67 Kelsey Hayes Bolt-ons, How do you tell?

[Michael S.]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

Rick,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news during the Holiday's however the wheels you have are reproduction wheels imported/distributed new by Corvette America.

In addition to my original wheels I also have 3 sets of repo wheels. These repo wheels say the exact same thing you posted above. The only difference is the manufacture date.

One set of reproduction wheels says:

Western Wheel Corp. KH

306067

AB1286

The last stamping is a date.

Again, the only difference in the numbers/stamping on my reproduction wheels vrsus the post of the numbers on your wheels is the date of manufacture. The only difference between the 3 sets of repo wheels I have is manfuacture date.

I trust this will answer your question as to the originality of the bolt-on installed on your car.

Mike

[Rick Stecchi]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

Thanks for the info Mike.

How do you decipher the mfg date? When did Corvette America start/stop thes stlye wheels? Can you still get them from CA

I have a set of repos on my 67 roadster and they look nothing like the one on the 67 coupe.

Somone replied to my direct email and here is what they had to say:

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

Western eventually became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kelsey Hayes and purchased the factory original KO wheel tooling from KH. They ran wheels until the tooling gave up its last for several years after GM exhausted its on-hand inventory of real McCoy KH KO's.

These are pretty rare beasties (Western sourced KO's) that NCRS judging rules address with the most lenient deduction(s).... About the only difference between a factory original KH KO and the Western KO is the emboss detail showing the PN and source of the wheel to be Western vs. KH.

What do you think about the above?

[Michael S.]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

My repo set with the information posted above was purchased in 1986. The repo's are still available. My 1986 wheels are signifcantly different than originals in the lip, fins and lack of ribbing on original wheels. I have never seen any set of repo's myself that are not easily to identify as repo's if you know what to look for.

There have been some folks who have modified/machined/epoxied/painted repo's in attempt to make them look like originals. Some were more successful than others. If it's car part and it can be faked, it's started in the Corvette hobby!

[Rick Stecchi]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

Mike,

I see your wheels you bought in 1986 has 86 in the date code possibly 12/86 or 2/86 based on your dates.

How would you decipher my date of ZA7241 for a date code?

What about the response from the gentleman who posted the reply about KH and Western Wheel?

I talked to the owner who purchased the car in 1983 and the wheels were on when he bought the car.

CA has been in business since 1977. How do I get a date from my numbers that makes sense? Any ideas?

Thanks,

[Michael S.]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

That is a question that I cannot answer. I would suggest a call to Corvette America. Maybe they can help.

Mike

[Rick Stecchi]

Re: 67 Bolt-On's

I did earlier, they had no idea.