All mine fairly old (at least 80's -if not into 70's ) and are unilug . Where they always unilug ? if not what year did they become uni ? in 69 / 70 unilug ? anyone know. I just looked at their catalog , and as of now - it's all they make in a SS . Unless you get 5x 5.5 " Bolt circle / or 5 x 14mm BC - all others unilug (4.5,3.34,5.0). THX
All mine had just one bolt pattern. Never ever bought any of the uni-lug ones. The uni-lug mags looked to be unsafe!
I don't know when they went to the unilug wheel but I have seen a ton of them over the years. The slot arrangement works okay although it makes some guys nervous. If the slotted hole is worrisome for you, you could have steel rings machined that would slip over the front hub or the rear axle register to make them hub-centric. I've done that on Buick drums that I slotted the lug holes on the fit more than 1 bolt circle. Works fine although it's not the exact same condition. Charlie
Cragar went to the uni-lug system along with most all of the popular wheel manufactorers to cut production cost and inventory. This was about 1971 and it took a couple of years for all the direct-fit numbers to move off the shop and warehouse shelves. Safety was never an issue; look at all the door cars running S/S wheels with huge slicks mounted.
There were some other brands that had copies that looked just like Crager S/S. I have some old ones that were made by Radir. The only difference is the center caps.
Yes they had the bolt pattern on a pot metal ring that went on the back side of the wheel. At the same time some bean counter that worked for them had the wize ass Idea to make double ended lug nuts to cut cost. We hated them things at the speed shop I worked at. About the same time frame is when the chrome plating went to shit also >>>>.
thx , Just curious as I wanted to know if the SS wheels I see on old Drag car photo's (like all Grumpy's Toys / until he switched to centerlines in mid 70's ) were unilug , or special one pattern drilled. The guy at this place : http://www.cragarwheel.com/contact.html (Calif) says they changed to unilug in 1968 ? Not sure who /what this Co. is in relation to manufacturing of Cragars, As I also find this website : www.cragar.com/ (saying Cragar Industries , Inc. on main webpage) ? But they won't answer their phones . -------------------- So were racers were using unilug ? (Or Cragar made up special single pattern wheels for the racers ?). Thx
the cragar ss wheels have been unilug for a long long time, they did however make some single drilled ones, but they are rare. i've got a pair of 16x8 with a single drilled pattern 5-5, it's one of the only sets i've ever seen. i wouldn't worry about the uni-lug, as long as you use the correct washers on the they will be fine.
1970 Sears catalog has a listing for Cragar wheels, looks like they have one part number for Mopar/Ford 4.5" and a different one for GM 4.75" bolt patterns.
in all my many years in the wheel/tire industry i've never seen the pot metal adapter mentioned above on a cragar ss, seen it plenty on the tru-spoke wires. the ss uses the offset or centered washers to establish bolt pattern.
In case the word "Unilug" doesn't mean anything to somebody, what they did was have oval shaped holes so the same wheels would work with 4-1/2", 4-3/4", and 5" bolt patterns. There were oval shaped countersinks in the wheel around each of the oval holes. They sold two different sized heavy oval shaped stamped steel washers that you used depending on what bolt pattern you have. The early '60s Chevys had the 4-3/4" bolt pattern, so you'd get the unilug washers that had the holes in the middle, which would center the studs in the middle of the slots. For 4-1/2" or 5" bolt patterns, you had to buy the washers with the offset holes. They work okay, but you have to use the crummy lug nuts that have a deep narrow shank nose that goes into the Unilug washer and part way through the oval hole in the wheel. Depending on how long your wheel studs are, sometimes the studs didn't go through the actual hex part of the nut very far. For drag racing they have rules about how far the studs have to go through the actual hex part of the lug nut.
The catalog page shows the hardware sets sold separately from the wheels.... The only S/S wheels I had were the 4.5" bolt pattern only. Not sure how old they were, I got them 15-20 years ago from a guy who took them of an early Mustang, they could have been from the 60s.
If I would have saved any of the pot metal hunk of shit rings I gladly would post a pic but I don't think I have any left. The lug nuts had a squared edge and the shank of the lug nut was about 1" long so it could center itself in the pot metal ring. They had a big ass flat washer to cover up the oval shaped hole and to preserve that fine ass chrome from peeling off. This was the down fall to the Cragars at our shop. I'll dig around and see if I have any of this stuff left laying around >>>>.
These new SS's (in the old style) were 16x8 with 4 1/2 inch bolt circle and had tapered holes, not slots. As far as I can tell most of the new "SS's" are bullit style wheels with an SS cap... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=3420
In 1974 I bought a brand new set of Cragar SS wheels. The very first wheels I ever bought and they were NOT unilug. I then bought a new pair of 15X10 wheels in 1977 for my 32 ford coupe and they were unilug. So somewhere between 1974 and 1977.
I put Crager SS's on my '56 back in Feb. They have a washer over each hole. Seems OK to me, they don't wobble or jump up and down .. Guess it is all automatic, I've had the wheels off a couple of times and put them back on with no big deal or heavy thinking.
I had a set of unilugs on my '73 Baracuda with the crap pot metal rings. All of the rings cracked and fell apart. The lugnuts kept coming loose too. I had to keep tightening the lugnuts. I would never get unilugs again and that is 35 years ago. I have a pair of 4 x 15 4-3/4 bolt pattern. Stamp on the inside "Not For Highway Use" Got for $20 at a swapmeet. Caps are great worth $20 just for them but the Chrome on the spokes is shot.
Starting in 2009 Cragar is offering the original S/S that was unilug in a direct fit application using an acorn lug nut. This will be nice! Not just the 16" and up but the 14" and 15" as well.
I bought a set for a new Monte Carlo in 1970. 15x6 and they were not uni-lug. Actually bought them from JC Penney. My brand new wife couldn't believe I spent the equivalent of one month's rent ($125) on Mag wheels. The first of many automotive revelations for the poor girl.
I have a set of 4 for sale off of my '56 Bel Air. I assume thats what the elongated holes mean that the rims are unilug. Never had a problem when they were on the car. Just never a big fan of them...unless they are on the right car. My cars a mordor and it just didn't look right. Especially with the fender skirts. Brian
Always ran Crager S/S on all my late 60 mopars. Never bought one new but none were uni-fit. My son and I built a 69 chevelle ss a few years ago , we found an old set of cragers that were uni-lug. Bought some from Advance Auto (adaptors). First day he drove the car he calls with wheels falling off. He had one stud left on 1 rear tire 2 on the other and 3 on each of the fronts. What to heck? On inspection I notice that on all remaining studs the adapter/washer is coned in in the center with ends pulled out of the recess. The boy was 18yrs. old , 6'6", 240lbs. Said he used my 3/4 inch breaker bar to make sure they were tight. Don't know if the studds broke from being streched or from washer spinning. On the studs that were left the washers had spun out of there hole. We went to tire store and ordered crager washers and tried bending it by overtightening and couldn't. After a bunch of rambling I guess my point is I think there are different quality adapter/washers out there so don,t be afraid to spend a couple of bucks extra.
The Crager SS's I bought new back in 69 were single hole drilled, not unilug. I bought new ET Unilugs for my 64 Impala in 70 and never had an issue.
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