Wheel weights

[Brian W.]

Re: Wheel weights

Manual states All wheel weights were installed on the inside of the wheel including the spare. Weights should not indicate a metric designation.
That is all.
Brian

[Gary B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Brian,

Not much help there. Most of the wheel weight companies in business in the 60s were founded many years or even decades earlier, so I suspect several of those companies supplied wheel weights for C1s. Unfortunately, the older the car, the less likely it is that one can find unused spares, which would have original weights.

Gary

[James W.]

Re: Wheel weights

The weight on a 1965 original spare and some of my file pictures.

James

[Gary B.]

[Kevin G.]

Re: Wheel weights

I've been away from the side wheel weight hobby for years so excuse me, I too need to be refreshed. Here's a picture of some 20, different weight manufacturers products. IIRC Perfect matched closely with Micro in numbers, in the vandom collection I obtained. The study and the collection I have learned that Micro BADA was indeed just one player. I'd like to see the judges begin to accept the fact that there were so many others. THese others should receive no deduct as well.....DSCN4575.jpg

[Gary B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin,

I definitely agree about the appropriateness of recognizing during judging that additional wheel weights with logos other than Micro were original to the GM production line. What would help us NCRS members is if additional information is incorporated into the various Judging Guides. Once that is accomplished, owners will no longer have to seek out Micro weights mistakenly thinking those are the only acceptable weights.

The remaining challenge is to determine which logo weights were used during which years. I believe that some of the following six logos of weights were used during different eras of C1, C2, and C3 production.





I was also told by an employee of one of the major companies that made weights during the C2 era that there were two additional wheel weights supplies to GM:

• Salmon
• Wheel Weights, Inc.

To date, I have not been able to match a wheel weight logo to either Salmon or Wheel Weights, Inc.


SEARS
EXCEL
ALLSTATE

In summary, in my opinion sufficient evidence exists to list more than just Micro in the Judging Guides. We really need the help from owners of cars with original, unused spare tires to come forward and present their evidence to the Revision Team members and JG Manual Coordinators. And those same Revision Team members could check with owners of Bowtie and Survivor cars. This is all doable. It just takes doing.

Gary

[Kevin G.]

Re: Wheel weights

what wheel weights would have used on 53/54 &55 corvettes

It's my belief that a weight marked with UUU or UU were likely to be found on the early cars.

Were the weights ever snipped (lightened) from the factory? It was not uncommon to lighten a weight a bit, and if you ever noticed the tool used at the time had a weight cutter built into it. If you had only a 1.0 and 1.5, but really needed 1.25, you would cut off a chunk of the 1.5 to make for a more precise balance.

No. No such nipping was ever done at the factory but did become quite common with service stations not having the right inventory available. No 1/4's to meet the standard at the time.

[Kevin G.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin,

I definitely agree about the appropriateness of recognizing during judging that additional wheel weights with logos other than Micro were original to the GM production line. What would help us NCRS members is if additional information is incorporated into the various Judging Guides. Once that is accomplished, owners will no longer have to seek out Micro weights mistakenly thinking those are the only acceptable weights.

The remaining challenge is to determine which logo weights were used during which years. I believe that some of the following six logos of weights were used during different eras of C1, C2, and C3 production.

• Micro (AM.5 on 0.5 oz); Bada; numerous observations
• P pierced by arrow; Perfect Equipment Corp; observed on ‘65 spare tire; & C3
• 14 inside oval border: Speed Clip/Plumbrium; observed on unused ‘67 spare
• LH inside diamond border > Manufacturer not yet determined; several observations
• OEM > Manufacturer not yet determined; several observations on unused ‘66 spares
• HALKO > Halko Manufacturing Co; seen on several C3 tires

One note of caution is that not all of the above were used for all C1, C2 and C3 years. For example, I learned quite recently that the “Speed Clip 14 series” of weights (with the numerals 14 inside an oval border) were likely first introduced in 1963. Therefore, no original, Speed Clip 14 weights may ever be found on C1 Corvettes. I’ve also never seen any reports of HALKO weights used on C1s or C2s.

I was also told by an employee of one of the major companies that made weights during the C2 era that there were two additional wheel weights supplies to GM:

• Salmon
• Wheel Weights, Inc.

To date, I have not been able to match a wheel weight logo to either Salmon or Wheel Weights, Inc.

