Rick nesthus

Just bought my first olds, and im confused about what the original wheel size should be?? it has 14 in tires on it now , plus i see it has 4 lugs? what years had 4 lugs, and when did the change to 5 lug??

joe_padavano

The 1961-63 F-85s all used a 4 x 4.5" bolt circle. The stock wheels were 13". 15" were optional. Note that this is the same bolt circle as the Honda Accord, the early 6 cylinder Mustangs and Falcons, and the Datsun 240/260/280 Z, so there are other wheels out there that fit. I found a set of used 14" slot mags from an early Mustang that I put on my 62 wagon. I'm running 195/70-14s on the front and 205/70-14s on the back. The wheel wells are small and getting the correct wheel offset is critical if you want to run the widest tire possible. Unfortunately, wheel size and offset selection is limited for this bolt circle, as most 4 x 4.5" wheels (same as 4 x 114.3mm) have high offset for FWD cars.

John1963

Hi

Would Vega GT rims work? I have a 63 F85 with 13" wheels.

Ancient Iron

13's were standard 14's were optional on Cutlass's and 15's were only on F-85's because they didn't have a full wheel cover in 15"

joe_padavano

According to the 1961 and 62 factory service manuals, 13" wheels were standard, 15" were optional . 14" were not available. To answer the prior post, the Vega used a 4x4" bolt circle, so not even close.

jensenracing77

joe, would you have any documents for 63? i am almost sure that 63 had 13 and optional 14 and 15. i just seen this in a document somewhere but for the life of me can't find it now. i thought i seen it on the jetfire forum but can't find it.

joe_padavano

No, which is why I carefully worded my response.

Ken Dennison should chime in about now, however.

jensenracing77

i just found where i seen it. it is on the Jetfire forum but not sure where it came from. it is hard to see but P27 was 15 inch white wall and P28 was 15 black wall. P36 was 14 inch black wall and P37 was 14 inch white side wall.

Ancient Iron

Joe I was going by my expieriance with 63's I never had a 61 or 62

sam196370

The tires on my F-85 are shot and I'm looking for new ones but the current 185 80/13 tires are tough to find. Anyone know the largest 13in tire which will fit?

Hoping to powdercoat the wheels before mounting tires - might help solve the constant air leak......

Thank you

copper128

I think the question is really "what's the largest 13" tire you can get your paws on?"

joe_padavano

You just have to know where to look. Tire Rack lists two different brands of 185/80-13 radials, both in stock. Prices range from $70 to $92. Hint: Use the Search by Size option on the lefthand side of their home page.

copper128

Joe, both of the 185/80R13's on Tire Rack are actually trailer tires. I'm not sure that I would use ST tires on a passenger vehicle and I know Tire Rack wouldn't sell them to you for that purpose. They are sticklers about those things.
They do carry 2 passenger tires in 185/70R13, but they are a bit smaller in diameter.

joe_padavano

Good catch! I didn't see that distinction. Of course, Tire Rack has too many lawyers. I tried to buy two tires for my 6x6 dually, they refused, said I had to replace all tires at the same time since it was 4WD. The distinction of full-time vs. part-time 4WD (and the lack of a center differential) was lost on them. I now simply order by size and don't tell them what vehicle the tires are for.

copper128

I tried ordering (online) 2 snow tires once without saying what they were for and they called me about 15 minutes later telling me they could only sell snows in sets of 4. I made up a story that I already had 2 that I bought locally and needed 2 to complete the set They went for it.

carbizguy

Hi Joe, I am sorry to dig up an old post, but do you have any info on the original 15" wheels that were optional on the 63 F85? I'd like to try and swap out my 13's with original 15's. I like the look of the dog dish caps on those wheels too. Any help would be awesome!

Thanks,
Lionel

-Wheels like these I found online.

joe_padavano

The 15x4.5" wheels were optional on the 1961-63 F-85 and Buick Skylark lines. They are rare and priced accordingly when you find them. It took me four years of searching to accumulate a full set of four.

jensenracing77

This guy has a set of 4 for sale with new tires on them. You can send him a PM

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...oung+olds.html

jensenracing77

I have a set of caps on eBay. I was thinking about keeping them but don't need to. If you want them I can pull them from eBay and sell direct for $160 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/222400145836?ul_noapp=true

carbizguy

thanks! Wow, so they're only 4.5 wide? Do you know off hand what the widest we can go in the rear?

carbizguy

sweet, thanks. I will reach out to him.

Thanks, but I recently grabbed 3 caps on ebay for $35. I just need 1 more

jensenracing77

Nice score! Never see them pop up often and when they do, never that low.

carbizguy

Thanks, I was pleasantly surprised. shipping was $15 though.

WillCut

These 15" rims, they dont clear the scarebird disk brake setup, do they? I'm looking to go to the 5x4.75 pattern but even then I cant find steel rims that will take the 9.5", smaller dog dish caps... anyone know who sells them?!?!

carbizguy

still hope someone can help with this. I was wondering whats the widest someone has fit on the '63 F85?? I want to widen my rear stock steel wheels.