Has anyone here had wheels modified to a larger diameter?

I have a set of SSII wheels that would be better if they were 15" in diameter.

I like the look of SSII wheels with the trim ring.

Pass along any advice or experience.

 

You're kidding, right?

- Eric

 

Nope.

Do you have anything positive to add?

If not, move along.

 

This can certainly be done, but it will be much cheaper to just buy 15" SSII wheels.

 

Actually yes. The centers of the SSII wheels are the same for both 14 and 15" wheels, it was the outer rim that made the difference. I had the centers cut out of a pair of 1968 14X6 wheels and welded into 15X10 blanks and they look great. That also gave me the opportunity to make the offset what I wanted for the humongus wheelwells on a 1971 Cutlass Supreme (about 14" wide at the wheel lip). Since then I've also purchase a set of 15X8 SSII's with bolt in centers from another Olds guy who had them made. With the price of bolt in center 15X7 wheels up around $100 each having a set made isn't much more expensive. Do a search on this topic and you'll find old threads discussing this. John


Joe, you beat me to the punch! Bolt on center 15's are getting harder to find, so it might be worth comparing prices. Last year I purchased a set of 15X7 SSI's with chrome plated outer rims off ebay for $379.00 Way cheaper than trying to find original Hurst Olds wheels but still give me the look I wanted. John

 

Sorry, I'm not a compete jerk (even my wife can find one or two good qualities in me on a good day...), and I don't mean to sound like one, but...
I can understand having wheels modified to create ones that were never made by GM, such as 2Blu's extra-wide wheels with a custom offset, but why would you want to go to the trouble of custom-manufacturing wheels that were mass produced by GM, and that are available used?
I mean, it's a free country and all, but what's the advantage?

- Eric

 

But these go to 15....

 

In part due to the age of the rims themselves. The bead area takes a beating and tends to be either beat up, rusted to hell, or both. Taking the centers out and having them welded into new rims makes a lot of sense especially when you want a custom size and offset yet keep the "stock appearance".

 

They were not "mass" produced. It was a one or two year only option, dont recall for sure.

I have seen them sell for 80-100 each. The last set of 4 on ROP were 325 and a pair on here just sold for $180. The regular wheels can be found for ~$15-$20 each.

 

If GM or Ford or Porsche made them for a year or more, they were mass produced.
Lamborghini, maybe not.

Okay, so at $325 a set, the cost of "remanufacturing" a new wheel, including parts and skilled labor (aligning, centering, balancing) must be well under $80 a wheel. That's cheaper than I would have expected.

- Eric

 

The aligning and centering is done on a jig that is squared up before they drop the center in.

 

I know what mass produced means. I have stood by a mass production line while i watched 100 people assembling what i designed. Sometimes as many as 1,000,000 pieces.

I put mass in quotes because in comparison to other wheels from Oldsmobile these are relatively hard to find.

The advantage has been explained, are you still wondering if the OP is kidding?

 

No, I am not, though I still think it sounds strange, and have no intention of commissioning any wheels in the near future.

I believe I will file it under "strange things people do when they get hyper-involved with their cars" (such as putting $10,000 worth of suspension components into their Chevelles), and will not think about it anymore because it makes my brain hurt.

And you don't need to make a million units of an item for it to reasonably be described as "mass produced." It's more the process than the quantity, as you know, having designed products for production.

It no longer appears to me as though the OP might be kidding, though, for the sake of my own peace of mind, I wish that he were.

- Eric

 

If you are looking for SSII/III 15" wheels with bolt-in centers, these were made for two years only - 1973-74. Well, three years if you count the 1969 H/O wheels. The 15" wheels with snap-in centers were made 1975-up. And obviously if you want a non-stock width or offset then you need custom wheels.

 

I have one quote in hand to do what I want: Turn the SS1 14" wheel into a 15" SSII wheel, with a trim ring.

The repro SS1 wheels have no trim ring and are all chrome. Correct-ish for a 71, but not a 70.

$145 each to do it.

Looking for 2 more quotes, and off they go.

MY BAD - I MEANT SS1 WHEELS.

 

I apologize - my response was a little harsh.

 

So do I , as mine was as well.

- Eric

 

These guys do beautiful work. http://www.thewheelsmith.net/

 

Thanks for the link!

 

Why would you not just buy repop SS1 15" rims and put 15" trim rings on them? or are you saying you don't want chrome? In that case those are also made repop...

I can see doing it if you need those special bolt in centercap SSII wheels in a 15" size, but for 15" SS1's I'd get repops.

