Are all late 1930s-1950s Buick wheels date coded?

[allcars]

My question is, do conventional Buick steel wheels from the '30s-'50s have date codes? 

I noticed that a set of 1953-55 type Buick “Skylark“ wire wheels I used to have (now gone) seemed to be date coded. The apparent code was on the part of the wheel that is concealed by the mounted tire. The codes "9" and "55" (presumably Sept. 1955) were embossed on each wheel, along with the manufacturer's stamp (Kelsey-Hayes) and the wheel size (15x6-L)—see photos.

Has anyone else noticed date codes on their Buick's wheels? If someone has late 1930s-1950s Buick wheels without tires in their garage, it could help us all learn more about this subject if you could check them for such codes and let us know what you found.

 

Thanks!

[gdmn852]

Hello, i checked on my 1949 Buick Super, unmounted spare rim , no date code ,only stamped "made by motor wheel" on inside rim at tire mount area. I assume these are the original wheels from when car was built, stamped steel with rived clips for  hubcaps.15 inch for 7.60 tires , same rim may have been used on Roadmasters with 8.20 tires. Gary

[allcars]

Thanks for checking, really appreciate it.

 

Different wheel vendors (Motor Wheel in your case) may not have used codes, if not required by GM.

[kgreen]

Terry,

 

I checked my budding wheel collection and found just the stampings you see in my photos.  The wheels were made by Motor Wheel Corporation and appear to be stamped with sizing information.  In the following photo, the wheel is a 5 by 15, but I don't know what the 695 means

 

 

 

[kgreen]

Motor Wheel Corporation: http://archives.msu.edu/findaid/242.html

 

Apparently their old manufacturing site in Lancing is a Superfund site.  oops, that's not to celebrate.

[allcars]

Ken, thank you so much for checking these wheels by Motorwheel. Interesting to see that the size is indicated, in addition to a code that is a mystery to me.

 

 

[MCHinson]

Here is a 5.50 x 15 from my 1938 Buick Century labeled 15F 550 568. The Motor Wheel stamping is very faint on this one.

[kgreen]

Mr. Hinson, can you provide a full face view of your wheel?  Please show enough detail to see if there is an indent at the outer perimeter of the hubcap.

[MCHinson]

This is the front view of that same wheel from my 1938 Century.

[38Buick 80C]

you have no lip for the hubcap like the big series cars.  or like the picture for wheel stripes were Century's different?

 

[MCHinson]

That wheel was on the 1938 Century project when I bought it. It may not be original, although it appears to be the correct size. It looks like I have an assortment of wheels. Some of the others appear to have a much less pronounced "lip" than the diagram. This one and one other don't appear to have any lip. Perhaps they are from a 1937 Century. They should have 3 stripes, but I have not repainted the stripes yet.

[38Buick 80C]

2 minutes ago, MCHinson said:

That wheel was on the 1938 Century project when I bought it. It may not be original, although it appears to be the correct size. It looks like I have an assortment of wheels. Some of the others appear to have a much less pronounced "lip" than the diagram. This one and one other don't appear to have any lip. Perhaps they are from a 1937 Century. They should have 3 stripes, but I have not repainted the stripes yet.

 

 The lip is not as pronounced as the drawing makes it seem.

[Bill3747]

I have a question concerning the logo in the picture in Post #1.  It looks like two letter P's placed back to back and touching at the top but separated  at the bottom.  This picture also shows a Kelsey Hayes stamping.

I have a couple of Motor Wheel Co. wheels that are also stamped with this logo.  Were Motor Wheel Co. and Kelsey Hayes connected at some point?  I also have a couple of 15X5.5 wheels that are stamped ELECTROFUSE Made in U.S.A. and have a logo of a letter M over a letter W within a circle also stamped on the wheel.  Could this have possibly been related to Motor Wheel Co.?  These wheels were non original and were on my 1947 Super for probably at least 40 years so I don't know year of manufacture.  However I bought another 15X5.5 wheel from French Lake Auto  Parts that is a perfect match for these wheels except the word ELECTROFUSE and the logo are not visible.  French Lake advertised this wheel as being from a 1954 Buick.  I don't see that size wheel listed in 1954, but starting in 1955.  Your thoughts are appreciated.  Will try to attach a couple of pictures.

Bill

[kgreen]

Here is a picture of the hubcap recess.

[Shootey]

I have a copy of a 1964 Motor Wheel catalog. There is a page describing Electrofuse as being a process assuring g the wheels work with tubeless tires. I will try to attach the page. 

[Shootey]

Here is another page from the 1964 catalog showing Buick wheels. It goes back only to 1948. It’s possible Motor Wheel Corporation had supercessions using later production for the earlier years. The entry doesn’t clarify much but is just another data point. 

[BUICK RACER]

The BCA Judging Manual has pages and pages of information on wheels.

Here