass/442 were painted grey, or what some call argent. There were no tin or chrome bezels around the holes in the wheels; the raised area was painted silver. This was for 1968 only. They used the same centers as later SS II and SS III wheels with the bolt on center cap.

There are NO SSII/III wheels with a 5" on 5 pattern.

The 14 x 7's were only used from 1970 to 1972. This, of course, excludes the 1969 H/O which had 15x7s and the 1973(?) and later 15x7 wheels. There was also a 13" wheel offered as option code N66. Don't know what years.

These will work with disc brakes.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Super Stock III
The Super Stock III wheels are exactly the same, 14 x 7, as the 1970-72 SS II wheels, except that they were painted the same color as the lower part of the car (option code N67 - chrome). Option N73 was the 13" variation in lower body color.

Both SS II and SS III came with chrome bezels around the five holes, and a 14" trim ring. They also have a hub center cap in the center of the wheel that has the Olds rocket symbol.

A chromed version of the Super Stock III wheels was offered from 1983-1988 and came in two sizes, 14 x 6 and 15 x 7. The 14" option code was N66 and N83 was the 15" option code. The N66 wheels were available on any RWD Cutlass from 1984-1988, except for the Hurst/Olds and 442. They had black painted insets and no pinstripe around the edge of the wheel. Center caps show a black background with the red rocket symbol in the middle. The N83 wheels came only with the high-performance Cutlasses (H/O, 442) from 1983-1987. The Hurst/Olds wheels had argent painted insets and a red pinstripe, whereas the 442 versions had gold painted insets and gold pinstripes. Also distinguishing the 442 wheels are the center caps, which read '442'. All wheels were of a two-piece design. They were chromed as separate pieces and then assembled by Motor Wheel; therefore, re-chroming of the wheels wouldn't be very practical.

There are NO SSII/III wheels with a 5" on 5 pattern.

 

somebody said the back/inner portion of the wheel is not flat black or semi gloss, it's not, more like satin black. i've repainted a few mid 70's 15" Olds. SS wheels and it appears when they were painted at the factory they were black, then color matched as per customer order. seems likely that if someone ordered a cutlass that used silver as a upper or upper/lower body color then a SS II's may have been substituted either as a cost saving feature or to simplify things at production time or maybe all silver painted cars(upper/lower), used SS II's when ordered with rallye wheels. i don't see any dimensional/style difference in the 76/77 SS II's or III's and the silver ones have black paint on the backs of them. i have no idea what color paint is under the final outside(body) color, my quess: none. seems likely GM wouldn't waste a ton of time/paint on steel that was going to be repainted, it appears like the black was applied first, then sprayed with whatever was on the outside. the outside color also extends onto the inner portion of the wheel about 1/2 way.

 

Does anyone know of a manufacturer and distributor of powdercosting that is a dead hit for the grey used on stock SSII 1972 rims? Name and code of the powder would also be helpful. Is the Eastwood Agrent Silver a match?

 

The color I used was from Tiger Drylac USA Inc

09/80170 Anthracite Smooth Glossy

I painted one rim with the paint from Supercars-unlimited and the colors look exactly alike. I ended up misting all the rims with the paint just to "dull" it down a bit. But you really can't tell. 8 years later, the rims still look brand new. I first powedercoated them black on every surface, then the fronts with the anthracite.

I still have some of the grey paint and the powdercoat. I used the paint the other day to paint a spare that I got to replace the one the shop lost. Looks exactly like the powdercoated rims - as long as its sitting in the trunk I wasn't worried about running to get it powder coated right away

 

I'm going to offer my version of the SSII and SSIII.

First, what we now call the SSII, referred to in 1968 literature as the "super stock wheel", replaced what we know now as the SSI wheel in the 1968 model year. This 1968 super stock wheel was identified as option code PO5 (that was the code for the old super stock wheel (what we now call the SSI) in previous years). The '68 super stock wheel was 14X6, did not have the stainless bezels in the wheel slots but instead the raised area around the slots was painted silver. The entire wheel was painted GM chassis black and then the front of the wheel was painted argent (and then the slots in the wheels were trimmed in silver). On original super stock wheels, you will see argent overspray around the outside of the rim and slightly into the inner part of the wheel. The center caps bolted on. There were production problems with this wheel, however, and they weren't completely cleared up until the latter part of March 1968. Because of the production problems with the SSII, some '68 a-body cars ordered with the SSII actually arrived at the dealership with SSI wheels. I suspect the limited supply of SSII wheels for the first 7-8 months of the 1968 production year went on disc brake cars as the SSI wheels would work only on drum brake cars.

In 1969, the SSI reappeared as an option wheel under its old option code of PO5 and was identified as "Super Stock I Wheel". The SSII was also an option under code N66, identified as "Super Stock II Wheel". The SSII wheel was again 14X6 with the bolt on center cap. The five slots in the wheel openings changed in appearance in that they were now fitted with stainless trim pieces. Painting was the same - GM chassis black with the front of the SSII painted argent. As SSI wheels worked only with drum brakes, Olds came out with a 14X6 disc brake version of the SSI wheel which appears to have been produced only between early April 1969 into July 1969.

1970-1972 SSII wheels went from 14X6 to 14X7, same color as described previously, with the stainless trim pieces in the wheel slots. Center caps continued to be bolt on.

There was a crossover between the SSII wheel and the SSIII wheel that happened in the 72-74 time frame but I don't know exactly how this transitioned. SSII wheels were as described above; SSIII wheels were body color on the outside but painted as above on the inside. SSII and some SSIII wheels had bolt on center caps; later SSIII wheels were all snap on center caps.

And that's all I think I know!

Randy C.

The SS

 

i owned a '75 "s" with the SS II's(N-71, 15 x 7), the centers were the snap-in type, i think after '74 they all were. also i think the SS III's(N-72, 15 x 7), were painted to match the upper body color of the cars, not sure. i seen '76 442's(s), with upper color silver and lower black, with silver wheels, are they SS III's? or II's. the build sheet would probably tell you want was ordered on the car, and likely installed. maybe when you ordered a silver car with rallye wheels you got SS II's.

 

i used that eastwood argent silver to repaint some SS III's into SS II's, later i found some N-83's that were/are original and that eastwood paint matches the grey on those wheels pretty good. and i'm thinkin' the grey on the N-83's is prolly close to the grey on the N-71's. however the paint on the N-83's is over 30 years old so who knows what original paint looks like(?) by now, close enough for me.

 

hmm, so were SSIIIs in later years that were black from a black car really an SSIII that was painted Black or were they an SSII with the "paint delete" option just kidding

SSIIIs were available in 71 when they were a body color option. Still 14x7 bolt-on centercap

 

it would of been either black on black or black upper body color, i think...