History Chevy Rally Wheels - when did they start showing up on hot rods?

We all know the 5-slot "Corvette rally" wheel was introduced on '67 vettes, and '67 Impala/Camaro/Nova/Chevelle. Fast forward to 2011, and people have used this style wheel on just about anything with 4 wheels and an engine.

So I have a question for the guys that were there in the '60s.....

How long did it take for this wheel to be embraced by the hot rod community? Did they start showing up on pre-1966 cars right away, or is the rally wheel phenomenon really a 1970s to 2011 thing? Just curious if anyone was jumping on this bandwagon back in the 1960s. Old pics would be great!

 

I had a set of Z-28 15x7 ralleys on the 48 in 1973. I bought them minus one hubcap from a coworker for 25.00 for the set. The hubcap was like 8.00 across the counter at the local Chev Garage. I think that there were a half dozen sets on cars at the 1973 Street rod Nationals in Tulsa that year. Since they weren't made before 1967 they aren't really pre 1964 Correct if you want to stay within the appearance guidelines. They worked really well on the 48 though and are a nice touch on fat fender vehicles that are more resto-mod than hot rod.

 

when the first guy with questionable taste put them on his car.

 

Rally wheels look good on muscle cars, not much else! I had a set on a '70 El Camino and loved the way it looked.

 

1967...............

 

It has been said there is accounting for taste.Taste is ,afterall, subjective.Other than the timeline factor here on the HAMB,I personally think they are great looking factory wheel.They come in 2 diameters and a variety of widths from the factory.

BanjeauX Bob

 

They were pretty popular throughout the 80s and into the 90s...

They don't look as neat as they did back then but I'm not as good looking as I was 20-30 years ago either

They had their place.....

 

Can't say as I've ever seen them on a hotrod, but A couple of streetrods

 

Yup.

Great wheels if you don't care what your wheels look like, which was the case with serious gearheads for many years.....it's only recently that it's become all about appearances (and only recently that I've been getting rid of all my ugly wheels)

 

This^^^^^. Back in the 70's the only guys that ran Ralleys in HS were the sweater wrapped around their neck types......

 

I'd put those on a tri-five any day of the week... I lov'em!!

 

My thoughts exactly!!

 

Had them on my '56 Chevy in the 80s because I couldn't afford much else. Got a set for $10. each. In the 70s Hot rodders were practically giving them away because all they did to their muscle cars was go from the dealership to the wheel store for slotted, or spoked mag wheels, then to the muffler shop for some Purple Hornies, or Thrush pipes, and they were done building their Hot Rod. I never gave them very much respect. Even if they could blow the doors of my Chevy.

 

I wish I was cool enough to hate rally wheels.

 

Guess I'm one of the ones with bad taste..

 

Been on my 36 Chevy Street Rod since 1978, they look good, are easy to clean and still have the same paint on them (low maintenance!). Stainless trim rins and the small "disc brake" center caps.

 

I'm a Ford guy, and had performance cars of all types...(but always had rods, too)
My Galaxies were hungry for some factory slotted type street wheels, so I had to take my son's lead and go for the Dodge Highway Patrol slotted steelies. (4.5" lug pattern)
If Chevy Rallies would have fit, I would have used them with some sort of Ford cap!

But apples are apples, and Musclecar wheels belong on Musclecars, not '27-'48 Fords.

 

Bill, I have to say they look right at home on the early Chevies when done up like this...

 

Didn't realize this was so controversial. If you check out the Jr. stock thread, it seems like these started showing up on tri-fives and other cars that were not "street rods" well before the 1990s - I just wondered "when".

As for all guys bitching it's not "traditional"... why is OK for guys to post pictures of primered 1961-1964 cars w/ wide whites and hot rod flatz paint jobs, but I get a bunch of shit for asking a question about the use of wheels in the 1960s? You can be pretty sure that there were no primered 1964 model year cars rolling on wide whites in 1965, since wide whites stopped being "cool" in about 1960, and there would have been no reason to primer a 1-yr old car. I'm just sayin'....

 

I think Torq-Thrust had their own version of the ralley... Anyone have pictures of those???

 

I put a set of the 15x8" Corvette Rally wheels on my 56 Chevy in 71.





^ Getting ready for a 50's party at General Motors Institute in 1973 ^

They fit without any clearance problems and the BFG Radial T/A's WORKED (read hooked up) well

Back then they were almost as good as slicks for street racing ...

I liked using original OEM parts vs aftermarket stuff for major parts:

 

al8apex... that is one bad-ass '56. Love the use of all GM parts.

Thanks... that is the kind of info I was looking for.

 

I had a set that came on my '75 Monte Carlo. I think they look fine on just about any Chevy 1955 & newer.

 

Those guys catch just as much shit... but the rallyes are just not right for an earlier car IMHO.

 

Thanks, I just was "cheap" as OEM parts ALWAYS fit and worked ...

The 56 was a California born Delray and I got some 71 LTD high back split front seats (and rear seats) for it out of a junk yard in Flint for ~ $40 IIRC

A guy at a gas station in Flint had a 56 convertible he was parting out so I bought the 6 leaf (or were they 5?, regardless, they had MORE leafs than the stock sedan did) rear springs that made it sit just right AND helped in traction.

The FI unit was from a 62 and I found a stock 57 Corvette fuel filter. A set of Flint made headers (can't remember the brand name) and some OEM Chrysler 2 1/2" Hemi mufflers completed the setup. Quiet but powerful. I placed the FI emblems & cross flags on the fenders (no holes drilled, I clipped off the studs and used adhesive backed tape) completed the "stock" look. I measured a factory FI 57 for the placement of the emblems ...

 

I was there at GMI in 67-68 ? kinda fuzzy memory, a lot of alchohol involved. But we had a pit in our parking lot and our bunch held the chassis dyno record at the time with a 427 Biscayne that belonged to a kid from Texas.

Frank

 

What engine? 327?

Curious how it did in the street races against the muscle cars.

 

Agree that they are not really the traditional choice for anything pre-55. I was mainly just curious how many people put these on 55-64 Chevys in the 67-69 time period. Didn't know if this happened much back then, or if it only took off after the 1970s.

 

I love the spirit of this board. There's so many facets to a traditional approach in hotrods, ralleys or no ralleys. Who's to say that some of the older guys who had their cars built for years didn't add them as they rolled along? Clearly mostly the Chevy guys, and I visualize some of those guys in their Impalas and Belairs running em in the mid to late 60s. The serious weekend drag racers put slicks on em. I can see my 61 Belair with those painted body color, no caps or trim rings, and chrome lug nuts. Traditional? Yes. Unless you wish to pick only one single version of what a traditional hot rod is. It's not just a flatheaded Model A or gennie Deuce hiboy. It was those who started early and kept going. If my dear ol Dad built a car or truck in the mid 70s, would it be traditional? I guess if he dialed "1 800 STREETROD" then maybe not. But since he and I did it following what he always did then the use of the Cadillac drivetrain and even the wheels and wheel covers from the Caddy, combined with everything crafted to fit along with a few simple body mods and fresh paint, yes indeed. A "traditional" hotrod truck built in the mid 70s. If I were in that truck pulling into Billetproof I'd be welcomed with no question.

My point is, who's to say that everything else being the same, they weren't added a few short years later? I get the fact that some guys hate em. On the right car, they look great and almost the best choice out there. The version I hate? 4 8" ralleys on a mid-size GM musclecar. Never made sense to me.

 

Hey those Mr gasket valve covers you posted on the other site...they are 1980's.
whitetop