cutlass xombie

Hey all,

I have the original 14's on my car right now and was wondering if the 15 inch Rally II rims on my 77 Lemans would fit? The bolt pattern is the same but would I need and kind of backspacing?

The tires on the 15's are 215/70's I believe.

I am very new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

oldcutlass

I don't see why not!

copper128

Sure, they'll fit fine.

TripDeuces

15" SSII's with 225 tire. They will fit fine.

cutlass xombie

Thanks Guys. Should be interesting to see what they look like on the car.

Allan R

Trip, they are not SSII's they are Poncho sport wheels. Your choice of tire is bang on....

These are the wheels you want to swap? ( Personally I think they look very nice color coded to the car!) Go for it! May I suggest changing the Pontiac center cap though?

cutlass xombie

Hey Allan...ya those are the wheels and if they fit no probs I will get them colour coded to the car later unless I decide to change the rims. I have a set and they need to be refinished but if I like the look they may be the wheel I keep. And yes I will have to get some Olds centre caps for them lol.

Thanks for the input

Allan R

Welcome, as you can see from the picture below, SSI wheels (which could have been an option on your 66) look remarkably similar. In fact they could be the same stamping for all I know. These repro SS1's are 15x8 which allows a nice fit for a wider tire. 225's will fit really easy. You going with body color, or maybe black/silver? The only thing bad I've heard about some of the repros is that their chrome isn't as durable and 'rusts' after about 2 or 3 years





From what I've read, the center cap interchangeability should be no problem

cutlass xombie

Hey Allan, ya I like the look of those rims as well and I guess if I wanted to keep it more stock looking I could go with those and I may just do that down the line. The reason I'm going with the Rally II's is that I have a set lol, and after checking last night they are 225's on them not 215's.

I was originally thinking body colour match for the rims but now that you mention silver and black I will have to put my thinking cap on lol and thanks for the info about the repops being prone to rust so soon, that may just sway my decision.

Cheers

copper128

I'm pretty sure there are pre-cut masking kits available now to make repainting the Pontiac Rally II's real easy. Check with Ames or Performance Years.

The Rally II isn't the same stamping as the Olds SSI. The SSI is actually a Motor Wheel Magnum 500 - same design used by Ford and Chrysler - with an Olds center cap. Really. Motor Wheel was a big supplier of OEM sport wheels to all of the American car companies.

The Rally II wheel has wider spokes with a raised area where the lighter silver paint is applied.

cutlass xombie

Thanks for the info copper

cutlass xombie

Well the car arrived today.

So here's a pic of the car and the wheels that are on it now and the ones I am planning to put on.

Now remember I will be getting them colour matched to the colour of the car (still not sure if I'm gonna keep the original colour or not lol) and I will be getting the Olds centre caps.

Does any one know if the Rally II's originally had chrome inserts on the openings in the wheel?

Let me know what you guys think and as soon as I've put them on I'll be sure to post some pics.

Oh and if it works out I may have a set of caps to sell...does anyone know what kinda price these things go for?

IMG_0542.jpg

IMG_0527.jpg

IMG_0589.jpg

Allan R

xombie,
Nice looking car - Can't wait to see it all polished and transformed!

Rally II's - we're mostly Olds, but my guess is the slots on the Rally II's are not designed for any trim pieces. Those wheels will clean up really nice, and if you go with black / silver (hint hint) they'll look killer on that car. You can also use photoshop on the wheels to color code them and see how they would look on the car. Some raised white letter tires will make the transition complete (come to the dark side Luke - feel the POWER)

Wire wheel discs? They actually look to be in good condition. Hard to tell exactly from the pic. Those 3 spinner kind are desirable to a certain crowd. I would guess you should be able to get around 200+ for them if they are as good as the one in the photo. Road rash detracts horribly from the value. I bought a set of wire wheel discs (brand new in the box) for my 72 Cutlass. At the time they were 400.00. From Stedelbauer here in Edmonton they listed at 125.00 each back in 1979.

Suggest you have them sandblasted to get all the crud out of the nooks and crannies, then fine sand them before painting for the best look. Once you have paint on them, it would help to clear them. You can get a gloss or satin coat to help preserve that finish. Do both sides of the wheel to keep them from rusting anywhere.

cutlass xombie

Hey Allan,

Thanks for the info on the wire wheels...it's good to know if I do decide to get rid of them. They are all in really good shape so if I can get a good buck for them I may just sell them cuz I will need all the extra cash I can get to put into the new toy lol.

Yes I plan on getting the Rallys sanblasted before painting and as for the trim pieces I didn't think they came with them but wasn't really sure after taking a good look at the rims. They have an indent all around the openings so it looks like thye could take a trim piece.

And you read my mind about the raised white lettering and yes I probably will do a little photoshopping in the near future with the wheels

Cheers

Allan R

The original ad from Pontiac shows the wheels do have the trim ring, but it looks a little different. Maybe play with the idea of what the wheel would look like with and without the trim ring?

I know your car isn't a 70 rallye 350, but take a look at the comparison between no trim ring, and trim ring looks

No trim ring:



Trim ring:



IMO, some cars actually look better without the trim ring. I love both of these cars, but no trim ring in the top pic seems to make the wheel pop more and the stance more agressive.... Have fun with your wheel project. Love to see what you decide on. I know you will take pride in selecting something you are proud of and reflects your ride.