Bernhard

How close to original are the SS l wheels to original?
Is there one manufacturer better than another?

Thanks
Bernhard

alain

try Specialty wheels they have a very good product
or The partsplaceinc.comyou should find what you are looking for.
Alain

acavagnaro

I can't say it for sure, but like a lot of 'reproduction' parts I suspect there is really only 1 manufacturer of these and several distributors. My '69 442 originally had 14x6 SSII's and I replaced them with a set of 15x7 'reproduction' SSI's. If I remember correctly, I purchased them from Wheel Vintiques. Great quality and they make a world of difference in the stance and ride of the car.
Since I didn't have original SSI's to compare them to I can't tell you how faithful they are to the originals but I believe this same wheel is used as the Buick rallye and Ford Magnum 500 with only a swap of the center caps. If you're looking for something that's a faithful reproduction of the original wheels I don't think these are it but they're good quality and look great. Adding accurate reproduction center caps (which they also sell) may convince you they're close enough.

My442

I ended up having a factory set of 14" SS1 wheels re-hooped into 15" versions.

You keep the factory look and get the larger size.

Bernhard

Who did you have re-hoop the wheels?
What was the cost?
Thanks
Bernhard

My442

15" re-hooped GM SS! original wheels.

15x7 front

15 x 8 rear

droldsmorland

Summit pn...WVI-52-5734438. Wheel Vintiques. High-quality chrome. Centers are from Fusick and are exact too, chrome is great. The center backers are nice too. Exact replicas. Just make sure you wax the hell out of them before mounting and wax annually. Important to initially seal the pores in the chrome then maintain that seal. It also promotes ease of cleaning, use Carnauba.

oldsdriver1218

I bought mine from summit they are perfect nice chrome great center caps also bought radial ta's they came mounted and balanced and no shipping good deal

alain

Any more photos of the green and white 1970 442
beautiful beautiful love the colour combo
Alain coming back to the fold?
Alain

68442

Is the OP reffering to 14X6 OEM SS1 wheels to Repro 14x6 wheels???
If that is the question, nobody is reproing the "correct" 65-69 all chrome SS! wheel.
Center section is accurate but the rim design is totally different

Bernhard

Very Nice!!

The re-hoop rims look good on the car.

Bernhard

Thanks for the feed back the rims and the car look sweet.

Bernhard

Thanks for the reply.
I was asking how accurate a re-pop SS l rims are to original.
So the centers are correct but the rim shape is different that is very help full
information.
So in 68/69 the SS l rims would have been all chrome then accented?

Koda

One should also ask which SSIs; there were 3 or 4 different ones.

Bernhard

It would be good to know what style of SS l
was correct for Oldsmobile in any given year

Koda

Ok, and I did not mean to be snippy previously.

Most of my info comes off the no longer updated oldsmobility.com website, and I have confirmed with experts like Joe.

There were 4 SSIs.

1 1966-1969 14x6 All chrome (drum only)
2 1969 14x6 All chrome (disc brake compatible for factory calipers)
3 1970-1972 14x7 with trim ring (disc brake compatible for factory calipers)
4 1972 14x7 All chrome (disc brake compatible for factory calipers)

So, an SSI is technically acceptable from 66-72. SSIIs came in in 68 with the 68 only ones, then continued through various forms into the 80s, so 68-72 cars could have either.

However, there's two issues. Firstly, the all chromes are cleaner than the trim ring version. Secondly, people like disc brakes. The all chromes are 90% disc brake incompatible, because the 14x6 1969 disc ones are really rare, and the 14x7 1972 ones are also rare. So, it often comes down to: Run drums with all chrome, run ones with trim rings, get lucky and find rare disc ones, or go aftermarket.

Now the CENTERS of all SSI's are the same. The hoops are different, both by width (6 vs 7) and by where the bulge is. The one on the left is a standard 66-69, the one on the right is a 69 disc 14x6.

shiftbyear

I would like to have my wheels re-hooped, is that place still in business?

68442

One respectful correction to the above thorough list. 1972 did Not have an all chrome wheel. It was 1971 all chrome wheel a one year Only offering compatable with disc.