I have a 1969 L46 hardtop car. The car was produced in September of 1969. Unfortunately, the build sheet was disintegrated on top of the gas tank. I want to make sure the wheels are correct. They are painted black and have a ralleye trim ring and center cap. The wheels are dated coded K19 7 31 AG. I'm confused by 2 things: 1) the date code seems to indicate they were produced on July 31 1969 but also have an "AG" code? I thought "AG" was for 1968 only. 2) The wheels are black but should be argent silver, right? I assume someone just painted them black but I don't see a silver layer under the black.

 

HI DAC,
I believe you're decoding the stamp properly.
I'm thinking Kelsey was still producing some AG wheels for service requirements?
I 'think' wheels produced for service were painted black.
Regards,
Alan

 

Thanks, Alan.

I appreciate your comments. I'm not sure I follow. What are "wheels produced for service?"

-David

 

David

With the wheel code and date you have, the wheels are not original to the car. A 69 should have AZ code wheels.

You have replacement wheels that were sold at the parts counter for service purposes after the car was built.

Why they didn't replace them with the correct AZ wheels will probably remain a mystery.

John

 

Mildly interesting. I had the tires removed for replacement and saw these Kelsey Hayes stickers on the rim. I assume the wheels were stolen at some point and these were put on instead. I wonder why they were never painted.

As an aside, I'm getting the rims sand blasted and powder coated. What color should I get? Rally silver or black like the service wheels?

 

The 68 AZ was available through GM parts departments for many years. Your wheels could quite possibly be dated July 77 or 87, and not 1967.

All wheels came to GM from Kelsey-Hayes painted black. When wheels went to St. Louis to be used on the production line, St. Louis painted them silver, before mounting tires and installing them. Wheels that went into the parts system to be sold over the counter, were left black, requiring the customer to paint them silver, if they so desired.

No 69 Corvette ever came with 15x7 AZ wheels. My guess is that the car had mags on it at some point, and a previous owner ordered new wheels through their local Chevy dealer. A previous owner may have ordered the wrong size, or a parts person could have ordered the 15x7's by mistake. No matter why or how it happened, at some point someone bought a set of new GM 68 wheels, and installed them on your 69.

A previous owner may have left them black because they liked the look, they were covering them with PO2 full wheel covers, or they were too lazy to bother painting them.

Not to be rude, but why would you bother sand blasting and painting wheels, that aren't the right size for your car? 69-82 Corvettes came with 15x8 wheels. The 15x8's fit the wheel wells better, and I personally think they look better, than the 68 15x7's. Besides appearance, a narrower wheel is a down grade performance wise, from the original wheels.

You have a set of wheels there with a "7" date code, that would make them correct for many 68's, and would be highly desirable to many 68 Corvette owners. I'm guessing you could easily sell them to someone needing a set of 68 wheels, and buy the correct wheels for your car, and maybe even have a little money left over to put toward powder coating.