Rally wheel center color

[65gs76limited]

I've had my Grand Daughter for the last week and a half and been MIA from the site.She's home so I'm back with a couple questions.I was at a show Sunday and got into a discussion over the color of the 65 rally wheels.I always thought they were Argent or gray centers but i ran into a guy with a 65 GS that had Black or Satin centers.Now this guy ordered a 65 GS and says it came with black centers and the car he has now also has black.Both of my GS' have gray my 65 Riv GS has gray and the 65 Wildcat has gray.Was there a cut-off date when maybe Buick started using 66 wheels as both of the cars he had were late production dates.Second question.Heater hose routing?Do they loop towards the fender well and then to the heater core or run along the valve cover and into the core?On my Riv and Wildcat i have a bracket that bolts to the inner fender and the hoses run thru it but no bracket on the Skylarks.   Thanks,Tom

[Mark Ascher]

Tom,

I don't think any of the 65 centers were black. My originals are a gray color.

The heater hoses run between the valve cover and intake. There are clips that hold them in place. They are also both molded hoses. I have one NOS. Been looking for the other for eternity.

Mark

[65gs76limited]

Mark,thanks for the reply.I thought i was right but this guy was one that spent 30 yrs. in a Buick dealership and he knew everything.   Tom

[Chris]

Glad to hear you got to spend some time with your granddaughter, I know how special she is to you.

This might have been a dealer upgrade of some sort late in the year or the person buying the car may have simply wanted it this way and the dealership obliged.

I would be nice to document the rare cases like this.

Good luck on the heater core buddy.. all my water pump stuff is on order and should be here in the next couple of days.

Chris

[65gs76limited]

Chris,the first one he ordered and took delievery in June of 65.The 66's weren't out so i can't see a dealership even being able to get the black center rallys at this time.I don't know but i would want to see it documented on paper to believe it.   Tom

[Chris]

Same here...  documentation is key to proving things like this. 

As the saying goes, "if it's not documented, then it probably didn't happen"

It's really cool though when the documentation turns up sometimes and flips the world upside down.

Hopefully this site brings out those discussions and rare cases and we set the 65 GS history straight for everyone in the future.

Chris

[WkillGS]

Do you recall if the wheels spoke ribs were polished chrome or satin chrome?
From what I've heard, only the 65's had the polished ribs.
The wheels would have a date code stamped on them....I can look the codes up if someone needs the info.

[Loren At 65GS]

The early '65 wheels had polished spokes . My understanding is that the satin finish came out before '66, because there was a problem with the earlier wheels cracking in the painted area. The satin finish resulted from the wheel centers being shot peened prior to plating. The shot peening reduces hydrogen embrittlement from plating.

Loren

[nut465gs]

I had the opprotunity a few years ago at the GSCA Nationals to talk with the GM engineer that worked on Buick's ralley wheels design and construction. His name is Joseph Guzek. I believe Loren also met him as his description was what Joseph also told me. He also showed me another difference in a '65 wheels verses later wheels. On the backside of the '65 ralley wheel, the hub was welded to the rim in four segments. Whereas later ralley wheels had a continuous welded bead. Also the offset was changed to create a slightly wider wheel base. I don't know the offset specifics off the top off my head.

I have experimented with a variety of silver and gray paints to match my original '65 gray ralley wheel centers, including Argent Silver and Spray Gray. The closest that I have found to match is Seymour Stainless Steel spray paint.  Not an exact match, but darn close.

John

[65gs76limited]

So you guys are saying that it is possible to have a 1965 GS with the rally wheel option with BLACK centers and it's correct?

[nut465gs]

Tom,

The 1965 Buick rally wheels should have that silver/gray painted centers. If this guy says that he ordered them with black centers (or they came thatway), well . . . anything is possible. It's also possible that the dealer painted them black before they delivered the car to him. But it's also possible that he had 1966 rally wheels installed by the factory or dealer if it was a later built model.  There is a code that is stamped on the inside lip of the rim. Also all the other tell tale changes as described by Loren and myself will shed some light on the question.  BTW, I painted my 1967 rally wheel centers black that are on the red convertible,  I think it looks better. It originally came with the wire wheel hub caps. I left the rally wheels untouched originals on my hardtop for originality and comparison purposes. On my silver convertible, I have 1972 rally wheels but painted them Seymour Stainless Steel  and mounted bias ply tires for a more authentic look.

Did you tell this guy about this website.  The more the merrier!

John

[65gs76limited]

John,this guy knows everything so he doesn't need the site.   Thanks again.    Tom

[65GS]

Guys
After reading this post , you jogged my memory.

According to the book "The gs enthusiast reference book" written by Steven L. Dove, in 1989.
Has a paint mix for the chrome wheels, per a service bulletin from Buick.
It is for all 65 & 66 all series & 67- 45,46,48,&49 series..
Also 67 series 43 &44 and all 68 series use a differant color.

I will be trying the formula the next day or so to see if it matches the silver gray on one of my orig. wheels.

Will post results.

Al

[WkillGS]

Al, That would be great info to have! I have the 1st edition of the book, but didn't find that page.
Is there a date on that service bulletin? maybe I have it...I have most 65 and 66 bulletins here.

[65GS]

Walt
the page # is 114, the information bulletin number is "68-1-11.
Hopefully I didn't make this copy to big. Still learning to post.

Also, did you get the new Muscle Car review? has a 66 GS conv. with GREEN eng. very pretty.

Al