Wire wheel identification

[Guest rlbleeker]

This is one of the wheels that came with my '16 speedster project. It measures 20" x 3.5" (rim width; overall width is 4.5") and has 72 spokes. Is this a Houk wheel? Was it a Buick accessory? Aftermarket? Approximate production date? I am in need of one left side "nut" and three lock rings (for the nut, not the rim) for these.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

I'm no expert, but being as it is from Buffalo, NY, is this what is referred to as a Buffalo wheel?

[Mark Shaw]

Yes, they are Buffalo Wheels. I believe they were an option on many cars, and probably came with your car if it is an original speedster. You most likely have to make the parts you need to mount them as these are relatively hard to find and expensive today.

[Leif Holmberg]

It`s hard to belive these 20" Wire Wheels are from 1916,on my 1924 Buick 4cyl.mod.35 I have 23" ASH Wire Wheels.

I thought 20" wheels started around 1927-1928,But maybe I`m wrong. Leif in Sweden.

[Guest rlbleeker]

I have 5 wheels and the hubs for mounting on the car (even the spare.) There is a metal ring with square holes that fits inside the wheel, a tab on the "nut" engages with the ring to keep it from backing off. Those are not visible and fairly easily fabricated. I have 4 "nuts" as shown, and one similar in very poor condition that I would like to replace with a matching item. Do you think these are 1916 vintage? I'm looking for clues as to whether the car is an original speedster or a later creation. It's a righthand drive car that spent at least part of it's life in Chile. I believe it was bodied in South America as the wood appears to be mahogany.

[Guest rlbleeker]

The BCA judging manual show 20" wires for 1929 only. I've looked at a bunch of pictures of '29s and they are not the same wheels.

[Layden B]

While these wire wheels were made by the Wire Wheel Corp, the design and predecessor company was Houk. Wire Wheel Corp also made Rudge-Whitworth wheels under license and they are refered to as RW. Yours would be refered to as Houk. Buicks of 1914 and later are shown in the Houk catalog as having aftermarket wire wheel sets available. The hubs were #4 size on small cars and #5 (yours) on larger models. The style of hubcap you show came out in the very late teens and is refered to as "flush", earlier style was "octagon" and has an external 8 sided cap for the wrench to go around. 20" wheels are later 1920s era ( eg: 1926-7 Paige, 1923-6 REO, 1925-7 Willys-Knight). 1915 Buick large cars would have carried 24-25-26 or 27" wheels depending on model. By the way, the 6 holes in the back of the wheel with raised ring around them are original, the other 6 on a slightly smaller pattern were drilled by someone out in the field. If you are going to make the locking ring that the hubcap latch works against, it might be easier to make the old style (of brass) rather than the ladder shaped new style.

[Guest rlbleeker]

I thought these might be the Houk style wheels. Only two have the extra holes. I thought maybe they had been drilled to allow clearance for the mounting bolts on the rear hubs, but that does not appear to be the case. Where can I find spokes for these? Most are missing one or two and the ferrule ends are fairly rusty. Probably they should be relaced completely.

[Layden B]

Try

Dave Moore Wheel Service 760-240-3543

But perhaps you should be looking for more appropriate sized wheels for a 1916 car. Remember too that wheels this small will be great for the hill climb but usually way too slow for the flat land. Check out your rear axle ratio and unless you have a steep overdrive the maximum speed you get may be unsatisfactory. They may look a little strange too!