 

Dont know if you want to consider SS1 wheels but I just bought a new set from Summitt Racing for about 150.00 each. they are chrome. I too wanted to keep my SS11 wheels and restore them but I put disc brakes on it and the 14'' rims would not clear the calipers. It rub some not much. Summit also has the SS11 rims but they are also chrome. I went with 15x8 rims. looks nice

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Wheel...item5ade7e6b46

here is also a set of 15"x7 SS11 rims

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OLDS-...item45f7c4f7bc

 

Joe, i dont have to look too far. I have sets of both 14" and 15" with bolt in centers as well as 15" with snap in centers. And ... two sets of 83 HO rims. Im only a slight hoarder.

 

There have been several threads on the repop Olds wheels regarding how they are made a little thinner than OEM. MY442 has the right idea, use the OEM center with a new DOT rim..

 

OEM SSII's were cast gray (some say Argent) not black. SSIII's could be black, if the car was black. SSI's were a different style altogether - more like the Dodge, Mustang and Buick wheels.

 

No, Buick wheels were nothing like the Magnum 500 style wheels that you're thinking of.

 

I'm thinking of these. These are original aren't they?

 

Yes. Now go back and look closely at the spokes on the Buick wheel vs. those on the Mustang. The Mustang and Dodge are the Magnum 500 style, which is similar to the SSI and Chevelle SS wheels. The Buicks are completely different. Note the curved spokes. The raised part of the spoke is also thinner than on the Magnum style wheels.

 

Joe, you're too technical for me. I see the difference, but still, the styling is similar. LOL.

 

When you're close-up, you can really see the difference - the "spokes" on the Olds and Chev. rims have their long edges rounded or chamfered, the "spokes" on the Buick rims are a sharp right angle.

The Olds type ones don't look right on a Buick, and the Buick ones don't look right on an Olds. I never could figure out why. It's mysterious...

- Eric

 

Not when you see them in person.

 

I have thought about the Wheel Vintiques, but there has been some posts of soft metal distorted lug holes.

They may be Chineseum.....

I try to re-purpose GM stuff whenever I can. Nothing made as a repop is as good.

 

I went from 14x7 inch SSII rims to 15x7 inch steel rims with 225x70 BFG T/A's and dog dish hubcaps( $70 dollars ea. repro- I got 5 for 20 dollars at a flea market -mint) A better ride and profile. 68 Burgundy 442 posted in pic gallery

 

I can relate.

 

Ditto.
It's a common mistake to assume the Buick wheel is the same Magnum-500-style wheel as
the Chevy SS, Olds SSI, Mopar, American Motors and Ford wheels.
The Buick wheel is similar at a distance, but, definitely different.
The spokes are narrower and are a uniform width from the hub to the rim.
The spokes of the Magnum 500-style wheels are wider at the hub than at the rim.

 

I agree they are not the same. However, the styling is similar in my opinion. I know there are differences, you can even see that in the pictures I posted, however the overall styling is similar. Put an SSI on a Buick or Mustang and probably 90% of people won't notice if they aren't looking for it. Put an SSII on a Buick or Mustang and it's more apparent that it's the wrong wheel - more people would know, the rest would question it.

 

[QUOTE=My442;244465]I have one quote in hand to do what I want: Turn the SS1 14" wheel into a 15" SSII wheel, with a trim ring.

The repro SS1 wheels have no trim ring and are all chrome. Correct-ish for a 71, but not a 70.

$145 each to do it.

Looking for 2 more quotes, and off they go.

My442,

Did you ever get this done?
I'm looking to make my 14's to 15's.

 

I would like to know as well. I have a set of 70 SS1s I would like to have redone to 15".

[quote=501Paratrooper;290638]

 

No.

The place I was going to have do it closed (Stockton Wheel).

Another place quoted me $125.

It was the Wheelsmith in California.

http://www.thewheelsmith.net/history_of_wheelsmith.html

 

Did Stockton quote before they closed? They claim they are going to reopen under new management soon.

I would really like to have 15s done from my SS1s. I don't want to do the Wheel Vinteques due to reported quality issues and the fact the chrome is not the same as the original Oldsmobile rims. The chrome on the Wheel Vinteques is mirror vs the matte finish on the Olds wheels. I also don't care for the chromed outer rim either.

A set of 15s with the original 14 centers and SSII 15" trim rings are just what my 70 W30 needs.

If there are enough people who want to do this, maybe we can negotiate a group deal at either the Wheelsmith or Stockton when they reopen.

 

Just found this on a Buick site: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=189848

The reviews for his quality of work looks good. The only down side is it appears as if he can get backlogged and a bit slow at times. Since I have a set of 14s on the car now and will be converting a spare set this does not concern me. I think I am am going to give him a shot.