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Wheels identified

Started by #1CaddyFan, November 02, 2020, 03:19:05 PM

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#1CaddyFan

Hey Everybody
I think I have identified the wheels that came with my 56 Ser 62.
The barrel of the wheel shows the stamp 57 then 8 and maybe Kelsey. Look at this pic and tell me what you think
Thanks Dan

cadillacmike68

That is Definitely the Kelsey Hayes logo.
But the 57 8 would mean Aug 1957 ? A year later than the car??
Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike

Cadman-iac

Dan,
Yes that's the production date stamp. It was made in August of '57, so it's not the one that came with your car. But that's just the one wheel, did you check the other 3 yet?
Now unless you are trying to make it 100% original, those wheels will work fine. They have the reverse dish centers so your hubcaps will fit fine.

Rick
CLC# 32373
1956 Coupe Deville A/C car "Norma Jean"

Cadman-iac

Hi Dan,
I'm sorry about that,  I didn't realize the 56 caps would not fit on the 57 wheels. I've got several different years of wheels here and had the caps on each of them when I was trying to find a complete matched set of wheels for mine. I'll have to check to see what years those are. I do know that they are newer than 56, but exactly what years I'm not sure yet.
I was told by someone years ago that any reverse dish wheel would work for a 56, but I can see that's probably not true.
I can understand why you're hesitant to check the others, tire shops are not cheap.
I lucked out and found a Coats 40-40A tire machine that I could afford,  and having worked in a shop years ago, I have experience with these.
Unfortunately I don't think that these wheels are marked in any way on the outside like they are in later years. I blasted a full set to clean them up and the only thing I found was in the same place you found it on yours.

Rick
CLC# 32373
1956 Coupe Deville A/C car "Norma Jean"

Cadman-iac

#4
Dan,
I did some checking today, and here's what I came up with.
I have several different years of wheels here. The first one was a 61, production date of 11/60, and I tried one of my 56 caps on it and it fit just fine. This is the first picture.
The second picture is a 65 wheel, production date of 6/65, and again, the cap fit perfectly.
The third pic is a 66 wheel with a production date of either 3/66, or 7/66, it was hard to make out for sure. But the cap fit this one just as well.
These 3 were all Kelsey Hayes wheels too. I have a fourth one that says the maker is "Electrofuse" if I read it right.  It has a slightly different center dish, but it still has the same depth as the Kelsey Hayes wheels do. I can't tell what year it is as the only other number on it other than the size stamping of 15x6, is "814", and I don't know if that's a code for the date or not.  Even so, the hubcap fit it just like it fit the 56 wheel.
The 5th picture is the 56 wheel.
Unless there's something different about the 57 wheels, I don't know why yours doesn't fit.

Hopefully this has been of some help to you.

  Rick
CLC# 32373
1956 Coupe Deville A/C car "Norma Jean"

M. Bankes

Hi,
‘56 hubcaps will not for ‘57 - ‘60 rims, the rims are too shallow for that, I’ve been through it a lot. ‘61 - ‘64 hubcaps are deep again, so I’m not surprises to hear they will fit some of the newer rims, but I know they won’t fit ‘55 rims, or the ‘57 - ‘60 rims
Michael

fishnjim

This has come up before and '56 is one of those weird "one year only" years, that the wheels and hubcaps only fit '56.   No one is making repro to my knowledge.
I don't know what rim stock it is, but there might be a two letter code on one of the originals.
I used to have the magic decoder for that, but it's still around.   All 'rim stock" which determines the flange shape, as far as I know, only came from one rolling line.  I went through this for the '58 similarly, but they're common.
The use what they can, when they can't get what they need.

Cadman-iac

#7
Michael and Jim,
Thank you for the clarification on which wheels are compatible with the 56 caps. I took some measurements from the ones I have, and they are all within .050" of each other as far as the depth of the center section's lowest point.  They should measure right near 3.200 inches, give or take a few thousands. That's measured from the flat area of the lip of the rim where the bead of the tire hit, but on the outside of the wheel of course, not the actual lip that sticks out itself.

Here's a couple of pictures of the  oddball wheel that I have that has a different manufacturer brand on it. I don't know what year it actually is,  can either of you tell just by looking at it?
And for reference,  here's a picture of the hubcap from the side showing the depth measurement as best I can. And one of it from the front for identification.
The last picture is of one of the 60's wheels from Kelsey Hayes. You can see the slight difference between these and the electrofuse branded wheel.
.I don't know,  it may be the same year as any of the Kelsey Hayes wheels, but thought I'd ask if anyone would know for sure what it was.
Thanks for looking, and any help you can offer.

Rick
CLC# 32373
1956 Coupe Deville A/C car "Norma Jean"