<VV> more Tele Column - Wheel info

[Bill Hubbell]

Wow!  Seth, you "wheely" know a lot about this subject!

Bill

On Aug 24, 2012, at 10:32 PM, Sethracer at aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 8/24/2012 1:34:31 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
> vairologist at cox.net writes:
> 
> We  located some wood wheels and some "wood"
> wheels too.  I am familier  with the grant wheel mounting where the center 
> is
> flat and has various  holes in it for bolts and the horn contactor.  Does a
> GM wheel look  anything like that when it is stripped bare?  Two of them are
> Grants  and they measure 13 and 15 inches.  The smaller one is walnut  wood.
> 
> Grant has made an old style wheel for a long time. The bolt pattern  has 
> three bolts to hold the wheel to the adapter. The wheel also has a center  
> hole over the shaft and another hole in between two of the mounting holes for  
> horn button parts to stick through. That pattern was the standard "Kustom" 
> wheel  pattern as far back as the 50s. It was also used by "Superior" brand 
> wheels and  probably others. The three-bolt adapter that Clark's sells is 
> made for them  by Grant. Grant still makes several wheels with that center 
> pattern,  usually real wood with rivets or plastic or foam. Those wheels use a 
> snap-over  chrome or black horn button. Today, Grant makes most of their 
> wheels in  what they call a "Signature Series" bolt pattern. That pattern uses a 
> larger, 5 bolt pattern to attach the wheel. That setup also offers dozens  
> of snap-in horn buttons with logos etc. The GM "Woodish" wheels, including  
> the two spoke used on the Corvair (the same wheel was also used on the 
> Chevelle)  and dozens of other GM car designs in wood and plastic use 6-bolts 
> for  attachment, and have small clearance slots in between the  holes and a  
> large center hole, pretty close to the size of the Grant Signature Series  
> wheels. The 5-bolt pattern used by Grant - and a few other wheel  importers - 
> and the 6-bolt pattern are very close in diameter. (Caution,  commercial 
> alert) The steering hub adapters that I produce for the Corvair  have both the 
> 5-bolt and 6-bolt patterns drilled into them so you can choose  your wheel 
> from a large pool, GM wheels or  aftermarket.   
> 
> Seth Emerson
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