No point in griping about it now, but...

[Larry S.]

Where was GM's mind in the 50's and 60's when it came to wheels on Corvettes? I mean, full wheel covers with spinners even? As I understand it, the idea for the Corvette came from European cars. WWII GI's had grown fond of small sports cars such as the MG, and many brought them home. Harley Early was a huge fan of the Jaguar XK120 with its long hood, 2-seats, and short rear deck.

The Jag below has the stock wheels; wires were also available. But the wheels "go" with the car--they look like they belong on it. The Cobra wheels likewise look like they belong on the car. Even the mag wheels on Chrysler muscle cars of that era did too.

But a true sports car such as a Corvette came with full, shiny, wheel covers with spinners! I'm amazed that a car with a 160 mph speedometer used full wheel covers since they can come off at high speed, taking the valve stem with them.

Someone please help me sleep about this. Rant over.

[Terry M.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Just because the car has a 160 mph speedometer doesn't mean that it is capable of that speed.

[Ronald L.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

I'm very comfortable at 100mph but not much more and that's with a 427 holding the front end down Now if you asked me about I75 and my '70

[Gene M.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Well if you don't like wheel covers then you could opt for the aluminum wheels on the mid years........

Hub caps and wheel covers were the norm in the 50's and 60's. After market cragars were the rage back then as an owner up grade.

[Don H.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Where was GM's mind in the 50's and 60's when it came to wheels on Corvettes? I mean, full wheel covers with spinners even? As I understand it, the idea for the Corvette came from European cars. WWII GI's had grown fond of small sports cars such as the MG, and many brought them home. Harley Early was a huge fan of the Jaguar XK120 with its long hood, 2-seats, and short rear deck.

But a true sports car such as a Corvette came with full, shiny, wheel covers with spinners! I'm amazed that a car with a 160 mph speedometer used full wheel covers since they can come off at high speed, taking the valve stem with them.

Someone please help me sleep about this. Rant over.

Larry, you own two 1967 convertibles, one of them a big block car, your country is at war in two god-forsaken hell holes, and your government is on the verge of bankruptcy (if you believe the lies spewing out of Washington) and this question is the one that is keeping you awake at night? Why did GM put hub caps with spinners on 50s and 60s corvettes? hummm,,,

[Patrick T.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Just because the car has a 160 mph speedometer doesn't mean that it is capable of that speed.

I had a 1982 Ferrari 308GTBi (8 cylinder) and the speedometer only went up to 80 mph!

[Dick W.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

My '61, on a good day, with a tail wind, would barely get past 115 mph. No worries about hubcaps back then, other than the rogues that kept stealing them. Lost two sets in '62 and one set in '63 due to those varments.

[Michael D.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

...Where was GM's mind in the 50's and 60's when it came to wheels on Corvettes?...

In the profit making column. Wheel covers were the style at that time.

... Someone please help me sleep about this...

You're on your own for that.

[Bruce B.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Speaking about high speeds in Corvettes;
I have some old racing friends who talk about going 150 in thier C1 Corvette on the street with a 4.11 gear in the car.
Sort of mathmatically impossible I believe.

[Paul J.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Where was GM's mind in the 50's and 60's when it came to wheels on Corvettes? I mean, full wheel covers with spinners even?

Hey Larry, don't forget the white walls. Ever see that on a European sports car?

Don't forget that people did'nt fully appreciate unsprung weight and that casting technology was not very good. Look at the 63 Knock Offs and the leaks. In addition, I doubt that Duntov would have trusted wire wheels in severe cornering situations and with the torque of a V-8. So that left us with steel wheels until aluminum casting became cheap enough for production.

I completely agree with you for Vettes in the mid to late 60's and the 70's. GM had some attractive steel wheel designs which we saw on Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Pontiacs. I do not know why they did'nt design one for Corvettes.

Paul

[Domenic T.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

I like the look of my 67 (steel) rally rims & centers.

I am probably a minority here on this subject but I think those large spoked aftermarket mags back then were ugly in a vette and they were not light either.

DOM

[Larry S.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

Larry, you own two 1967 convertibles, one of them a big block car, your country is at war in two god-forsaken hell holes, and your government is on the verge of bankruptcy (if you believe the lies spewing out of Washington) and this question is the one that is keeping you awake at night? Why did GM put hub caps with spinners on 50s and 60s corvettes? hummm,,,

It doesn't take a lot to keep me awake at night....obviously.

[William H.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

I like the hub caps.

[David K.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

I like the looks of the hub caps on my '62 also. But, if those were real wheels that looked like with functional KO's, that would have put it in the OMG range.

[William H.]

Re: No point in griping about it now, but...

I have owned many British cars with KO's. Be glad there not. $$$$