Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

[Fred Y.]

I wanted to get some opinions of what I believe are very early Western BO wheels. These came on a car that was parked away in a garage in 1988 & has never been seen------ Per the past owner, these were probably purchased in the early to mid 70's prior to when he bought the car. As you can see, the KH part # 49985 is still present however on all 4 wheels I have the KH marking was purposely ground off. I am guessing (mind you guessing ) that it was because once acquired by Western, Kelsey Hayes stipulated that the KH logo could no longer be displayed on the rims. A friend pointed out to me that the actual back edge (where they meet the tires) of the REAL KH rims/molds had a much thinner wall as seen in pic #1 VS the 1st run of Westerns wheels which actually had a thicker wall in same said location. I also noted that the thickness of the fins on these is exactly 3/16" as well. These however do not have the two diametrically opposed groups of 8 cast in raised reinforcing ribs as mentioned in the 67 JM. So, what is the opinion of the members here in regards to their origin? Since my car came with Rallye wheels , I'm not really sure what I want to do with these.

And secondly, since we are on the wheel subject my car was built Dec 3rd 66 (5164) so should I be looking for a set of the "B" marked rallye wheels or will the DC or DG's be ok when judged ??

Thanks for your opinions.

[Tom D.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

1967 Judging Guide is out in the cold cold barn. Jim G. has two early "B" marked rally wheels...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Early-Production-1967-67-Corvette-B-15X6-Rally-Ralley-Wheels-PRE-DC-Pair-/301754881448

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Lol--Hi Tom. The 67 JM mentions "B" marking on early 67 rallye wheels. With car being a Dec 3rd car it's possible. That's why I had asked.

[Michael H.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

A couple of years ago someone did a article/survey in the Restorer on ralley wheels with B stamps, they have been observed in cars with VIN up to 1600. DC wheels would be correct for your car. There are also date codes stamped on the inside of the wheels as well like ( 1 67 ) being January of 67. Check out the Restorer article.

Mike

[Ara G.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Fred, a December car is way too late of a build to have B wheels. They were used very very early in production. From memory, under the first 1000 cars. I would have to look in my files to see what i have noted as the latest original car i have seen with B wheels, but no way would a December car have them....ARA

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Appreciate that from you guys. I kinda figured that a 5000 car was too late for the B wheels (and glad too) as they're probably tough to find.

So , I guess I'm back to wondering if anyone has seen the BO's pictured before. I'd like to know their origin.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Fred,

I think those bolt on wheels have gotten pricey, you may want to keep them for a extra set of tires (radials). My car had some B wheels and two DC wheels, it's a 14xx serial # built B23.

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Thanks Tim, Yes good plan. I see you indeed have an early car where you might want the "B" rims----understood. One of the reasons I asked if anyone knew about the origin of these BO wheels is because these were on my car when I bought it when in reality my car originally came with Rallye's.

I picked up a set of 5 BO wheels about 2 yrs ago with brand new Bias tires that will work fine for judging ( the tires that is)

Potentially , I can use these BO's down the road if I wanted to, however I really don't need a 2nd set to trip over. I guess this is a good problem to have. A pal of mine has a set of 67 rally's , so I'll be AOK when I actually need them.

Still just trying to identify these BO's with the D-49985 part # still on them. Kinda a mystery. Still no answers as to their possible origin. Curious ??

[Michael H.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Thanks Tim, Yes good plan. I see you indeed have an early car where you might want the "B" rims----understood. One of the reasons I asked if anyone knew about the origin of these BO wheels is because these were on my car when I bought it when in reality my car originally came with Rallye's.

I picked up a set of 5 BO wheels about 2 yrs ago with brand new Bias tires that will work fine for judging ( the tires that is)

Potentially , I can use these BO's down the road if I wanted to, however I really don't need a 2nd set to trip over. I guess this is a good problem to have. A pal of mine has a set of 67 rally's , so I'll be AOK when I actually need them.

Still just trying to identify these BO's with the D-49985 part # still on them. Kinda a mystery. Still no answers as to their possible origin. Curious ??

Fred,

I looked at my older BO wheels and mine have "Western Wheel" casted on the inside of the wheel and this number cast as well "A60682". May be a date code such as June 6th 1982 ? I don't know. I run redline radials on the BO wheels and I have my ralley's wheels and bias redline tires for judging.

Mike

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Thanks for checking Mike. The 2nd set of BO's I have say the same with the Western markings. I believe mine are mid---late 80's. But the set I have pictured above is MUCH earlier IMO. Not to mention it has the KH part # stamped on it-----The mystery goes on-------

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Correction---The KH part # is cast into it.

[Pancho T.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

There are no KH part# on original BO wheels

[Fred Y.]

Re: Very EARLY Western BO wheels OR ???

Ok, thanks Pancho. Now I'm getting some info on these wheels. So perhaps my original guess was right that these are very early Westerns. The later Westerns had their own name & date stamped inside them & certainly NO KH part #. That's for sure.