15 inch wheels

[reedbecky]

With the help of other members, it was found that 15 inch tires (205/60-15) are about the same diameter as a stock 13 inch. Being a working stiff, buying aftermarket wheels is out of the question, since I can't afford them. My question is do wheels from GM products from the '80's, like Fiero's, Century's, Reatta's, etc. fit? I know that in the '60's and '70's there was no problem with this, but is this still true with the newer wheels? Most of my funds are going to be spent bringing th car back to life, since it is basically a "barn" find and hasn't been driven for a long time. What I bought is a '66 Monza convertable that has less than 46,000 miles on it. Needs a new top, partial engine rebuild( carbs, oil leaks) and a worn out paint job(original). The tires are so old that they are B78-13's ! So, being on a tight budget I need all the breaks I can get. I bought the car since it is almost the spitting image of my first car that ever owned and I have finally gotten my son to get interested in car restoration so this would be a good car to start him with. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated since spring is around the corner and I already have the itch to take it out for a well deserved cruise.

[terribleted]

On a late model a whole lot of GM wheels will bolt up. Any wheel with a 5 lug x 4.75" or 5 lug x 120.7 metric bolt pattern will fit. Front engine rear wheel drive GM products will generally have offsets usable on a Corvair, but fitting before mouting tires and again before driving is essential. Tires and wheels rubbing agaisnt the car is not a good thing:) Camaros and S-10 Pickups have wheel sizes that generally fit the Corvair nicely, altho, Many Chevelle, Malibu, Nova, Cutlass etc. etc. wheels will work fine as well. I know 7 inch wheel widths work perhaps larger, but I have not had larger installed my self. I used early 90's S-10 15" wheels on one car and early 80's Olds Cutlass Supreme wheels on another. No rubbing issues in either case with properly sized 15" tires (I used 50 series on one car and 60series on the other).

[reidmier]

I ditto everything terribleted said. Since you're on a limited budget, I'll add that you can put a WANTED ad on your local Craigslist for a set of 15" S-10 or Sonoma Truck wheels. I did this and got two calls the first day. One set was offered to me for $100. While 80's era Cutlass or even Delta 88 wheels will work great, the S-10 wheels are a lot easier to come by. With the current trend toward larger and larger aftermarket wheels, you'll find a lot of people wanting to get rid of factory wheels. If somebody offers you a set of 16" S-10 or Sonoma aluminum wheels, they will work too (and look really nice), but be aware that you'll need special two part 7/16-20 lug nuts that aren't cheap and you'll need more expensive tires too. You may get real lucky and find a set of wheels with decent tires already mounted on them for a good price. When looking on CL, search for rims or wheels, but un-check the box that tells it to search the entire ad. Just search the titles and you won't have to weed through a thousand cars to find a set of wheels. One more thing I'll caution you about is shopping for wheels on eBay. I ended up buying my Olds rally wheels from an eBay seller for a great price, but they're heavy and the shipping ended up costing as much as the wheels! Good luck and let us know how it turns out. BTW... I now have over 10K miles on a set of used 205/60-15 tires that I found on CL for $100. The deals are out there if you're patient.

Edit: My wife just reminded me that we only paid $80 for the tires but had to drive 120 miles to pick them up.

[reedbecky]

Still wrestling with the problem because of budget issues, but I found something out that may help other members: Using the conversion chart I found that 195/70-14's are almost an exact match for a 185/80-13. Wallmart has many to choose from in this size and the prices are very reasonable. This may help some of us with the same budget problems that I'm having. I have a set of 14 inch oldsmobile rally wheels I'm considering, but they are supposed to go on my '68 Hurst Olds that I also own, but it needs a complete resto. Decisions, Decesions!!!!!!

[wingnutandme]

My husband was fond of the Olds Rally wheels. We did a lot of calculations and he is running 225/60 -14 on his 65 coupe with the Olds Rally wheels. He has an occasional issue of rubbing on the front passenger tire. Maybe the size you suggest would have worked better. Still love the looks of those wheels.

[reidmier]

I'd go with the 14" Olds wheels if you already have them. All eras of Olds rally wheels look great on a Corvair IMO.

I used 15" Olds Rally III's for my ride and added the Chevy bowties to the center caps to cover up the rockets.

Here's a page that shows some custom cap centers for the Rally II's made out of Monza steering wheel centers.
http://www.steinborn.org/jim/corvair/mods.html

[bob022004]

I've got old school camaro rally style 15" wheels. Running 225/50/15 front and back. I also know this car was lowered but not sure how much. I have no rubbing issues whatsoever.

[sam60]

Somehow the PO shoehorned 17"ers on this

[4carbcorvair]

17 001.JPG

Somehow the PO shoehorned 17"ers on this

Wheel size doesn't matter (except backspace). It's the overall tire diameter and width. I run 16's.

Talking to a tire dealer, I wouldn't go smaller than 15. 14's are starting to become hard to get and even some 15's are going away. Standard size in most cars now are 16.

[terribleted]

I love Olds Rally Wheels on a Late model:




These are 14".

[sam60]

I love Olds Rally Wheels on a Late model:




These are 14".

I like that look! Nice machines in the Fab Shop in the background as well.