Hi Everyone,
We finally tracked down a set of NOS 14x6 Cavalier rally rims, center caps, and trim rings for Dad's 1985 Type-10 convertible. They look great! Here's a shot of one together...we're stoked to bolt these onto the car before the summer cruise season.
My question to those who have done more rim & tire swaps than we have is this: What should the factory size on these be? I don't have my manuals anymore but I believe it was 215/60/14, does that sound correct? I believe these to be OEM for Z24's and optional on Cavalier Type-10 and RS from 85 to 87 and became standard on RS Cavaliers from 88 to 90. But before we order tires (they're all special order) I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues. What's the J-body friends say?
Thanks for your advice as always
215/60/14 is the stock size for the 86 and 87 Z24 with the aluminum wheels. I'm not sure if it's the same with those rims.
Daryl I have been running 185 65 14's on those Caddy alloys and have been pretty pleased with them. My vote would be up to a 195 70 14. I have an idea you can try before you make the plunge though. Perhaps you can locate a local tire dealer in your area and simply "borrow" a few of the old worn out dispoals they are going to send away in sizes you might want to buy. As long as they aren't showing steel belts dry rotted to the core, or sliced they ought to serve the purpose. You could have a few of these mounted in several different sizes and mock them up on your 'Vert to see which size suits you best. A few bucks in mounting fees could be worth a major purchase and disappointment.
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Thanks for the advice and suggestions guys. I didn't know the sizes but my Dad found his '85 Cavalier sales brochure the GM past model info and they're officially listed as RPO ZJ7, and appear on page 37 of the document as "rally wheels".
And they also show up as "14-inch styled steel wheels" under optional equipment, and they list 215/60/14 white or blackwall tires as optional equipment.
This appears to have been the 'standard' tire for the 86/87 Z24's with the cast aluminum 14x6 rims being optional equipment. I didn't think they were this big, but I think we're good to order up a pair (special order it seems). These 14 inch tires are getting harder to find. 10 years ago it was the 13 inch tires but even the small cars today are rolling on 16 inch rubber it seems.
I thought I'd update this just in case it helps someone else out. Again, thanks for the advice and help.
This is what he's aiming for with his '85 and the new rims.
Nice rims.I run 195/70/13 which are fine with my factory star alloys.I find most shops carry the 185 in general and just black walls.
good looking rims! how hard was it to find those? did you have to track down the wheels, center caps and trim rings seperatly or did you get lucky and find them together?
Hi John,
We tracked these wheels down separately and they were a little bit of a chore but that's what makes it fun. The caps & trim rings were eBay finds, so was one rim. Two came from an NOS parts house in Wisconsin and the other from Miami at a Corvette parts house. We're still waiting on that one to arrive
Dad wanted NOS parts, but you can find these used from $25-$100 at junkyards all over the place and have them blasted & painted. But we didn't want to mess with that since no local yards had them. You can do a search on car-part.com to see if they have any rims at a yard new you. Its a pretty good search engine it seems.
Daryl-
Glad to see you are still at it. These look like they could Celebrity Eurosport rims - very nice. Back in the day, the 14x6 rims - Pontiac Turbine and Z24 allows were shipped with 205/60/14 Goodyear Eagle GTs. Availability know is either 195 or 215 for width. I run the 215s BFG Radial T/A and love them.
Those rims look awesome! They will give the vert a whole new look. I searched everywhere to see if I could find the rims and OE tire size but came up empty. Be sure to post some new pics when you get the wheels on the car.
looks like I was incorrect on the tire size for the chevy. I will get back in the Pontiac lane
I bought 2 sets of these NOS chrome centers from a guy on ebay who soley sells nos stuff.The first set was super cheap for under 18.00 shpd.Then another set came up and price went up to 8.00 each but I could careless these are brand new.I figure once I get my fuel tank drama done,rear end work complete I might pony up and buy some new tires as mine are from 98 and dry rotted or cracked galore.Seems sometime other cars from the family have prevented my attention to my own car.Not this year I am full throttle to get my car road worthy and unless some serious $ signs happen sunny is front for work being done.Kinda of off the track on subject but pointing out reasons I have left my car unfinished with parts stacked up.Family has come 1st on my two nephews cars but,sometimes I get very irritated with repeat things and realize my inlaws have zero know how on cars period.Nice parts Darryl.
Hey Ron do you know if that dude on ebay still sells those chrome center caps? The one on my car are long gone and I haven't been able to find anybody that has them in stock. I have the same star alloys as your car has.
Here's a really good source in finding your car's original tire size and a tool to choose alternate tire sizes and their affect on clearance and speedometer readings:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php
Try it out, you absolutely love it. I changed the size on my wife's SUV and saved a bundle on a slightly different sized tire that fit in the wheel wells and had a negligible affect on the speedo !
You'll thank me later !
~ Mike ~
FYI - I located a set of the 14x6 rims in Daryl's o/p if anyone needs a set up here in MI. They are in great shape!
Love that black vert!!!
Paul-got pics/link?
I don't even have a first gen (yet), but I love those rally wheels.......
http://www.autorentalandsales.com/images/2004Cavalier005.JPG
Mike- That link is a good resource. Thanks for posting it up!
Paul- Thanks a bunch, too for the recon mission and finding another set. They look great on these cars and I hope someone can put them to good use.
