1963/64 Wheels

[Jerry C.]

How does Corvette Specialties reproduction 63/63 wheels judge as far as points off? Thanks in advance.

[John F.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

No deduction on my last judging. See what judges say.

[Bob R.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

I noticed a minor difference in the reproduction wheels but they passed judging at the national in 2016.

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

GM is not stamped on the face. You can not see it's missing with the caps on. There is a DOT stamp on the inside that is all but impossible to see when mounted. Both the GM and the DOT are easy to spot on the spare and you will take a point hit there.

You could have a GM stamp made and fill the DOT stamp with JB weld then sand then paint.

[Dan A.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

I think there is a stamping at the valve stem area which can not be seen with the full wheels disc mounted as Gary says. That and the lack of the GM logo on the face should be visible on the spare like Gary said. But something that should be caught by the exterior judges is the difference in the wheel spider (center) to whoop ( outer rim) welds. Original wheels are fuse welded and the reproductions are gas welded. The gas welds are visible from the back. A 40% deduction would be in order for date and configuration.

[Gene M.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

I think there is a stamping at the valve stem area which can not be seen with the full wheels disc mounted as Gary says. That and the lack of the GM logo on the face should be visible on the spare like Gary said. But something that should be caught by the exterior judges is the difference in the wheel spider (center) to whoop ( outer rim) welds. Original wheels are fuse welded and the reproductions are gas welded. The gas welds are visible from the back. A 40% deduction would be in order for date and configuration.

And as Danny pointed out the welds are discernible on all five wheels. Back side inspection of mounted wheels is necessary. Best to find real rims to avoid deduct from knowledgeable judge. You will not get away with repops in that case.

[Edward J.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

Jerry, Corvette Specialties really did a nice job for the 63/64 wheels, as like most repro parts nothing is perfect, if your a purest and want to spend 1500./2500. for the real deal wheels, or spend about 150. per wheel. the dollar per point average is it worth it ?? for those that restore 63/64 cars know what it cost is when bring a car to NCRS spec.s. sometimes it just is not cost prohibitive. There is just not many 63/64 cars left with the factory wheels, which bring the reason why the originals are so high in price.

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

Let's see. The 5 wheels are worth 25 points. On the same line item are weights and caps. So if you give 20 points to the wheels and 5 to weights and caps you have have a 20% hit on 20 points or a 4 point hit. You can buy the repro wheels for about $800.00 or spend $2800.00 for a rstored set of original wheels. Are 4 points worth $2000.00? It's you call. Spend your dollars that gain you the most points.

[Gene M.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

Even at 8 points for 40% deduction that would be in order for date and marking since it is known the time period is wrong and configuration, vs paying $ two grand don’t sound bad.

[Frank D.]

Re: 1963/64 Wheels

The repro wheels are made by Brian of Corvette Specialites and I bought a set on sale from Eckler's for about $660 earlier this year - they are excellent pieces... The judging hit is minimal as has been pointed out. My spare is an original 63 wheel so that helps...

You can go on a scavenger hunt for originals - good luck. If you find a set, they will be expensive and odds are good that one or more of the wheels will be out of round after rolling along the highway for 55+ years. My originals had three out of round. Try to find somebody that wants to straighten steel wheels nowadays - I did and the cost was half of what the repros cost and they still weren't perfect...

An add'l benefit is that the 63-only hubcaps almost glide on to the repro wheels and stay secure; I can't explain why -- a few smacks with your palm and they're on. I had to fight them on the originals...