I know that I am inviting all sorts of derogatory comments on this, but I will ask anyway. First some background. In the next few days I will be picking up a set of 15x7 SSIII wheels. I will be sandblasting and re-painting them back to my body color. My question is this, I need to pick up some center caps. Other than the obvious, is there a difference between the bolt on versus the snap on? Will one not work on a 15x7 wheel? I just don't want to pick up the wrong thing and wind up returning them.

At a guess I'd say that I need to get snap-ons because I don't think that the 15x7 was standard for the 70-72. Am I right in thinking that?

 

Take a look at the wheels when you get them. It will be apparent . You'll see the prongs or holes- most likely they are snap on. That's OK, that's what is on my 71. 99% will think they are original (correct).

 

The center caps aren't interchangeable so you'll need to look at your new rims like Greg said. Visually, you can see slight differences between the two types of caps and the rim areas that take them but the majority of people won't notice.

The 15" rims with snap in center caps are quite common while the ones with bolt in caps were a one year only rim and cost a pretty penny when you can find them.

 

Everything said above is correct.


Here’s a picture of my old 14” wheels with bolt on center caps and the new 15” wheels with snap on center caps. The differences are fairly subtle.

 

The top wheel takes a snap-on cap, the bottom takes a bolt-on cap. What do you think?

 

I'll also add that the SS II/III wheels with snap-in centers are lug-centric. Be sure whoever balances your wheels and tires has the correct lug-centric adapter for the balancer, or the wheels will never be right.

 

Thanks for the info everyone.

 

I figured he would have wanted the big snap-on centers.

 

Starfish centers.

 

Amen to that! I went thru a big hassle on that one!

 

The tire shop will try to tell you every wheel is bent.

I argued with them, told them these were brand new wheels, still fought me. When they finally dusted off the lug adapter and reluctantly used it, suddenly the wheels were usable. 🙄

 

Gotta love the whitewalls. I remember when I was a kid in my Dad's shop, he had a guy that he would call every now and then to put whitewalls on regular blackwall tires. He had this rig that would bolt onto the wheel, and almost like a compass with a blade, travel in a circle scraping out a 1 inch wide indentation in the sidewall. He then would attach a paint brush and going in the same circle paint on the whitewall.

It was actually kinda cool to watch.

 

I'll bet whitewalls will make a comeback. I liked 'em on the more upscale cars...

 

Can anyone post what a lug-centric adapter looks like? I'm wondering if this could be the key in getting my wheels balanced 100% properly. I'm about to get a fresh set of whitewalls installed on my black/silver 79 and I'd need them to get this right the first time.

Also, another difference between bolt on and push on centers? For the bolt ons, you would need to steal the whole wheel to steal the center caps. This doesn't occur anymore lately, but back in the 80's when I first bought my blue 79 Calais I was getting my center caps ripped off all the time. I'd go into the mall having all 4 caps and when I came back, one, two, sometimes all 4 would be gone. I was on a first name basis with the Junkyard people in Hackensack, NJ, as I was there constantly to pick up replacements

 

Lug centric adapters come in different styles, plate-style and adjustable arm style. They are simply a fixture that centers on the balancer spindle and holds the wheel by the lug holes.

 

The adapter at my local discount tire looks like this. It has threaded holes for all the different wheel bolt patterns. Which means to use it requires a little setup time. That perfectly explains why it was covered in dust and the reluctance to use it.

 

Considering how poorly auto store guys, tire guys, and mechanics in big chain stores are paid, I'm not surprised there is little care given.

 

The amount of pay shouldn't dictate your level of performance. I was taught to do whatever the task was properly regardless of the pay scale.

 

Koda's point is that low pay doesn't really attract master mechanics.

 

If you're going to get whitewalls installed make sure the tire shop knows what they're doing. If they don't know the difference between hub and lug centric wheels I would find a different place that knows the business.

If the tire shop leans another tire against a new whitewall it can PERMANENTLY stain the whitewall!

 

Thanks Joe for the post with the photo of the lug centric adapter, much appreciated! Thanx to Olds 64 also!

 

Just as an informational bit for anyone that is interested.
Finding a tire shop that has the "lug-centric" adapter for balancing classic rims is almost impossible in my area. But if you think outside the box a little bit, there is another option.
Look up custom rim shops.
After striking out with 8 different tire shops in my area, for some reason I thought about custom rim shops. They deal with many different shapes and sizes of wheels, I took one of my SSIII's up to a local place. He has delt with these old steel wheels alot over the years, and while not having the "lug-centric" adapter, he did have all of the other adapters for custom jobs to make that rim spin true.

$250 to take the old Cragars off and balance/mount the SSIII's. I can live with that.
Getting the work done tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

 

I hate to admit it, but I like the SSIII's more than the Cragars.

 

Looks Great! I couldn’t agree more, I also prefer the exclusively Olds SSII/SSII to the Magnum 500 style SSI wheels with similar versions used by Chevy, Buick, Mopar and Ford.

 

x3, A polished look. The exact reason I ditched my wire wheels on the black/silver 79 for the SS 3's

 

Best place to go for important wheel balancing and mounting is the most gangsta place in the hood. Look for a place with bars on the windows but beautiful 30" donk rims in the displays. If it works for the brothers, it will work for you.

Good looking car.