1954 Skylark Kelsey Hayes Wheels Question HELP ?????

[FireballV8]

I want to buy a set of 54 wire wheels, what have been your experiences with original rebuilt ones or the repo ones. I heard on the original ones the spokes loosen up and need to be tightened, but I am not sure if this is the case if used with radials or non radials etc. Anyone have any ideas, experiences, opinions????

thanks

[old-tank]

Save yourself the aggravation and go with the repos. The price is not that much different and you get all new components instead of 50 year old parts with an unknown history. Then consider the time to rebuild and to mount and balance the tires of choice.

I bought mine from Coker Tire with mounted and balanced BFG 760-15 2.5" walls. And the look and performance is excellant.

Willie

[FireballV8]

Willie

I know, I have a Coker set with the 7.60 x15 on them. These originals are completely restored. But do they perform or not is the question??

Thanks

[JohnD1956]

Hey there Fireball, I have a set of new ones from Wheel Vintiques. Bought them in 2003. I love the way they look but I had a ton of trouble with them.

First of all my installer cut the silicone seal that is applied to make them tubeless rims, in order install the valve stems. Big problem. Three of them leaked on me after a few hundred miles and I had to have tubes installed in all 4 tires. Wheel Vintiques did offer to reseal them if I shipped them back out to California. But before I shipped them out I noticed the chrome on one of the hubs had cracked and peeled. Again WV was accomodating in talk. They offered to fix the wheel and cover shipping both ways. That was pretty generous and undoubtedly had to do with the fact that when I purchased them, they hit my credit card for the entire amount right away and then it took nearly six months to get all the parts.

Unfortunately they never did come through on the rebate of the shipping cost to them, which wasn't cheap at around $40.00 per wheel from Upstate NY.

When I got them back it was dead of winter 2004. I looked them over to see the rechromed part. Then put them in the boxes inside our family room. In the spring I pulled them out of the closet and heard rattling in two of the boxes. Three spokes broke while sitting inside the shipping boxes inside the heated house.

WV wasn't too friendly this time, although they agreed to fix them if I shipped them out there. I taped the broken parts to the rims and shipped them out. then I called them and asked if they would switch the spokes to the stainless steel ones. I mean I just don't trust these chrome ones anymore. They were not willing to give me any type of break for this. Mind you, the wheels have been back and forth across the country 3 times now and I don't have 600 miles on them. I thought I wasn't asking too much for them to install Stainless Steel spokes in all the rims for their cost, but they wouldn't do it. So I got them back and this time I had the tires installed with tubes, and they look great and ride well, except now I noticed the inside area of the center hub on two wheels are rusting.

So in the long run, if I had to do this over again with the benefit of hindsight, I would have stuck with the steel wheels. Maybe not as sweet as the wires but a lot more stable and reliable.

JD

[AK Buickman]

Hi Steve,

I've driven my 1955 Roadmaster 76R with Buick/Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels for over 30 years, and I've covered thousands of miles without any trouble. This includes a trip across the United States, a trip to Alaska, and also a roundtrip drive to the end of a dusty, gravel mountain road in Alaska's Denali National Park. The wheels are the original wheels from 1955 (If I recall, the date stamp on the inside of the rim is from November,1955). These wheels are unrestored with the original chrome, steel spokes, and use tubes. Yes, they do vibrate a bit at high speeds, but I never had any chrome or spoke problems with them. I never had the spokes tightened.

Are you planning to put wire wheels on your tri-tone green 76R?

Gary, BCA 1955

[old-tank]

I understand that Scott Mich has had trouble with loose spokes on a restored set using radials. He switched to bias ply and I haven't heard how that is working.

Before repros were available from Coker I looked at many used wire wheels to restore and all were expensive to start with and all were rusty (pitted) and bent...I would not drive around the block (much less across country on those) before or after restoration.

If you have a good set and know the history, then go for it, but stick with bias ply.

Willie

[FireballV8]

Guys thanks for all the replys.

