Ok, I don’t want to get too carried away with all this absolution of sins business. Yes, we laid pretty hard into the gen 3 Camaro the last time, honoring it with Deadly Sin status. And of course it was well enough deserved, but every car has another side, just like humans. And like a repentant child who comes up and gives you a big squeeze after they broke…something, this Camaro knew exactly how to get in my good graces, by wearing a set of Rally wheels. Now that wasn’t so hard.
This CC is going to be as much or more about Rally wheels, and how or why something seemingly so insignificant can make such a big difference in my perception about cars. I already touched on it in the Diplomat CC, but this example really hits it home: I literally can’t resist feeling some warmth when I see Rally wheels, no matter what they’re on. “And how long have you had this problem, Mr. Niedermeyer?”
Since 1967, of course, when they first appeared on the very rare original Z28 and and that year’s Corvette. That’s because they were designed to work with the new disc brakes that were now standard on the Z28, and optional on the full-sized Chevrolets, and as a result were only in 15″ size. By 1968, rally wheels started showing up as a wheel trim option in the Camaro brochures, in 14″ size, I assume, unless it had the discs. But my introduction to them came via another route.
In 1967, Baltimore County bought a fleet of new big Chevy police cars, and they were rightfully graced with the optional disc brakes. But the wheels weren’t full-on Rallys; they were the same vented wheel, but had a unique little dog-dish, or rather more moon-ish hubcap, and no trim rings.
I’ve racked google to find a clear picture of that wheel, and struck out, except for this picture of a Baltimore City (no less) ’67 Chevy cop car with those wheels. Except that one can’t see them in this dim vintage picture. So you’ll have to take my word. Anyway, the Balto. County P.D. HQ in Towson was just a few blocks from our house, so I saw rows of them sitting there with these wheels. And why did that make such an impression on me?
I know it sounds odd, but they represented a sea change, although it was a bit slow in coming. Not only was Chevy finally offering disc brakes, but that style of wheel is essentially European: a simple ventilated wheel, often painted silver, with a nice little hubcap. It was a first sign of the “Europeanization” of American cars: better handling packages, bigger wheels and tires, better steering, even rear sway bars and radial tires! How novel indeed.
And for the most part, it was GM leading the way, although Chrysler actually had made some steps earlier. But around this time, GM seemed to suddenly “Get It”, and within a couple of years, their products were pretty consistently the best handling (on average) of the Big Three. And those 1967 cop car wheels were what started it.
Now I’m not really going to redo this vintage Camaro in great detail again, but there’s a couple of things worth noting here. I’m not exactly certain of the year; it could well be a ’83 or ’84. When in doubt, I go with the earliest year of a particular generation, until some astute reader corrects me.
The odds of it being an ’84 are probably the best, because that was the biggest selling year for these, with over 100k just of the Z28 coupes being sold. And the first year ’82s probably had the worst assembly quality, although these cars always suffered for that.
And let’s just skip the engines all together, since undoubtedly the ones still on the road like this one have long been absolved of those sinfully strangled small blocks. Undoubtedly, whatever is under the hood now breathes a deep sigh of relief though its big carburetor or fuel injection. It’s so easy too.
Well, there is that truly remarkable interior of rock hard plastic, not quite so easy to fix. I guess for an old car like this, it makes for easy upkeep. This particular example looks to be warmed over a bit, with that B&M shifter and gauges; and those Rally wheels, of course.
Rally wheels have become ubiquitous, and a bit over used. But they still get me to look at Chevys that I might not otherwise look at, and see their better side.
When I owned a 1972 Nova after coming home from the Air Force, I toyed with the idea of the possibility of having someone steal me a set of rallye wheels for my car, but figured if I bought them hot, they would be re-stolen from me by the same person! I played it safe and lived with the “moon” Chevy emblem stock caps. Nice car just the same, though.
Rally wheels do add a nice touch. I had some on my eponymous 86 Chev Silverado and when I needed some winter wheels for my 96 Sierra, getting another set of rallys was a no-brainer.
Two wheels that can make almost any Chevy look better, original rally style wheels like are pictured prominently here or black steelies with chrome center caps. If I ever buy a W-body Impala I’m putting cop car black steel wheels with chrome center caps with the bow-tie on them. It’s the only way to go!
Might be a bit late to say this now after you’ve taken the pics but you can get the model year of the car from the VIN plate below the windscreen, sorry, windshield. Details on how to decode it are here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vin_number#Vehicle_Identifier_Section
In 1988 I bought a ’75 Chevelle for parts. The 350 went into an ’80 Malibu wagon that was traded for an ’82 S-10 PU shortly after. The 15″ rally wheels sit out back in the shed awaiting my ’57 Chevy.
Rallys indeed cover over a multitude of Deadly Sins…
I had Rallys on my el Camino, I always thought they looked better than Cragar S/S mags that were on a lot of my friend’s cars. To be honest, my 68 mustang came with Cragar mags and they leaked air around the rim constantly.
I just remembered that 40 years ago, when in the air force, I bought a set of chrome rallye wheels at the Roseville Auction – a flea market outside Sacramento. Got a good price on them, too. A couple of months later, chrome started peeling off. Of course, I had no recourse, I just put up with it until I bought a nice set of chrome wheels from JC Penney’s in Marysville a year later. Then I sold the car shortly after that. Lots of cash down the drain from being young and stupid! But it was fun while it lasted! Wish I had that car back, too. (sob) Question: do they still make baby moons and the wheels to put them on?
“Hubcap Mike” has baby moons and trim rings for pre-1990 American cars, so your Impala is out of luck, sorry. How bout “full moon” lakes disks? http://www.hubcapmike.com/racing_disc_wheelcovers.html I’m seriously thinking about a set for my lady’s Vibe if I can get her some snow tires mounted on steel wheels. Honestly I think those would be very classy on the Impala or on your Miata.
Dan, I appreciate you having my back, as we old guys (speaking for myself) need all the help we can get! I’ll check into Hub Cap Mike. I do have a lot of passion for my Imp, but I really don’t have the same sort of passion for the Miata as far as external ornamentation is concerned. It does have alloy wheels, as does my Imp, ditto for our CR-V. I agree that either full moons – racing disks – or baby moons with trim rings would look sensational on my car. If I had the bare-bones base with wheel covers, I’d do either one in a heartbeat!
I really miss the old days of wheel/hubcap design. Wheel covers that were actually made out of metal, and every brand had a signature rally/road wheel that worked on every model. Even strippo models with baby moons/trim rings look better than a lot of what’s out there today.
There’s a case to be made for today’s larger wheel sizes, to a point. I have to use 18s on my ’11 Mustang to clear the front discs, but I absolutely wouldn’t want a larger wheel. But the stock painted 5 spokes just suck. Not nearly as attractive as the throwback Mustang mags of a few years ago…my wheels look like they belong on a Fusion. I’m actually toying with the idea of getting some modern Magnum 500s.
I really hope the trend of ever-bigger rims ends soon. It’s completely asinine that 20s are standard on the Camaro SS, with 21s available from the factory.
I’ve also never quite understood the allure of tall (usually aftermarket) wheels with narrow sidewall tires.
Nevertheless, one of the things that Detroit consistantly manages to get right is the styling of wheels and hubcaps. Invariably, if someone wants to improve the looks of their vehicle, wheels that are either OEM (or mimic it closely) are the best choices, even if the wheels chosen are from cars built decades before.