Please Help On 79 Cutlass Wheel Question

[BeachBoyBob]

Folks,

Thanks in advance for any help on this. I wish to change out my original 79 Cutlass 14" steel wheels due to warpage. I have searched the Web, and see that those 58 Series Rally SSII's would look pretty nice, perhaps in 15 x 7, which has a 4&1/4 backspace, compared to the originals which are only about 3 & 1/4 backspace. In addition to improved appearance, I also wanted my wheel choice to accommodate a possible disc brake upgrade for the front. An Email from Coker indicates that the Rally SSII 58 series only went up to 1974, and hence they thought it would not be a compatible application for my 1979. Any thoughts or suggestions?? BBB

 

[joe_padavano]

Folks,

Thanks in advance for any help on this. I wish to change out my original 79 Cutlass 14" steel wheels due to warpage. I have searched the Web, and see that those 58 Series Rally SSII's would look pretty nice, perhaps in 15 x 7, which has a 4&1/4 backspace, compared to the originals which are only about 3 & 1/4 backspace. In addition to improved appearance, I also wanted my wheel choice to accommodate a possible disc brake upgrade for the front. An Email from Coker indicates that the Rally SSII 58 series only went up to 1974, and hence they thought it would not be a compatible application for my 1979. Any thoughts or suggestions?? BBB

The Olds SSII/SSIII wheels are unique in that the center disk stamping is the same on both the 14" and 15" wheels. The 15" wheels use a special rim that has a deeper drop to mate up with the smaller center disk. The result is that the 15" SSII/III wheels don't really provide any additional brake clearance over the 14" wheels. Note that the 14" SSII wheels were factory available with the 10.75" disk brakes.

Also note that there are two center disk designs, the ones with the bolt-in wheel centers, made from 1968-1974, and the ones with the snap-in wheel centers, made from 1975-1988. They are pretty much interchangeable as far as brake clearance is concerned.

 

[Bob]

Rally wheels

Check out "Wheel Vintiques" They are in Summit and Jegs. You could also check for a web site. I'm guessing www.wheelvintiques.com

 

[78Calais]

I bought my 15x7 Rallys already sand blasted for $150 and then spent another $100 having them candy painted to match the car. I used the center caps from my 14x6's. I like them. I get a lot of comments that I need to get some rims for the car but I'm a fan of the sleeper look. :lol:

 

[1979hurst]

did you get my email?

btw my car is for sale... check out my parts for sale thread