Don McClair Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Christmas Eve, UPS delivered the five wheels for my 65 Riv that were redone by Rally America and I am very pleased with their work. In talking with them they said they would not paint the centers gray because people always complained that it was the wrong shade of gray. I told them not to worry because I would do it. I painted the back side of the wheels with chrome paint (just extra shiny silver) and wiped the front side down with a grease and wax remover before masking off the chrome areas. I used 1/8th in pin striping tape to make a clean edge along the chrome and then followed up with masking tape and paper to complete covering up the chrome. I sprayed a light coat of self etching primer and then used Duplicolor DE1651 cast iron engine enamel. The color may be a little bit darker than factory but is lighter than it appears in the picture. I am looking forward to getting the new tires installed next week.I hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinRiviDad Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Congrats! They look amazing! Do u mind telling us what u paid for the whole job?David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McClair Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 The total cost for the 5 wheels was just under $1300 and that included shipping back to me but not shipping to them. They said they would cut the price a little because they were not going to paint them but again I am very pleased with how they look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Rivi Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Wheels look great. I have heard good things about their work, glad to hear you're happy with them too. Now that you reminded me, I am going to send them one of my road wheels off my 85 for replating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob J Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 They did my wheels as well. I had to send a few back to them due to imperfections, but they gladly paid the shipping back to them, re-chromed them, and shipped them back to me on their dime. When I got them back the issues were corrected. I can certainly recommend their services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinRiviDad Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Don, thx for the info. Rob, I was stuck in the garage today thinking about referencing the wheel info u posted. I couldn't remember who u sent your wheels to, thx for confirming & vouching for the quality of their work.Unfortunately, I wasn't in the garage to wrench on my ride today. Instead, I was painting an armoire for the wife to repurpose as a "craft station".For those younger fella's reading this take note (older gents disregard, I learned this from u. I'm the 'tween age stage guy…40). If there is anything you can do for the wife to take her mind off of thinking "where the hell is (insert your name here)?!?! Is that SOB in the garage again?!?!" Don't think twice & just do it! I am looking forward for her to sit & preoccupy herself in "crafting" while I wrench my fingers to the bone in the garage.I've scored some points tonight she's even cracked a beer with me…wish me luck…I might get a little lol…David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinRiviDad Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I forgot to ask…where is Rally America? I googled it & I found a fit here in Cali. Is that right?David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McClair Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 Yes, Rally America is located in California and their website is www.rallyamerica.com It is best to call them before you send any wheels to them and then they will call you when it arrives and get a 25% deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Don, Sure you are already aware of the following, but your pic is a good exercise in identifying differences in early Buick Formula Five wheels. Only the wheel on the upper left is an original `65 wheel (assuming it has the centering ring on the back of the hub, other wise it would be a `64). Notice the difference in the contour on the back side of the rim, the difference in size of the valve stem hole, the different size of the center hole, and the difference in appearance/contour in the lug nut area.... the matched set of 4 are technically correct for `67 1/2 to `70 full size cars, but will work/fit fine on any `65 to `70 full size car, `64 too if the centering ring has been removed. No need to know the codes when one knows the physical differences in the wheels, great pic, Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Good "i" Tom - thanks for detailing those subtle differences, and nice work Don - an expensive 'Santa' present for sure, but they look absolutely great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McClair Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 As Randy said "good I Tom." The wheel in the upper left does have the centering ring in the back and I was not aware of the differences in the early years of this wheel. I had bought some of these over the net and picked the best ones to have replated. I have one other wheel that has the larger valve stem and since they look a little different, they have become the spares in both my Riv and my 66 Wildcat. The Wildcat was missing one of the chrome wheels when I bought it in 1987. The bottom line in my reply is that how great this forum is in learning the differences in the years and what is correct and what isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi Don, Keep in mind the centers on your wheels measure 2 1/8th (except your spare). You can install the `66 thru `70 fluted centers or you will need a 2 1/8th retainer to install the original style centers. I may be mistaken but I think Cars offers both the original 2 inch and a 2 1/8th retainer for the original style caps. Good luck, Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinRiviDad Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Those subtle differences that you pointed out helped me learn that I don't have the original wheels. Thanks for detailing it out.How does a car end up missing all four original wheels?David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob J Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 How does a car end up missing all four original wheels?DavidLike lots of cars, they probably didn't have them to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dcdpgh Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Like lots of cars, they probably didn't have them to begin with.Exactly. How many Rivieras (and other full size Buicks for that matter) do you see at shows and cruise nights wearing wheel covers? I would venture to say that many of these remaining cars have "upgraded" to chrome road wheels at some point in their life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) Guess I was lucky - the original window sticker for my Riviera has the PO5 V2 Chrome Plated Wheel option listed for a whopping total of $89.47 Over the years, I've probably salvaged, hoarded, traded, and bought and sold about a half dozen sets of the '66 - '70 chrome plated wheels - heck, I even picked up a complete set of 5 at the Hershey meet, that filled the trunk to capacity for the trip home. (... thanks 'Riviera' Bob !)It's just a small addiction, that really has no cure !! Edited January 4, 2014 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Exactly. How many Rivieras (and other full size Buicks for that matter) do you see at shows and cruise nights wearing wheel covers? I would venture to say that many of these remaining cars have "upgraded" to chrome road wheels at some point in their life.The chrome wheels were very popular in `65...and still are. Over 20%, or 1 in every 5 cars, were originally equipped with the chrome wheels. Another 15% were equipped with wire wheel covers. We dont know how many GS cars were built with the standard spinner wheel covers, but assuming the % of GS cars having optional wheels/wheel covers was the same as the standard Rivs, we can assume 6% (of total `65 production, not GS production) were built with the spinner wheel covers. Approximately 41% of `65 Riviera production had optional wheels/wheel covers. 59% left the factory with standard wheel covers. How many were altered by dealers at customer request to move inventory??? I love Saturday mornings... Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrlforfun Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 OK Riviera People: Interesting off topic here. As some know I have a collection of the 1960 Buick. 60 had it's very own 5 X 5 wheel. I found it amazing how many of my cars have different year Buick rims. Perhaps some were changed around because of snow tires, maybe wrecking yards substituted the correct one with one that would just plain work, who knows? I will say this. I can see where a car like a 66 Malibu with a loaded engine got a set of aftermarket wheels and the original ones were lost in the shuffle...but a 60 Buick? Who really knows? Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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