John

I remember you had the wheels in Flint and you mentioned the problems you had with them. I have a set of those as well from Coker and they came mounted and I never had any problems. Only problem was they didn't have the bolts and the spinners, so I have a set of original spinners which look a lot better.

Gary

I wanted them for my Super Convert, I'll email you some pictures of it, but they would look real good on the tri tone roadmaster.

Willie

I remember Scotts problem as well but I am not sure if it got resolved.

After thinking it over I went over last night and bought the wheels, there are five original wheels restored, just excellent with five original spinners rechromed, new bolts and new spinner centers (all metal). They have new whitewall bias ply tires mounted, but they are H78-15, Do I need to change these to 7.60 x 15? I think they are both the same size, but I am not sure if I'll have points deducted or not? Any Ideas?

Thanks

Steve

[Guest my3buicks]

Steve, you will get points deducted for the letter series tires.

[old-tank]

Steve

As Keith pointed out the tires are not correct and points will be deducted. They also are too wide and will rub the frame/inner fenders in tight turns.

Willie

[FireballV8]

Willie

I thought they were too wide, I will get a set of the BfG 7.60 x15 from Coker, do you know they are about $135 now, talk about a price hike.

Thanks

[Guest Skyking]

When I owned my 55 Special, I had bought a set of original wires for it and the only issue I had was balancing them. Once balanced right I had years of trouble free driving. I did have them on bias tires from Coker.

[/image]

[MrEarl]

On October 26, 2005 at 1:48 PM, FireballV8 said:

Willie

I thought they were too wide, I will get a set of the BfG 7.60 x15 from Coker, do you know they are about $135 now, talk about a price hike.

Thanks

 

....do you know they are $214 now, talk about a price hike. ? Just curious, did I hear that Coker Tire bought out Universal Tire?  If so what's the details of that, I see UT still has their own website? 

 

Does anyone know of a shop within a couple hundred miles of me that does wire wheel truing and tire balancing. The closest I can find is in New England, Colorado and several in California. I tried Coker in Chattanooga and they don't even mount and balance the tires the sell their unless you buy their wheels also. 

So far I can't even find anyone local tha has a stud centric type balancer with the correct adapter for Kelsey Hayes. Still calling. 

I am also keeping my eyes open for an old school on the car wheel balancer, the type that you slide under a raised tire on the car and it spins the tire. 

Can a bubble balancer be used to balance KH? 

[MrEarl]

And some interesting discussion here starting in post #15 about radials and KH wire issues. From this and other similar discussions I'll regrettably be staying with bias ply. 

 

[60FlatTop]

On 10/24/2005 at 0:12 PM, old-tank said:

get all new components instead of 50 year old parts

50 year old parts would be from 1967. My Dad used to say things like that when he started showing his age.

Bernie

[old-tank]

1 hour ago, MrEarl said:

....do you know they are $214 now, talk about a price hike. ? Just curious, did I hear that Coker Tire bought out Universal Tire?  If so what's the details of that, I see UT still has their own website? 

That is my understanding, since the 7.60-15 Universal tire is exactly like the (relabeled) Coker Classic.  Cheapest from Summit Racing.  Good serviceable tires, but the white wall yellows with time and is hard to clean.  They are also rougher riding than the BFG 7.60-15.  The BFG is more expensive, only lasts 15,000 miles, but rides smoother.

"you can't run fast enough to give me another stinkin' wire wheel!"

[MrEarl]

1 hour ago, old-tank said:

 

"you can't run fast enough to give me another stinkin' wire wheel!"

 

 

 

 

Hmmmm, OK,    since I am just today sorting through about five sets of original Kelsey Hayes wire wheels from my barn attic to pick 4-5 out for putting on my Century, and not having had a lot of experience actually running them, could I get you to elaborate on that a bit Willie. Do you mean all wire wheels "stink"? Or just the ones you have from Coker, or repro Kelsey Hayes or good  unrestored show/driver condition original Kelsey Hayes? And also help me understand what about them "stinks". I can bet someone would get pretty stinky on a hot day unmounting,cleaning and polishing a full set but a shower and a few cold brews should take care of that but that aside, what else? 

