TheSamba.com :: View topic - Bus wheels

Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:02 pm

cdennisg wrote: Interesting wheel. First thing I noticed is that the valve stem does not line up with a lug hole like other bus 15's.

Things wheels are 14", at least for US import models. Not sure about other countries but I can't imagine they would have been narrower than the 14" rims.

The same style wheels have popped up here before, I believe it was confirmed they were for German built 181's. A rare wheel to be seen on this side of the Atlantic I presume.

Sat Mar 11, 2017 6:06 pm

Posting for future reference; Okay, after digging I'm going to leave this here to my understanding this is a repoduction VW rim made by Kelsey Hayes. I believe it was intended to replace stock Bus & Thing rims as before mentioned. I think this is also why its appearance is simular yet different over all, knowledge is power and now we all know.

-Eddie

Sat Mar 11, 2017 6:26 pm

is dogging still a thing in Louisiana?

Sat Mar 11, 2017 6:38 pm

mandraks wrote: is dogging still a thing in Louisiana?

Lol fixed* my teachers always Hounded me in spelling. :roll: @Mandraks

Fri Jul 07, 2017 1:02 am

cdennisg wrote: OK, here are a few comparison shots of a regular 14" bus wheel, and the oddball in my pile. The oddball is on the right in the photos.

Do I just have an "oddball" here too?

The white one at top seems to have slightly smaller slots, by about 1/8". It appears the wheel center is sitting slightly shallower in the wheel, causing the difference in the slot width. The casting of the wheel center also appears a bit thinner. The bottom one is "normal" and matches my others.

Normal wheel below:

Oddball wheel below:

Are there 14" slotted wheels that are not for bus?

Fri Jul 07, 2017 10:23 am

Ps- no visible markings due to excessive paint. Also, the white one is wearing a very old 165R14, which makes me suspect it was not used on a bus.

Mon Jul 10, 2017 1:29 pm

More info on the mystery oddball wheel-

"Normal" bus wheel is 6 1/4" wide, oddball is 6 1/8".
Normal wheel is 15 5/16" diameter, oddball is 15 3/8".
Both have a 5inch offset, which I take to mean the distance from the mounting surface to the back of the wheel.

I am starting to think these are the same wheel, maybe by different manufacturers hence the slight variations in size and slot depth.

I am planning to use this as a spare- any opinions on whether this oddball wheel is "close enough" that it won't make a difference? Anything else I should be measuring?

Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:30 pm

I would bet that your suspicions about it just being another manufacturer of the same wheel are correct. You should be able to use it just like any other bus wheel as long as it has no cracks, not bent, etc.

Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:25 pm

Thanks- is it a fact that only buses had slotted wheels (in North American market)?

Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:47 pm

junichi wrote: Thanks- is it a fact that only buses had slotted wheels (in North American market)?

No. There were beetle slotted wheels, but it means something different. They look like this, and were for 66-67 beetles and KG's...

Early type 3 had a slotted wheel, too. Slightly different than a bus, with no hubcap clips and the valve stem hole does not line up with a lug bolt hole.

Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:51 pm

Thanks again. It all seems to add up then- bus style slots, correct offset and width, valve aligned with bolt hole. I guess I have myself a bus wheel from a different manufacturer as you suggest.

Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:08 pm

Hi, Thanks for the post on these vintage bus wheels. These days I'm driving my 1973 Campmobile baywindow, and I'm selling off my old VW bug and bus parts. In my shed, I came across a pair of 16" wheels with the VW stamp on them. The guy I got them from about 20 years ago said he got them in the 1960s... So, I'm thinking these are the real deal...for split window busses. Any idea on what these sell for? I haven't been able to find any for sale on the internet to know how to price them. Here's some pictures.

Thanks,
Rick ... Lewisburg, PA

Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:21 pm

^^^ Those look like 15" beetle wheels. if you just measured across the outside edges you would get roughly 16". You need to measure at the bead.

16" beetle wheels look like this...

16" bus wheels look like the very first post in this thread.

Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:21 pm

Is the size 16x3.50 stamped into the face of the wheel?

16x3.50 is Bus
16x3.00 is Beetle

You may want to look for the date stamps too, to see what year they are from.

If you search on Barndoor wheel or Barndoor rim in the classifieds,you can see some 16" Bus wheels for sale for comparison.

Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:16 pm

I am trying to figure out the rims that came with my 75 bus - they are not stock -
The rim measure 15 inches across the rim.
They do no have rivet holes or clips - but it seems to have bumps to hold the hub cap. Can I put Stock hub caps on these?

Should I at a later date be looking for Stock rims or was the above a common swap ?

also posted on another classified thread - https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1676318

Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:31 pm

Looks like a stock '71 and later 14" bus wheel to me. The 14" diameter is not measured from the out edges of the rim, it is measured from where the bead seats.

Look closely and there should be stampings that say something like 14J5.5 or something like that.

The hubcaps are the same as 4 lug beetle caps, and they snap onto those nubs around the center portion.

Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:35 pm

Here's one from the gallery that shows the stampings almost legible.

Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:48 pm

Yes it has 5 1/2 J 14 etched in & D10

I was under the assumption that all bay window rims came with the clip set up for hub caps. That led me to believe that these rims may have come off a beetle or a type 3 ..

Based on the rim size etched - these are the stock size for a bay window.

will look at this again in better light - but the logo stamped on rim was a VW with 4 circles below it (Audi??)

Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:51 pm

75bus75 wrote: a VW with 4 circles below it (Audi??)

Yep.

Sat Oct 07, 2017 7:25 pm

Speaking on early bus'. Is there rules to the color of the wheels...like all panels were white....etc.... Thanks