Go Back   The Supercar Registry > General Discussion > Supercar/Musclecar Discussion


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-21-2023, 03:25 PM
X66 714's Avatar
X66 714 X66 714 is online now
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: It's a dry heat, Arizona
Posts: 1,761
Thanks: 2,800
Thanked 1,036 Times in 422 Posts
Default Z16 wheel specs

A friend of mine is looking for Z16 wheels. Does anybody have the specs on them? It's getting to be swap meet season here. Thank you, Joe
__________________
1968 Z/28 Corvette Bronze. Black Hounds Tooth. 02E Los Angeles born 3/13/1968 pnt OO
1969 SS396 Yellow/Yellow 08E Norwood born 8/28/1969 pnt 76E
1970 'cuda Moulin Rouge, 440-6, 4 speed
Reply With Quote
Attachments - The Supercar Registry wheel7.jpg wheel6.jpg wheel5.jpg wheel4.jpg
O Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.
Click here to view all the pictures posted in this thread...
  #2  
Old 02-22-2023, 04:38 AM
jeffschevelle jeffschevelle is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 357
Thanks: 2
Thanked 710 Times in 175 Posts
Default

Not likely to find one at a swap meet, but hope springs eternal! The last one I saw for sale was over 20 years ago.

They were only used on Z16's. Don't be fooled by any of the stories that they were used on some sort of station wagon too.

No codes by the valve stem. GM65 stamp between two of the wheel stud holes. Punched hole between two others.

From the front they look just like a 66 Chevelle SS 6-code 14x6 wheel, and have the same offset. (Not like the deeper dish Impala C-code 14x6 wheel, and not like the "in between" Camaro FC-code 14x6 wheel).

But the outer rim is disc brake clearance shaped, not the 66-68 Chevelle drum brake outer rim. And there is only a small, tapered tire bead catch on the rear bead area, not the big hump you see on disc brake rally wheels.

And the center is riveted to the outer rim with counter sink rivets, not welded.

Good luck!!
__________________
Jeff Helms
65 Z16 Survivor
65 Z16 drag car
66 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Camaro SS350 Survivor
Reply With Quote
The Following 13 Users Say Thank You to jeffschevelle For This Useful Post:
427TJ (02-23-2023), 67since67 (02-22-2023), 69M22Z (02-22-2023), big gear head (02-24-2023), Buzzworth (03-06-2023), dustinm (02-28-2023), jbtech (02-26-2023), JoeC (02-23-2023), L72copocamaro (02-25-2023), PeteLeathersac (02-22-2023), Tracker1 (02-22-2023), X66 714 (02-22-2023), Xplantdad (02-22-2023)
  #3  
Old 02-22-2023, 05:22 AM
John Brown's Avatar
John Brown John Brown is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Posts: 2,729
Thanks: 258
Thanked 407 Times in 191 Posts
Default

Jeff, any pictures?
__________________
......................
John Brown

This isn't rocket surgery.....
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-22-2023, 06:35 PM
bbjohnny bbjohnny is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 127
Thanks: 37
Thanked 33 Times in 14 Posts
Default

Here's some pics.
Attached Images
       
Reply With Quote
The Following 14 Users Say Thank You to bbjohnny For This Useful Post:
427TJ (02-23-2023), 67since67 (02-22-2023), big gear head (02-24-2023), dustinm (02-28-2023), dykstra (02-22-2023), jbtech (02-26-2023), John Brown (02-22-2023), jwbavalon (02-22-2023), L72copocamaro (02-23-2023), PeteLeathersac (02-23-2023), RPOLS3 (02-22-2023), ruralrte66 (02-23-2023), X66 714 (02-22-2023), YenkoYS-199Stinger (02-23-2023)
  #5  
Old 02-22-2023, 07:34 PM
Xplantdad's Avatar
Xplantdad Xplantdad is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: AZ
Posts: 32,388
Thanks: 7,439
Thanked 5,346 Times in 1,875 Posts
Default

Wow...cool!
__________________
Bruce
Choose Life-Donate!
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-22-2023, 07:44 PM
X66 714's Avatar
X66 714 X66 714 is online now
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: It's a dry heat, Arizona
Posts: 1,761
Thanks: 2,800
Thanked 1,036 Times in 422 Posts
Default

