1984 eldorado spoked rims

[bacis12@aol]

can anyone help me find a new aftermarket set or close to perfect orig.. set of chromed spoke wheels for my 1984 eldorado biarritz  conv....  not hubcaps true spoke wheels , seems like no one produces them anymore for front wheel drive eldos  thanks                                Anthony N.Y

[Dave Shepherd]

I remember these aftermarket wheels being trouble back in the day especially on the NYC roads. the wheels easily became distorted as the spokes were not strong enough to hold the loads.  Wheel Vintiques, maybe. Or check the Coker site.

[76eldo]

I think you might be able to get some Dayton wire wheels for the car.  These would be the small hub type with exposed chrome lugs.  The typical in the 80's dealer add-on's were made by Appliance Wheel and these had the big hub, hidden lugs onder a 5 or 6 inch center cap.  They were junk.

Not to offend anyone that had or has these on their car, but they had balance problems from day one.  I had these on Eldo's back in the 80's.  Not only were they hard to balance, but they rusted easily, had plastic center caps, and also had a poorly designed trim ring that would hide the open outer edge and they snapped in but often flew off.

It's almost impossible to find center caps and trim rings for these wheels.  They have been out of production for about 15 or 20 years.

The Dayton style wheel look much better and may be available.

Brian

[bacis12@aol]

thanks guys went to dayton , went to coker , great stuff but nothing for 1979-1985 front wheel drive anyware , i have the orig.. appliance dealer upgrade at time of purchase spokes in 84 on the car now, starting to look old after 30 years how about does anyone know who i can call to get these re chromed ,    I had a new set on my 1979 eldo back in the day i purchased them new in like 1983 they were by tru-spoke they dont make anything for front wheel drive for the eldos either                                 THANKS "ANTHONY"

[76eldo]

Ill check with a local wheel specialist here in the Phila area to see if he can get anything.

In order to re chrome your wheels I think they would need to be disassembled totally and then put back together and re-trued. Might get really expensive.

If anyone can refurbish the wheels and put them back together with stainless spokes that would be one way to go.

I'm sure you can Google wire wheel restoration and come up with some possibilities.

Brian

[bacis12@aol]

thanks Brian ,     That does sound like it could get costly redoing them , I'd much rather get a brand new set,  I cant believe no one makes them thanks for your help see what you can find out in phila.. it would be greatly appreciated thanks again

[76eldo]

I called my guy and he said if Dayton doesn't make them he would not have any other reliable source.
Imported wire wheels from China or India are not to be trusted even if you find an offshore company making these. A friend of mine with a Jag replicar bought a set somewhere and they came from China.  He installed them and in less than 100 miles the car developed a bad shimmy.

He went back to the wheel place and it turns out that the front wheels actually were bent by the weight of the car deforming the spokes.  The wheel guy took them back but will not sell any import wire wheels because he lost money on the deal.

Sometimes the old style ones show up on ebay but personally I'd consider a set of mint or NOS wire caps on steel rims. About the same look with no issues.

If you want wires I might know of a used set locally. If I find out anything ill let you know.
You can email me at rachlin@comcast.net

Brian

Brian

[Rich S]

Here is a site that contains a lot of different after-market wire wheels:

http://www.hobbycar.com

I did not see anything specifically for the '79-'85 FWD Cadillacs, but there is one that may work when you click on "Newer RWD & FWD Cars" and see the one mentioning "works on Cadillacs!" It may be worth checking with them, as they mention the Tru Spoke brand, or seem as they would have good customer service based on their nice web-site. Good luck!

[sding]

Hi I have a 85 eldo conv with nice set of Appliance spoke wheels, caps and 5 trim ring. I'd like to go with  steel rims and new/mint wire caps how much will it cost me? what are my set of spokes worth?

[bacis12@aol]

Thanks to all,  I did find out that dayton does after all have 1 set of wire wheels with center caps that have  caddy logo on them , that will fit 1979-1985 Eldorado's,  and also the "tru spoke" company has them ,  they are a reseller of daytons , they do not make a set themselves of "TRU-SPOKE" brand  for 79-85 front wheel Dr. they resell the same daytons ,I really believe this is the only brand new chrome spoke wheel that is being made that will fit , So the price for a set of 4 is $1,995 plus shipping comes with centercaps and a new set of lug nuts but like 35 bucks a piece for caddy logo to swap out on center caps, it works out to be about $2,300  a little heavy if you ask me there ok, i like a little less spoke and a little fatter spoke but these seem be the only ones anywhere, So they are out there thanks to all for the guidance

[76eldo]

I may have a line on a very nice used set.

Email me at rachlin@comcast.net

[bcroe]

My 79 Eldo came with the unusual option of wheel covers, less trouble, look fine.  Bruce Roe