Modern style wheels on a 64 Rivi

[rodneybeauchamp]

Just my two bobs worth. Ever since I was old enough to notice cars and their wheels, I lusted after a set of Cragar S/S wheels after seeing them in some US based Hot Rod magazines. (A shortened wheelbase ‘60s Chevrolet article comes to mind.) 

 

All of my 1/24 scale plastic kits had Cragars too!

 

And after a few years, I finally owned some. Sure they looked great, but the issue of spacers and multi fit pattern and getting new wheel nuts RH and LH down under was all too hard.

 

I sold them the other day after having stored them indoors for over two years. Such is life!

Rodney 😀😀😀😀😀😀

 

 

[telriv]

As far as I'm concerned there was much too much chrome on the Gragar S/S wheels which distracts from the looks of the vehicle.  Our 1st. Gens didn't have that much chrome from the factory, as other makes had an abundance, for a reason. Adding more chrome in my opinion is just wrong. 

The reason I went with the Keystone Custom Mag, NOT the regular Keystone Classic. Again, just too much chrome.

 

Tom T.

[Turbinator]

On 7/23/2022 at 7:23 PM, EmTee said:

Hard to go wrong with a set of Torq-Thrusts...

 

or Radirs...

 

I like the wheels on the car a lot!

brand name and model wheel?

Thank you

[XframeFX]

On 8/21/2022 at 9:30 AM, telriv said:

I went with the Keystone Custom Mag, NOT the regular Keystone Classic. Again, just too much chrome.

Would SS Trim Rings hiding blemishes be considered too much chrome?

[RIVNIK]

I love my ABandG purchased rally wheels on my'65, but I also keep a set of stock wheels, wire hubcaps, & stock hubcaps in the shed. Years ago, on a whim,I would occasionally have them switched over at my local Firestone. IMO the wire caps really give the Riv an elegant look. But those are now the good ol' days, as reputable tire stores will no longer mount & balance used tires (presumably for insurance & guarantee reasons) As I am loathe to leave the Riv at one of the third-world-type used tire stores, I had to take them off at home & jockey them across town one by one(all that would fit in the Subaru) Eventually I decided the rally wheels suited the Riv the best & left them on, probably permanently.    BTW...store your steel road wheels carefully as they can get rusty, even in a presumably dry shed.  another word of caution! Think twice about having your license plate bracket sandblasted as it may come back floppy, probably from overextending & then getting hot from friction. now it requires velcro dots at the corners. When I run out of stuff to do is usually when I start effin' perfectly good things up.         just sayin.  Drew

 

[EmTee]

23 minutes ago, RIVNIK said:

Think twice about having your license plate bracket sandblasted as it may come back floppy, probably from overextending & then getting hot from friction. now it requires velcro dots at the corners.

Maybe try reinforcing it with a layer of fiberglass cloth & resin on the back side?

[1965rivgs]

6 minutes ago, EmTee said:

Maybe try reinforcing it with a layer of fiberglass cloth & resin on the back side?

  The problem is most likely the license plate door return spring.

Tom

[60FlatTop]

5 minutes ago, EmTee said:

probably from overextending & then getting hot from friction.

I took the frame from my '64 Riviera to a local sandblasting company to give it a good tooth before using epoxy primer. A friend warned me to clean it as well as I could or Bobo the sandblaster would hold the gun on any grease or dirt spot as long as it took to remove it.

 

Taking my friend to heart I thoroughly cleaned every square inch. When I dropped it off for the work the owner asked "Why are we doing this?"

 

Before.

[XframeFX]

18 hours ago, RIVNIK said:

I also keep a set of stock wheels, wire hubcaps, & stock hubcaps in the shed.

Wire Hubcaps will mount on 6" wide Buick Road wheels, with center caps off of course. This will no doubt scratch the chrome.

I've toyed with the idea of removing the teeth on my wire hubcaps and secure it to the rim at the 2.125" center hole. I can then toss my regular 5.5" wheels thereby saving considerable storage space.

