Wheel Cover/Center Cover Crest Identification Help!

[A Gurski]

Hello Friends,

On my 1976 Eldorado I have chrome wheels.  It seems to me that a previous owner took the original wheels and had them chromed.  Dedication right?

Then he found some wheel covers/center covers and installed them for what I contend is a nice blingy look.  Two of the four center cover Crests have lost their colored bits and I would like to replace them.

Can somebody help me identify the covers?  Or can the crests be replaced?  If so, some help on Crest identification would be much appreciated as always! 

Picture:

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

The covers themselves look like 1939/1940 ones with later model wreath and crests added.

[76eldo]

Take them off.  There should be part numbers cast into them.  Then you can figure out what they are and you should be able to obtain replacements.

Brian

[TJ Hopland]

That is a 68 or 69 Toronado wheel and cover with a Cad crest.    66-67 the cap had a recess and the rocket logo emblem in black, also tended to only fit 4 wheel drum cars.  The holes in your photo look more rounded like the drum wheels were but if you have em on a 76 they must be the later ones that clear the discs.  Not sure if the chrome was standard or just a really popular option.   I think 68-70 the chrome was an option, standard was a more typical cover like the Eldo's had.   I think the Oldsmobile motor division or at least oldsmobile was painted around the outside so to turn them to Cad they buffed it off or re chromed em.  One year it may have been embossed and the other year paint.   71+ it was a standard wheel and cover but I presume like the Eldo the dealers had some aluminum options.   

[A Gurski]

I am quite sure these are chromed 1976 Eldorado wheels.  Although they do look very much like 68/69 Tornado wheels the give away is that the Eldo has seven holes whereas the Tornado has ten, I think.

Further i have never seen "stock" 1976 Eldorado wheels in chrome and neither has Google Images.  I am not saying they did not exist they would just be a very unusual/unpopular "option".

I appreciate the feedback and do not want to quibble (or sound unappreciative)  just want to leave a good record for future forum users. 

Once the car is back from the shop I will pull the wheel cover and look for identification as suggested.  That is really the heart of what I'm trying to figure out.

Of course I am very open to being wrong and always searching for the truth. 

Thanks as always! 

[A Gurski]

So though I'm still not sure about anything let me be the first to correct myself:  there are at least two 1976 Eldorados out there with these wheels!

[TJ Hopland]

I don't think the chrome was ever a factory option for the Eldo but it was for the Toro.   

Was the 8-10 hole difference maybe the drum disc change?   The say 71-78 wheels didn't appear to be any different between the Eldo and Toro and I didn't think they had the nubs to hold the early Olds center cap.   The couple early Eldo's I dealt with were drum cars and did have the nubs on the wheels so were for sure a different wheel than later cars had but I have no way of knowing if they were original to that car or maybe from a Toro if there were different.   The toros I have messed with were all drums too. 

Anyone have an Olds parts book to see how many part numbers there were for the Toro and how those compare to the Eldo numbers?   Other than the chrome you would not think there would have been a difference but it is kinda odd they didn't start with disc compatible wheels to start with.  I suppose they didn't know that disc was going to be popular or what the design was going to be when they were first doing the FWD layout. 

[TMoore - NTCLC]

Here is a rather confusing e-bay auction that might have some part numbers to start with:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/67-68-69-TORONADO-ELDORADO-OEM-pair-disc-brake-wheels-1967-1968-1969-NO-RESERVE-/331604480298

and here is a Toronado that appears to have the 7-hole rims (not much info on where they came from, but it appears he made his own hubcaps)

http://www.docsmachine.com/nonPB/toronado.html

[TJ Hopland]

In that Ebay listing photos you can see the nubs in the center of the chrome ones to hold the center caps.   The black wheel does not have them so its likely a later wheel unless Cadillac had their own 'nubless' one early on.   The 67 Eldo I worked on did have the nubs but were regular black wheels with the usual Eldo hubcaps.

My guess is we will find that 69-70ish or for sure 71 they went down to one part number for both Eldo and Toro since the chrome option and center cap was gone, disc was standard for both, and full hubcaps were standard for both.