Hi Guy's Can someone tell me or post a pic on the difference between 70&71 rally wheels I am not sure which one my car should have to be correct. thanks Bill
The rally wheels from 70 & 71 are the same in appearance. There were different sizes available both years however, 14x6 or 15x7. If I were you I would go with the 15x7 rally wheels as you can then put more rubber on for your ride.
The 70 wheels have a different offset. If you can set a quarter on the flat by the spider ,it is a 70 wheel and if you can't, it is a 71 up. i do noy know the dimension ,but the 70 is probably 1/2--9/16 and the later wheels are 5/16-- 3/8
Thanks that is what I was looking for how wide the surface was. I have 15x7 but three appear to be correct 71 and one has the larger surface which would be 70. Is there a place where I can get a new 71 rally all the places I think show the picture of the 70. thanks
The date code is small. It will say MW with a number under it. The wheels have a two letter code as well and it is NOT JJ. All wheels have JJ on them. 70 wheels had WG code. The 71-72 had WM and the later Wheels until about 79 looked the same but had a differnent W code that I forget.
I would like to clear up some misconceptions here. Many people think the big difference is in the rim of the wheels. The rim differences are in fact slight. The big difference is in the wheel center. The picture below shows the area of difference at the ends of the white arrow. The wheel on the right is a '70 WG wheel dated 3-31, the wheel on the left is a later model WP coded wheel. I have measured 13 1970 wheels and 5 1971 and later wheels, and averaged the measurements. The measurement from the front of the rim to the front of the wheel center (where the center cap mounts) is 1.125" on all wheels. The measurement from the front of the wheel center (where the center cap mounts) to the edge of the black painted area (at white arrow) is 1.9063" on the 1970 center, and 1.625" on the 1971 and later center. So in a nut shell, if one were to cut the rims from both wheels and set the centers shiney side up on a flat surface, the 1970 wheel center would be 0.281" taller than the 1971 and later wheel center. This is the main reason the 1970 wheels have the greater area of exposed rim that will accept a quarter.
If you really want to get technical both the rim and hub changed for the 71 production year. The punched out area in the hubs is flat on the pre 71's, but is raised on the 71-77 rims. (You can easily see this in the above picture) Also the rims were changed from 70 rim code 890 to 71-77 rim code 903. The differences we see between the 70/71 hub/centers is a result of how the two different center/rim configurations fit up. Duane
Yes. the rims are different, but my measurements indicate only slight differences. If they weren't so valuable I would cut some in half like a pie, and do a side-by-side comparison.
That changed because they did not start using application codes until mid-production of the 70 models. Before that they went with the "size" of the rim, which in this case was 7 inches for the 15" rims. Duane
Re: And a new wrinkle There appears to have been an even later change to wheel centers than that which occurred after the 1970 model year. I just purchased a pair of Specialty Wheel 15X8 rally wheels from a board member. They arrived in previously unopened boxes, so the board member would have not been aware of the difference. I will withhold his name to ensure his anonymity. Both of the wheels have later centers with the raised area around the vent holes as shown in the picture in post #9 (wheel on left). Both measure 4.50 rear spacing (from the back edge of the rim to the mounting surface). Both measure 5.125 from the back edge of the rim to the flat surface below the weld line (where the center is welded to the rim). The difference is in the measurement from the back edge of the rim to the center cap mounting flange. One wheel measures 6.75, and the other 7.00 There is a visual difference when they are viewed side-by-side, that would be evident when mounted on the same side of a car. The center cap will mount a quarter of an inch deeper into one wheel than into the other.
The date on the wheel at the left is M4 /6\, and the wheel at right is M4 /1\. Since the codes include the slanted lines on each side of the numbers below the M4, I assume them to be 1981 and 1986, but I don't know this to be a fact. Each center also has a 3 digit Julian day stamping, and a J in a circle.
The pics you posted on 1-18 are known as "short hat" (on left) and "tall hat" (on right) wheels. I was told it had to do with disc or drum brakes but do not know if that is true or not. You will also notice on the tall hat wheels there are small indention's on the hub center close to each lug hole, and the short hat hubs are smooth.
I have a copy of the Rally Wheel appendix that gives a lot of great info on these wheels,doe's anyone have the bolt pattern sizes that go with each code. I'm looking for 15 x 7 with 5 on 3/4" bolt pattern. Many I have talked to (no necessarily on V8 website) have the size info on what they are selling or can get the code for me but don't know the bolt pattern and shakey on measuring. Any help appreciated Thanks Al T.