[RivNut]

The 15" wire covers for the 79 - 85 Rivieras had a lock that secured the that cover to a bracket that was secured by 3 lug nuts. Perhaps you could figure out a way to use something similar.

[RIVNIK]

Pardon me for sidetracking the thread again but I gotta ask while I have your attention. Do any of you guys think that if I heat the license plate door up in the oven & then dunk it in ice water that the spring could return to its original torsion?           

[Greaseball]

Here’s something that I found if you want to keep the original look of the road wheels but use a larger tire or a custom offset.

 

https://www.circleracing.com/104.html

 

 

[telriv]

Very doubtful.

Once tension is lost there's no way I know of or have heard of to get it back to proper operation.

I would do a goggle search to see what MAY come up.

Or get a replacement spring.

Most good/bigger hardware stores have boxes full of various springs.

OR, you could try Grainger or McMasterCar websites, BUT there you would have to buy quantity & NOT just one spring.

Also used is an option. I'm sure that someone may have one to sell/give away.

Hope I may have been of some help.

Just my thoughts.

 

Tom T.

 

 

[RivNut]

At the 2014 ROA  meet in Colorado Springs, John Andreassen brought his 1963.  The wheel treatment on his 63 was 7” wide Chevy truck rally wheels painted body color with chrome Buick caps and chrome trim rings.  Looked really good.  

[BulldogDriver]

Ed, I  know you love taken pictures of things like this. Any chance you got photos of the car?

 

Ray

[RivNut]

I’ll have to dig out the old desktop and see what I might have. No promises. I checked the ROA’s website and found nothing.

[RivNut]

I dug around in the old computer but found nothing from that 2014 meet.  Sorry.  Maybe someone else has some that they could post.

 

Ed

[EmTee]

21 hours ago, RIVNIK said:

Do any of you guys think that if I heat the license plate door up in the oven & then dunk it in ice water that the spring could return to its original torsion?    

Maybe remove the pin and try winding the spring an additional turn?

[BulldogDriver]

Randall Crain sent these 2 photos and I want to share them.

 

Ray

 

 

[XframeFX]

On 11/9/2023 at 9:45 AM, RIVNIK said:

Do any of you guys think that if I heat the license plate door up in the oven & then dunk it in ice water that the spring could return to its original torsion?

Still off topic - but driving my Riviera as a driver back in the 80s, I actually WANTED MY LICENSE PLATE TO FLOP OVER. This was for photo radar which was really bad back then. Many tickets, some falsely captured due to no training.

To do this, I was looking for a long bowden cable to attach to the shifter with the other end to push the license plate down when shifted into"Drive". Shifting back into "Park", the plate would pop back up. Today, speeding tickets are not nearly as bad. Police have more important functions than feeding the municipalities' "Cash Cow"

[NTX5467]

Wheels can be a matter of opinion, but the artistic nature of them should be considered in how they interface with the car.  By observation, many seem to desire to put a more muscular look into a vehicle's look hat was never intended by the car's designers . . . which can be a BIG FAIL.  I like wire wheel covers, but many were heavier than the looked.  Staggered wheel widths, front to rear, is another BIG FAIL to me, trying to give the car "stance" which also means "muscular" to me, no matter what engine is under the hood.

 

Personally, I can see wanting a 15x7 wheel.  Some 17" of the right design can look good too, as there are some 17" tire sizes which are less money than 15" sizes, of the same approximate diameter, which can help handling a bunch.  But still staying within the OEM orientation of what the car was about.  Maybe some VN-501s in either diameter might be an option rather than the repro chrome road wheels?  Not a fan of center caps and trim rings, except on a Chevy.

 

Sell the original wheels to somebody who might need them!

 

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[MikeJS]

1 hour ago, NTX5467 said:

Wheels can be a matter of opinion, but the artistic nature of them should be considered in how they interface with the car.  [CLIPPED] I like wire wheel covers, but many were heavier than the looked. 

