1965 Cadillac Proper Wheel Color

Can anyone tell me what color the wheels should be for a 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special? I have them in both black and grey so it must be one or the other but before I have them powder coated, I would like to know which it should be. Thank you in advance.

I would have thought this an easy question that would bring a quick answer but maybe not. Today I discovered one difference. I have five wheels that are grey and one that is black and the grey wheels, without exception, are very difficult to remove once tightened on! It seems that their center hole is a tiny bit smaller than that of the black wheel, which installed and came back off again easily. Other than color, they all look identical. Can anyone shed light on this?

It might help to post some photos. My 67 had black wheels and the 68 had grey. Each also had a different type of wheel.

Thank you, good advice so here are a few photos of one black and one grey wheel. I see no differences whatsoever other than the labeling inside the rim and both came from one of two 1965 Fleetwood Sixty Special as I've never had spare parts from any other years or models.

That's the same type of wheel my 67 had. I think it depends on the color of the car then. My 67 was black so it would seem right that the car would have black wheels. My 68 was silver, so gret wheels would have been appropriate.

You might find more detailed info here: http://gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html

That's possible although these wheels came from either a black or a blue Fleetwood. Anyway, thank you and I'll check the link.

Yesterday I stopped at a dealer with a beautiful Coupe deVille to have a look at its wheels. With the wheel covers installed, from the outside very little is visible of the wheel itself and it was clear that these had not been repainted but on the front one was black and the other grey! Apparently they were used interchangeably.

Looking at mine again to see why they are so tight on the hub, I have another set of drums and, using one as a gauge, it seems that the center hole is slightly out if round on the grey ones so perhaps they are simply from a different supplier and not made as accurately. Now I wish I had saved all the wheels I had when I moved a few years ago rather than picking out five that matched.

Hi, Starting in '61, Cadillac wheels could be either black or gray, not just black. There's no rhyme or reason to which was used on what car. Just like they used Rochester or Carter carbs alternately. Just what they had on hand that build day.

These wheels APPEAR to be '61-64 style since they have the round indentations between the stud holes AND are connected by a raised ring.

65-67 wheels do not have this ring, but do have the indentations. 68s (exc series 75 and cc) are all gray with no ring or indentations.

So, the gray or black wheels are identical. If the center is out of round, it wasn't the manufacturer, it was someone beating the wheels to get them off since if they sit, the hub can rust inself tight to the inner ring if not lubricated. I just went through this with a customer who couldn't believe it might have been possible for his wheels to be switched on an original car. Who knows what a garage or tire shop had done over the years if they had a set hanging around. If you have a 61-64 Cadillac wheel cover around, prove it to yourself and put the wheel cover on. A 61-64 will not fit all the way on a 65-67 or newer wheel. They're not deep enough. I BELIEVE the 61-64 are a 1/4" wider at the lip, but not 100% sure. I do know other era GM wheels which look identical are 1/4" narrower. They're all 15x6. Not sure about the JK stamped codes. cNon of these should have rivets holding the center section to the main outer wheel itself. These are only for series 75 and cc vehicles even though they look the same. HTH, Jeff

Great write up Jeff!

Excellent, thank you! I've only ever had 1965s, though, so it seems unlikely that I could have ended up with ten identical wheels from '61 to '64. Five came from the original family Fleetwood Brougham that we bought in 1971 when it was still nearly new; the other set from a Fleetwood Sixty Special I bought later in the 1980s as a parts car but it turned out to be in better condition that the other so I parted out the first one. All these wheels are from the two but they are the same as a third Fleetwood and a Calais coupe that I owned.