Thank you for the pictures....Joe
__________________
1968 Z/28 Corvette Bronze. Black Hounds Tooth. 02E Los Angeles born 3/13/1968 pnt OO
1969 SS396 Yellow/Yellow 08E Norwood born 8/28/1969 pnt 76E
1970 'cuda Moulin Rouge, 440-6, 4 speed
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-23-2023, 10:36 PM
black69 black69 is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Around Chicago
Posts: 1,454
Thanks: 23
Thanked 149 Times in 55 Posts
Default

I never knew this about these wheels. If anyone cares, the wheels shown in this thread look alot like the corvette 15 inch wheels found on 57-62 widewheel/big brake cars (100-200 or so made per yr). the rivets are the same inside and out, and those corvette specific wheels had no safety beads. I think there is a safety bead on these Z16 wheels from what I can tell. I am scratching my head why they did the heavy duty rivets. My 65 L8 vette (same engine) does not have riveted wheels, yet this car does? Only difference is weight of the car. A Z16 flying around corners with full passenger load and a trunk full of moonshine maybe needed it. GM could have been hedging their bets in these early days of bigblocks+disc brakes in 65.

Last edited by black69; 02-23-2023 at 10:55 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-24-2023, 06:12 PM
jeffschevelle jeffschevelle is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 357
Thanks: 2
Thanked 710 Times in 175 Posts
Default

I have concluded that the rivets on the Z16 wheel were really just a workaround to make two wheel component pieces work together that were not really designed to be used together.

The different Z16 outer rim (versus a regular drum brake 14x6 outer rim) had to be used in order for a wheel with the Chevelle wheel offset to clear the 11" rear brake drums. A 65-67 Impala C-code 14x6 has the wheel center set deeper in the rim (so the outer rim is further out toward the side of the car), so it cleared the 11" rear brake drums no problem. But If you try to bolt a 66 Chevelle SS wheel (which is the same offset as a Z16 wheel) on a Z16 rear axle, it will not go all the way on before the wheel is wedged onto the brake drum. The "disc brake" style out rim was necessary to provide the additional clearance for the rear drum.

But that outer rim and the regular 65-67 Kelsey Hayes center wheel piece do not have enough contact for a full weld like you find on a regular pre-68 14x6 wheel. Notice in the pics how the "legs" of the center piece protrude out into the air where the outer rim bends outward. There is very little contact patch between the two pieces there. So I think the rivets were the only way to achieve the attachment strength required.

So that fixed the problem at the rear, but the rivets then created another problem at the front. They hit a regular 11" front brake drum before the wheel is all the way on! So that then led to the special Z16 front brake drums, which have an area machined away so that the rivets clear the drum.

Ad hoc engineering at its best!!
__________________
Jeff Helms
65 Z16 Survivor
65 Z16 drag car
66 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Camaro SS350 Survivor
Reply With Quote
The Following 10 Users Say Thank You to jeffschevelle For This Useful Post:
427TJ (02-25-2023), 67since67 (02-24-2023), dustinm (02-28-2023), jbtech (02-26-2023), L72copocamaro (02-25-2023), olredalert (02-24-2023), Thomas (02-25-2023), tunes (02-24-2023), X66 714 (02-24-2023), Xplantdad (02-24-2023)
  #9  
Old 02-24-2023, 06:55 PM
1967Z28's Avatar
1967Z28 1967Z28 is online now
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Golden Bear State, USA
Posts: 2,008
Thanks: 1,434
Thanked 1,015 Times in 412 Posts
Default

I heard stories about the early Mickey Thompson wheels that had the rim and center section riveted together rather than welded. Supposedly the wheels would squeak because the rivets were not as tight as they should have been. They had an unsafe reputation. Hopefully these Z16 wheels had no such issues.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-25-2023, 02:42 AM
black69 black69 is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Around Chicago
Posts: 1,454
Thanks: 23
Thanked 149 Times in 55 Posts
Default

I think by then Kelsey Hayes had the rivet thing down pat. On the corvette front, it was always said checker cab was a place to look for the corvette wide wheels, but I think it was an urban legend thing.

yep, on a low production run, its easier to machine vs a new casting. Cool info on the wheels, I enjoyed. They likely are pricey, the wheels for the corvette (most got tossed) are going still in the 3K ish range. I have not hugged mine in a while
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.