Good day.

 

Couldn't agree more. Somewhat of a purist when it comes to things like this and actually Buick touted the wire wheel covers in their 1963 Brochure...

 

For apperance's sake we strongly recommend wire wheel covers. Very dashing!

 

Although I prefer the turbines, to me the rubber is as important as the wheel covers in the artistic look of the car and it's intended design, and in particular, the whitewalls. For me, the Riviera in blackwalls or wide whitewalls just goes against what the look of the car should be, same with aftermarket covers. Buick even dedicated a full page photo in the brochure to highlight the wheels, but to each their own. The problem we are faced with in Canada is sourcing the right wide ww, but that topic has been beaten to death in other threads...(aargh)

 

Source: https://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1963_Buick/1963 Buick_Riviera_Brochure/dirindex.html

 

Later,

Edited November 11, 2023 by MikeJS (see edit history)

[RivNut]

21 hours ago, BulldogDriver said:

Randall Crain sent these 2 photos and I want to share them.

 

Ray

 

 

The pictures do not give the true look of the wheel. What you cannot see is the slotted cut outs in the wheel that give it its appeal.  In my original reference to these wheels, I stated that they were painted body color. Apparently, as you can see, I was wrong. But IMHO, painting them body color would really set them off.  I personally like them. 

[XframeFX]

1 hour ago, MikeJS said:

The problem we are faced with in Canada is sourcing the right wide ww, but that topic has been beaten to death in other threads...(aargh)

Mike, You are in Edmonton. There is a warehouse in the west-end there that supplies their dealer network with WSW tires.

I know, I know, 1.4" WSWs.

I'll update the post you mentioned that was started by Andrew in southern Ontario.

 

[60FlatTop]

Some of the sneaky guys have both.

[BulldogDriver]

2 hours ago, RivNut said:

The pictures do not give the true look of the wheel. What you cannot see is the slotted cut outs in the wheel that give it its appeal.  In my original reference to these wheels, I stated that they were painted body color. Apparently, as you can see, I was wrong. But IMHO, painting them body color would really set them off.  I personally like them. 

Thats all he sent me. I know Randall still looks at the forum but he said he doesn’t sign in any longer. Maybe if he has more he’ll send them to me. 

 

Ray

[RivNut]

2 hours ago, BulldogDriver said:

Thats all he sent me. I know Randall still looks at the forum but he said he doesn’t sign in any longer. Maybe if he has more he’ll send them to me. 

 

Ray

The pictures are accurate, it’s my brain that’s foggy.  I’m my own mind, I think the wheels would look better body color.  

[MidnightBIM]

I am a huge fan of the restomod style, and I'm not a big fan of chrome at all, so blacked out all the chrome on my Riv. But I found a set of Torq Thrusts with brushed aluminum on the outside of a polished black interior wheel and love them. 

 

I didn't want to go overboard with the low profile tires so I went with 18" wheels and for me I feel like it's the sweet spot for a comfortable ride, good performance, and the overall look I want. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by MidnightBIM
Typo (see edit history)

[Lee H]

I don’t own a Buick, so I can say objectively that it is a tribute to the 1st generation Riviera styling that they look good with practically any wheel you can throw at it. I feel the same way about my slabside Lincoln. But I still think the stock wheels or hubcaps look best on both cars, though I increasingly find myself in the minority.

[XframeFX]

2 hours ago, MidnightBIM said:

But I found a set of Torq Thrusts with brushed aluminum on the outside of a polished black interior wheel and love them. 

Can't quite make them out being black. Need a close- as well.

Are these your wheels?

[MidnightBIM]

2 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Can't quite make them out being black. Need a close- as well.

Are these your wheels?

Those are pretty close. Mine are the American Racing Torq Thrusts. Not quite as much aluminum showing.

