S

ince the early days of the
20th century, specialty
coachbuilders were mak-
ing custom cars for the
rich and famous. Back
then, custom-built cars
used wooden-spoked wheels. In the late
’20s and early ’30s, upscale cars started
using steel wire in place of wooden
spokes that tended to dry out, split and
rattle. Both wooden and wire spoke
wheels had a center hub bearing that
was packed with grease and covered
with a stainless steel or brass hubcap.
Manufacturers started decorating
the little hubcaps, typically with the
company name.
In 1934, Cadillac came out with an art
deco-styled stainless steel wheel cover,
held in place with a single screw that
covered the steel spokes. This gave the
Cadillac a streamlined look. The new
wheel covers meant class and luxury.
Then in 1938, Cadillac started using
stamped steel wheels with fullsize wheel
covers. During the post-war years,

Corvette Wheels History

PART 1 : 1 953 -’9 6

BY SCOTT TEETERS (^) I ILLUSTRATIONS & GRAPHICS BY THE AUTHOR
[FEATURE]
From basic stamped steel wheels shared with regular GM cars
to exotic, cast-aluminum alloy high-tech wheels
(Top) From 1953-’62, Corvettes used stan-
dard Chevy 15x5 stamped steel wheels.
Beginning in 1957, RPO 276 optional
wheels measured 15x5.5 and came with
a passenger car button hubcap. This was
usually ordered with the Heavy Duty
Racing Suspension. Then from 1963-’66,
the 15x5.5 wheel was standard.
(Bottom) A big part of the 1953-’55
Corvette’s charm was that the body was
not over decorated; it was proportional,
sleek and elegant-looking. The one-piece
wheel cover appeared to have an outer
ring with a ribbed centersection and a
simulated race car-like spinner that got
the ire of sports car purists.
52 VETTE 19.11