In being more inclusive about wheel weights, however, judges shouldn’t allow certain other logo weights that existed in the ‘60s with aftermarket logos from non-GM suppliers. For example, weights with these logos were available in the 1960s, but I have never seen evidence that they were were used on the Corvette production line:

SEARS
EXCEL
ALLSTATE

In summary, in my opinion sufficient evidence exists to list more than just Micro in the Judging Guides. We really need the help from owners of cars with original, unused spare tires to come forward and present their evidence to the Revision Team members and JG Manual Coordinators. And those same Revision Team members could check with owners of Bowtie and Survivor cars. This is all doable. It just takes doing.

Gary

Using a process of elimination does help to narrow down the companies.

Firestone, Sears, Allstate, Goodyear, for example also contracted BADA. Same configuration and winged tips and clips as the Micro but with there names embossed.

[Gary B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin,

Do you have any UUU or UU logo weights in your collection that you could take a photo of and post so we can see the design of the weight and the font?

Thanks,

Gary

[Kevin G.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin,

Do you have any UUU or UU logo weights in your collection that you could take a photo of and post so we can see the design of the weight and the font?

Thanks,

Gary

Hi Gary, Here is what I believe to be the correct weights used. DSCN4562 copy.jpg

[Gary B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Hi Gary, Here is what I believe to be the correct weights used. [ATTACH=CONFIG]123841[/ATTACH]

Kevin,

Thanks for the photo.

As a wild guess, could the UUU really be a script ww, representing Wheel Weight, Inc.? Some years ago I was told Wheel Weight Inc. was a GM supplier in the 60s by a long time worker at Bada. Maybe the Bada person was off in the timeframe and Wheel Weight Inc was a supplier during the 50s.

Gary

[Kevin G.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin,

Thanks for the photo.

As a wild guess, could the UUU really be a script ww, representing Wheel Weight, Inc.? Some years ago I was told Wheel Weight Inc. was a GM supplier in the 60s by a long time worker at Bada. Maybe the Bada person was off in the timeframe and Wheel Weight Inc was a supplier during the 50s.

Gary

Possibly, but I can not confirm. The elementary configuration and the sources of these very rare weights, lead me to my conclusions.

[Mark F.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin, In summary, in my opinion sufficient evidence exists to list more than just Micro in the Judging Guides. We really need the help from owners of cars with original, unused spare tires to come forward and present their evidence to the Revision Team members and JG Manual Coordinators. And those same Revision Team members could check with owners of Bowtie and Survivor cars. This is all doable. It just takes doing. Gary

Hi Gary and Kevin,

Impressive research you guys have done on this topic !
Is there a Restorer article in the making with all of this ?

Agreed; updating TIMJGs is doable - we do it constantly until enough NTL-verified technical changes and approved language describing them are accumulated for an updated version. This also includes necessary editorial and imagery updates. BTW, many may not realize these changes can include deletions of problematic language that may be misinterpreted as all-inclusive; or not inclusive enough. Accuracy and clarity can be difficult to achieve in order to convey proper interpretations for judges; car owners; and restorers on some of these items.

FYI on this particular topic:

the text of the latest edition (8th) of the '67 TIMJG is silent on manufacturers of wheel weights. There is an image of a MICRO 2.5 ounce weight (E 21-1). Providing example images as is done with many parts that have multiple suppliers; configuration variations; changes thru the model year production; etc. is not equivalent to saying the examples shown should be interpreted as the only ones you should see.

the text of the '66 TIMJG version I have is also silent on manufacturers of wheel weights; and has the same image of a MICRO 2.5 ounce weight.

I have seen a '65 TIMJG that listed MICRO; OEM and PERFECT as wheel weight manufacturers...dunno if that's still the case or not...

the only version of a '63-'64 TIMJG I have seen is also silent on manufacturers and no image...dunno if that's still the case or not...

thanks for all of your interest in these "nit-noids" as I call them

[Garry B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin, do you have any of the AL weights used on the N89 wheels in '67? I am curious to know what the lower weights had on them when there wasn't enough room for the AL. I have a set of original N89 wheels on my 4 Star Bowtie car and have two AL weights, but the others are of the lighter weight and I don't know if they are also originals. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Gary B.]

Re: Wheel weights

Kevin, do you have any of the AL weights used on the N89 wheels in '67? I am curious to know what the lower weights had on them when there wasn't enough room for the AL. I have a set of original N89 wheels on my 4 Star Bowtie car and have two AL weights, but the others are of the lighter weight and I don't know if they are also originals. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Garry,

Based on this image from my records all the AL weights had the AL letters, even the 0.5 oz ones.

IMG_2280.jpg

Gary