Original C3 wheels?

CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
A short while back I replaced my "original" wheels on my 1968 C3 with a set of American Racing ones.

Now, I have no idea if the old wheels I took off were "original" to my car, or replacements ones etc (they do "look" like original wheels).
I was wondering if anyone knew what markings I should be looking for on the wheels to identify them, and indeed how to determine their size as well, as a 1968 should be 7 inch I think (8 inch for 1969 onwards?). And yes, for those of you thinking "err, a tape measure?", well I did that at various places on the wheel and the answer is "I'm not sure". Hence I thought I'd ask about markings etc).

Thanks all. And yes, once I've determined what wheels they are, I'll put them up for sale as they are just taking up space now, and I'll post photos of them etc.
 
Letank

Letank

CCCUK Member
I believe 68MY 7” wheels are marked AG and all other MY 8” wheels are marked AZ.

Some details below which I’ve taken from the Corvetteforum:


I've been reading up on Kelsey-Hayes rally wheels and the manufacturing / date codes on the 15X8 wheels used on 1969-1982 Corvettes.

It would appear that there's some overlap in the codes making it difficult (maybe impossible?) to determine the actual manufacturing dates on some wheels.

Based on information I've read, the manufacturing / date codes are as follows:

K-1-Y M <hole> D AZ

where:

K - manufacturer (Kelsey-Hayes)
1 - manufacturing plant (Romulus, MI)
Y - last digit of year
M - one or two digit month (1 thorugh 12) for month of year
D - one or two digit day (1 through 31) of month
AZ - 15X8 wheel used from 1969 through 1982

The problem comes in for wheels with the following codes:

K-1-8 8 through K-1-8 12 -- could be either Aug thru Dec 1968 or 1978
K-1-9 1 through K-1-9 12 -- could be either Jan thru Dec 1969 or 1979
K-1-0 1 through K-1-0 12 -- could be either Jan thru Dec 1970 or 1980
K-1-1 1 through K-1-1 12 -- could be either Jan thru Dec 1971 or 1981
K-1-2 1 through K-1-2 10 -- could be either Jan thru Oct 1972 or 1982

I've read that, assuming the wheels have original paint, the argent silver used on 1968-1970 wheels had a greenish hue.

I've also been told that later year Rally wheels had a 2 digit year (to eliminate the duplication) but my 1979 Corvette with a body drop date of B19 (Sep 19 1978) that has factory original rallys with a date code of K-1-8 8 <hole> 31 AZ which is Aug 31 1978. However, if I didn't know the wheels were original to the car and simply saw the wheel by itself, how would I know that it was either a 1968 or 1978 wheel (given that I couldn't verify that it had original greenish hue paint which would give it away as a 1968 wheel).
 
Roscobbc

Roscobbc

Moderator
My '68 had the original 7" wide (one year only) wheels changed to later 8" wheels. Perhaps measure your wheels to determine whether in fact they are 7" (measure 'inside' of wheel rim - rather than outside) you can then eliminate one possibility. If they are 7" rims I may be interested for my '68.
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Nice one thanks team. I've tried to measure the width of the rim, but with the tyres on I have to measure roughly through the centre and I can get it to measure 7 inch or 8 inch depending on how I look at it :ROFLMAO:

I suspect that they are probably 8 inch wheels as I doubt the previous owners kept the one year only 7 inch wheels. But I needed to know if there was a definite way to tell - and the "AG" stamp as said above seems the best bet. I'll check it next time I'm round where I store my Vette.

And Ros, yes, if they are 7 inch ones you are quite welcome to have them. (Swap for your big block motor? :D)
 
Roscobbc

Roscobbc

Moderator
CaptainK said:
Nice one thanks team. I've tried to measure the width of the rim, but with the tyres on I have to measure roughly through the centre and I can get it to measure 7 inch or 8 inch depending on how I look at it :ROFLMAO:

I suspect that they are probably 8 inch wheels as I doubt the previous owners kept the one year only 7 inch wheels. But I needed to know if there was a definite way to tell - and the "AG" stamp as said above seems the best bet. I'll check it next time I'm round where I store my Vette.

And Ros, yes, if they are 7 inch ones you are quite welcome to have them. (Swap for your big block motor? :D)
Click to expand...
Sounds like a fair (?) swap Capt'
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Apologies for the delay, I've been super busy with house DIY stuff to go play with the Vette's spare wheels for a while.

Anyway, the result is in that my wheels must NOT be original 7 inch wheels, as they don't have any "AG" markings near the valve, but do have markings starting with "K13", which according to the handy info above means they must be from a 1973 Vette then I presume? And thus then, they'll be 8 inch wheels.

Apologies about that, and means I'll have to find another way to swipe your big block motor then Ros. :ROFLMAO:

Either way, I'll get some photos soon and put them up for sale. Dunno how much they are worth though.
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Mr. Cricket said:
Just sent a link to a NW member who will be interested.
Click to expand...
Nice one thanks. I've just replied to him, but in case the photos don't show in that message I'll post below here. The wheels do come complete with the chrome rings in the photos, the centre caps (which are in a box nearby - I was having a dozy moment and thought the wheels looked wrong in the photos but couldn't put my finger on it - only after I got back from where the Vette is stored and looked at the photos on the laptop did it dawn on me), and if I can find them then the wheel nuts as well (probably the same box).

9174
9175
9176
 
Letank

Letank

CCCUK Member
CaptainK, if the tyres are not too old then I might be interested in taking them off your hands if the NW member doesn’t have them. 👍🏻
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Adrian rang me last night and he wants them. Just need to finalise the finer points in life..... like me living way down here, and him living all the way up there and there being a pandemic on.

And it was only when I posted those pictures on a laptop did I notice that the garage wall has different coloured bricks above the wheel 3rd from the left.
 
Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump

CCCUK regional rep
CaptainK said:
And it was only when I posted those pictures on a laptop did I notice that the garage wall has different coloured bricks above the wheel 3rd from the left.
Click to expand...

That’s funny, I was looking at the wall more than the wheels - unusual “keyed” bricks for taking a render finish.
I hate to say, but there’s been a repair in the area you mention!!!
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Forrest Gump said:
That’s funny, I was looking at the wall more than the wheels - unusual “keyed” bricks for taking a render finish.
I hate to say, but there’s been a repair in the area you mention!!!
Click to expand...
Which is another of my thoughts about the garage wall. I've looked online and can't find a definitive answer - can you render a garage inside wall that is only single skin? Aka it is just those red bricks. I know physically I can render the walls, but I'm not 100% sure about moisture and pros and cons of doing so.
Obviously the "best" way to do it is put stud work in and attach panels to it and plaster and paint etc. But that sounds a faff and will lose garage space etc.
 
Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump

CCCUK regional rep
Sand and cement render will be okay and then a breathable masonry paint. Render must have been the original plan otherwise why use those bricks.
 
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