 

Edit: now that i am taking a closer look i suppose they are damn near the same. About the only difference is the center cap. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by MidnightBIM (see edit history)

[EmTee]

14 hours ago, MidnightBIM said:

...so blacked out all the chrome on my Riv.

How did you prep the chrome for paint?  How well does the paint stick to the chrome and stainless?  Are scratches or peeling a problem?

[MidnightBIM]

3 minutes ago, EmTee said:

How did you prep the chrome for paint?  How well does the paint stick to the chrome and stainless?  Are scratches or peeling a problem?

I did not paint it myself but they scuffed the entire surface and then used a 2 part epoxy primer in 2 or 3 coats, then several coats of black and clear coat. 

 

The only place there is an issue is on one small spot, about a 1/4"x1/8", on the inside lip of driver's side vent window molding. And a scratch on the driver's side door handle which is sadly 100% my fault for not paying a attention to what I was doing in the garage one day. I'm just glad I hit the handle and not the door. 

 

The rest of the black is solid as a rock. The blue is Porsche Voodoo Blue paint code Z12.

[Turbinator]

On 11/11/2023 at 9:32 AM, NTX5467 said:

Maybe some VN-501s in either diameter might be an option rather than the repro chrome road wheels? 

I think we all agree personal taste regarding our cars is something we are lucky to have.

Im not a fan of wheelcovers with one exception and that is the 63/64 turbine  wheel covers. Par Curran put me on to thos turbines early on my Riviera ownership. My other favorite are the TruSpoke wire spoke wheels TruSpoke sells for Buicks.

I thought replacing the 63-64 Riv wire wheel covers with real wire spoke wheels with a Buick two bar spinner might look good. I pulled together original OEM parts and some new pieces to assemble a cover assembly to fit the TruSpoke wheel.

[Turbinator]

4 hours ago, MidnightBIM said:

did not paint it myself but they scuffed the entire surface and then used a 2 part epoxy primer in 2 or 3 coats, then several coats of black and clear coat

The paint job is good, real good with the right coatings as I understand.

only a comment is I started powder coating with the intent of learning how to do so small parts. Now if you are interested in how to do it pm me and ill tell you how you can do a good job for a little bit of money. You can get going with gun, oven, powder for under $200.

[Turbinator]

19 hours ago, Lee H said:

But I still think the stock wheels or hubcaps look best on both cars, though I increasingly find myself in the minority.

Sir, I agree. I have turbines, OEM WIREwheel covers, and TruSpoke wire spoke wheels.

when I go to shows where Buicks are there in number I “wear” the right wheels. For a local show that are hot rods i go with what Wheels or covers I have on the car. Ez

Turninator

[RivNut]

They’re all fake unless it takes a brass hammer to loosen the knock-off.  😁  Spent a terrifying hour on I-35 in KCMO trying to change a flat on my ‘57 Austin Healey.  Tires on real spoked rims go flat immediately because they’re a tube type tire and tubes blow out quickly.
 

[Hazdaz]

I think I am a little partial to the Torq Thrust-style rims that a few other people have on their cars too.  I do love the way they look, but if I was to do it it all again, I think I might go with a modern rally-style wheel.  Not the Buick rally wheels, but maybe something more like the ones on this white Impala.  I would also probably go 1 size smaller than what my current rims are - get a little more sidewall.  But definitely bigger diameter than stock. 

[RivNut]

Chevy truck rally’s, 15” x 7” (or 8” if you desire) with the 5 on 5” bolt circle. You’d just need to figure out how to make an appropriate cap.

 

[steelman]

On 11/13/2023 at 4:05 PM, RivNut said:

Chevy truck rally’s, 15” x 7” (or 8” if you desire) with the 5 on 5” bolt circle. You’d just need to figure out how to make an appropriate cap.

 

Hate to argue, but these are Chevy car rallies. Chevy truck rally’s have a different center. 15x8 for trucks, 15x7 for vans, but I have seen these in the aftermarket up to 24s.