1958 Ball Joints

So I've wanted to do 15X7 steelies with poverty caps on my 58 Chevy for years now. The original 14" wheels were body color, so I want to go with body color on these to. I've had the tires for years now, and bought a set of wheels last year. I finally got to the paint store a couple weeks ago.

This weekend I had some extra time, so I decided to test fit the wheels before getting them painted. The rears fit fine, but the fronts were very tight. I noticed a lot of gunk around the upper ball joint, so I got out a scrapper and a wire brush. As the gunk disappeared, I noticed the ball joints were riveted. Is it possible these are the original ball joints?

The wheels still don't fit. I need something with a 4" backspace instead of the 4 1/2" I have. I have clean upper ball joints and control arms though

 

They probably are the original ones. I just did the brakes on my wife's 58 Bel Air, and it still has the OG riveted ball joints & brake drums. I just replaced the drums. The ball joints are next. Maybe you can use a thin wheel spacer? How bad does the rim rub? On ours the g-78's on the stock 14" rims rub slightly when the car is jacked up, but when the car is at ride height, the tires clear just fine.

 

The rim just barely clears when the wheel is straight, but when you turn left, it hits the control arm pretty hard. A spacer may work though. Thanks!

 

The lower ball joint carries all the weight. There is not a lot of load on the upper BJs and if lubed regularly it's actually rare to have one wear out. They are probably better than any foreign made repros that you can currently buy.

 

I used to blow through lowers on my '65 Belair (after 279,000 miles...) and the uppers were also factory riveted to the day I junked it. I think the 1/2" layer of crud on top of them acts as a preservative.

Bob