From what I've read, one safety issue of Kelsey Hayes wires is the loose and/or broken wires that occur when running radials. I'd like to hear from anyone who has had this problem while running bias ply. From the other thread I referenced above some folks have ran original KH for many years without a problem. 

I suspect also that it is impossible to keep them cosmetically in 400 point show condition regardless of how well maintained they are. All the wheels I have are in varying degrees of condition from poor driver to slightly less than show but considering I don't show I will be fine with them.  

I literally sold the wire wheels out from under my Century to someone wanting a set to have restored, with plans to replace them with either better ones from my stash or possibly go with wheel covers or late 50's period correct chromies. So that is my reason for bringing this old thread and discussion back up, to help me make an educated decision. Any experience or thoughts appreciated. 

[old-tank]

3 hours ago, MrEarl said:

I can bet someone would get pretty stinky on a hot day unmounting,cleaning and polishing

That's about it... a huge PIA.  Add that to watching them turn to crap attached to car leading a very sheltered life.

[Pilgrim65]

Old tank , its guys like you , thankfully instill some sense in me .?

Kelsey Hayes had  been on my wish list ever since I bought my  car.

Your appraisal hits the nail!

cheers

pilgrim 

[oldstyle]

Spokes will be more work to keep up then a set of hubcaps but there is a payoff. They look amazing.

Our hobby isn't easy either but that hasn't stopped me. 

[Pilgrim65]

21 minutes ago, oldstyle said:

Spokes will be more work to keep up then a set of hubcaps but there is a payoff. They look amazing.

Our hobby isn't easy either but that hasn't stopped me. 

Good point , makes me ponder

[MrEarl]

4 hours ago, oldstyle said:

Spokes will be more work to keep up then a set of hubcaps but there is a payoff. They look amazing.

Our hobby isn't easy either but that hasn't stopped me. 

 

Nor will it me Raul. Wires on a 53 - 56 Buick just sets them off to me. The crowning touch, icing on the the cake. I can appreciate that they are a PITA to keep in show condition but I am not that particular... nice, clean driver condition and I am happy.  My '54 Century came with Kelsey Hayes and together with them, the 3 speed, no power steering or brakes, I know what the original owner was looking for in that car , not to mention he traded in a '53 Studebaker Champion to get it. So far be it from me to end that look and character of the car.

 

In fact after spending two days pulling 21 wheels out of the barn loft and being amazed by their beauty and actually their condition after 64 years, I have decided not to only put a set back on the Century but to also add a set to one of the Roadmaster Riviera.

 

So I have selected a set of 5 6 inch for the Century and a set of 6.5 inch for the Roadmaster. I'll be selling the rest along with a few spinners.

 

 

 

[smithbrother]

Mr. FITTY FO, your FITTY FO needs some SWIFTY SMITTY SCALLOPS. Subtle shades of blue.  Not gray, hehe

 

Dale in Indy 

[lancemb]

1 hour ago, MrEarl said:

 

Nor will it me Raul. Wires on a 53 - 56 Buick just sets them off to me. The crowning touch, icing on the the cake. I can appreciate that they are a PITA to keep in show condition but I am not that particular... nice, clean driver condition and I am happy.  My '54 Century came with Kelsey Hayes and together with them, the 3 speed, no power steering or brakes, I know what the original owner was looking for in that car , not to mention he traded in a '53 Studebaker Champion to get it. So far be it from me to end that look and character of the car.

 

In fact after spending two days pulling 21 wheels out of the barn loft and being amazed by their beauty and actually their condition after 64 years, I have decided not to only put a set back on the Century but to also add a set to one of the Roadmaster Riviera.

 

So I have selected a set of 5 6 inch for the Century and a set of 6.5 inch for the Roadmaster. I'll be selling the rest along with a few spinners.

 

 

 

WOW!

[oldstyle]

Mr. Earl,

Very impressive!!! I've never seen more than 5 in one place!

 

[jackofalltrades70]

No wonder noone else can find any!  ?Beautiful picture!

[FireballV8]

Hello Everyone

This brings back a lot of memories, those were good times. Here is an update on the wheels, the five I bought were restored originals with stainless spokes and I still have them on my Tri blue 55 Century hardtop and they still look excellent and I have no problems with loose spokes, air loss, etc. They have about 5,000 miles on them and are always stored indoors. The first set I bought from Coker for my 55 Century Convertible, I broke six small spokes on each of the front wheels when I was up in Napa with the car in 2012 running BF Goodrich 7.60 x15 Bias ply tires since I bought the wheels in 2003. It was hard to get the car back home to southern california, but that is another story. Those wheels had about 5,500 miles on them when the spokes broke. Those spoke are probably Chinese made junk. I had the two front wheels respoked with stainless spokes at a high cost and will probably do the rear ones sometime soon. 

 

These wheels are great looking wheels, but are hard to wash and clean, I do not run radials on any of my cars and have not had any trouble with the other original sets in years. 

 

Thanks Lamar for resurrecting this thread. 

 

Steve

 

 

[Pilgrim65]

Mr Earl

pity I'm not in the states , shipping costs to Uk or Cyprus prohibitive , would love a set off you , 

cheers

pilgrim

[Airy Cat]

I bought a set of Tre=Spoke wire wheels for my 1955 Buick 10 years ago and they have worked out very well.  I am very happy with them.

[AK Buickman]

I've been driving my '55 Roadmaster Riviera with an original set of Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels since the early 1970's, always with bias ply tires and have never had any spokes break.  This includes driving cross country, and driving the whole length of the Alaska Highway on these wire wheels.   These wheels still have the factory chrome plating, and have never been taken apart.  

 

 Yes, these wire wheels take a long time to properly clean, but they look beautiful on a car.  Here's what I have done for the past 40 years to clean my wire wheels: I always remove the 4 wheels off of my Roadmaster to wash them.  With the wheels off, I can clean the inside of the rim thoroughly and to my standards.  If you don't remove the wheels,  the brake drum makes it difficult to get way in the back of the rim to clean the dirt.  Also, while the tires are off the car, the inside of the tire can also be scrubbed clean.  I like to see a clean tire and a shiny chrome rim when I look under the car at the inside of the wheels on my '55.  I usually spend about 45 minutes cleaning each wheel.

 

The photo shows one of the wheels off the car just after cleaning it.

 

Gary Klecka,

BCA #1955

[1953mack]

13 hours ago, AK Buickman said:

I've been driving my '55 Roadmaster Riviera with an original set of Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels since the early 1970's . . .

 

Nice and shiny. But in all those years, has a judge at a National Meet or anyone else ever mention that your colored-emblem insert is installed incorrectly? I'd be interested in seeing pictures of your four other mounted tires and hubcaps for comparison. Thanks.

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

[FireballV8]

Hi Gary

It is good to hear from you. The wheel looks great, I have an original set with Bias ply tires on a 53 Roadmaster and they are still in good condition work well. 

Can you post a picture of your car with the wheels on it? I can't picture the wheels on it, but can picture the car from the Flint 2003 meet. 

Thanks

Steve

[Caballero2]

For you '57 & '58 owners, there are a couple of no/nos.  The original KH wheels will interfere with the aluminum finned front drums by approximately .030" in the hub area and have been known to cause problems.  I avoided this by use of .060 spacers that relieve the interference.  Second, shown in the photo are radial tires which track very well and balance well.  These are restored wheels by Dayton Wheel.  I have experienced no problems at this time.  However, the car has only been driven only 2000+ miles since restoration.  These wheels, however have seen 65 MPH.

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Caballero2 (see edit history)