Starting in 1960 Pontiac began offering some stylish and sometimes very unique optional wheels. We will cover these wheels options from 1960 through 1972, what cars they were available on and where the model builder can find them. We will also include some detailing tips for the builder. Let's start with the first and certainly the most unique wheel, the famous "eight lug".

EIGHT LUG's

AMT's 62 Catalina Super Duty kit with the eight lug wheel from AMT's 65 2+2 kit. The center of the wheel has been detailed with Testors Aluminum Metalizer paint between the fins. The tire is an old AMT Firestone Supreme whitewall from the parts box.

Unbuilt MPC 68 Bonneville with it's eight lug wheel mounted on the kits whitewall tire.

Pontiac was one of the first domestic manufacturers to offer optional alloy wheels as opposed to merely optional wheel covers. In 1960 they introduced an optional eight lug wheel produced by Kelsey Hayes. These wheels were designed by stylist Larry Shinoda who went on to become instrumental in the design of the mid year Corvettes and later with Ford the Boss Mustangs. They first appeared on Pontiac's X400 show car. It was a unique wheel in that the brake drum was an integral part of the wheel. The brake drum was the finned center section of the wheel with the outer steel rim attaching with eight lugs. The wheel was not just cosmetic, the finned aluminum brake drum was designed to dissipate heat from the brake linings, especially during "spirited" use. All eight lugs were 14 inch wheels. They also featured a brushed stainless center hub cap.

Pontiac continued to offer this wheel with some changes through 1968. The wheel was an option on full sized Ponchos during these years. Through the years there has been a persistent rumor that the wheels were also offered on the 66 GTO's. Kelsey Hayes bid to make a version for the A-body Tempest/Lemans/GTO series, but couldn't build them profitably and the option was dropped from the catalog. As mentioned above, rumors have persisted through the years that a handful of these wheels did make it into the parts pipeline and subsequently onto a few 66 GTO's.

The photo from the parts catalog shows these wheels with a trim ring installed and the recess between the fins painted black or a dark argent gray. Given that it is at least possible that some cars ended up with these wheels installed, they would be a neat touch on Revell's recent and excellent 66 GTO kit.

From 60 through 66 the eight lugs were typically shod with 8.00 x 14 tires. 67 and 68 cars had G78 x 14 tires. The 60,61, & 62 wheels had a chrome outer rim, the 63 and up wheels had a stainless trim ring. The 64 and later cars also had a darker finish in between the fins on the drum, the earlier wheels had a raw cast aluminum finish in this area. These wheels have been available in a number of kits through the years. Obviously the earlier kits are no longer available, but resin repops are available from the Modelhaus.

The latest kit to feature an eight lug wheel is AMT's infamous 65 2+2 # 6629 which is still relatively easy to find. The wheels in this kit are nicely done renditions of the later trim ring equipped wheels.

AMT Eight Lug	MPC Eight  Lug

RALLY I's

Revell's 66 GTO with the kit supplied Rally I wheel. Note center cap is detailed with black paint. This would be correct on the 66 to 68 wheels. On the 65's the center cap should be left chrome. The tire used for the photo is an AMT Firestone Wide Oval with flat red acrylic paint flowed into the sidewall recess. This tire can be found in many of AMT's current muscle car kits, such as their 66 442's.

Monogram 68 GTO with MPC's Rally I wheel. Tire used is again the Monogram part with the lettering sanded off and the redline added with Shabo dry transfers.

AMT Rally I Unpainted	Revell Rally I Painted
AMT Rally I Painted	MPC Rally I '65 Painted
Revell Rally I '66-'68 Painted	MPC Rally I Painted

RALLY II's

Monogram 1/24 Trans Am with the wheel from the Monogram '39 Chevy Sedan Delivery kit. This wheel is essentially a deeper version of the Rally II wheel found in their '69 Judge kit. The tire shown is the kit's Goodyear Radial GT with the lettering sanded off and Shabo drytransfer Polyglass GT lettering added.

AMT/MPC's '69 1/25 Firebird converted to a Trans Am using Fred Cady decals. The wheels are 1/24 items from Monograms '69 Judge kit. I used these, even though they are too large, because I don't like the 1/25 wheels used in the MPC/AMT kits. The tires are AMT kit Polyglas GT's with the lettering painted white.

MPC's 70 GTO kit converted to a Judge using Fred Cady's new decals. The wheels are the kit supplied Rally II's. These have not been paint detailed as I don't intend to use them as they are much to shallow and do not represent the prototype wheel very well.

MPC 70 GTO (promo) with it's Rally II wheels paint detailed. Tire is the stock whitewall from the promo.

Monogram 69 Judge with the kit supplied wheel and tire. The wheels are not correct for the car as in 69 the Judges didn't use a trim ring.

Next up is the Rally II which was first introduced in 1967 on the GTO and Firebird. Like the Rally I this was a stamped steel 14 inch wheel with a hub cap and stainless trim ring. It had five spokes stamped into the center section instead of the slots of the Rally I. The center section was two toned in argent silver and a very dark argent charcoal gray metallic, giving the wheel a spoked mag like appearance. The Rally II's were offered on GTO's, Firebirds, Grand Prixs, and full size Pontiacs from 67 through 72 (and beyond). They were offered in variations, such as without the trim rings on the 69 Judge. They also grew to 15 inchers on some later cars. As for tires, a myriad of styles were available with these wheels through the years. Black and whitewalls& redlines on the 67 to 68 cars, with raised white letters added to the mix starting in 69. There are a number of kit sources for these wheels, unfortunately most are not very well rendered. Especially in 1/25 scale.

MPC/AMT offered these wheels on all of there 67 through 72 GTO and Firebird kits. These are shallow and don't represent the real wheels very well. Monogram also offered Rally II's in their 69 GTO Judge kit#2443, these are also shallow and a bit large. Interestingly they are equipped with trim rings which is incorrect for a 69 Judge. This kit was recently re-issued and is easily obtained. The same wheel was used in Monogram's 70 Firebird Trans Am kit#2794, where at least the trim rings are correct. These wheels are a bit too large to be crossed over to a 1/25 kit.

Another version of this wheel was used in Monogram's 39 Chevy Sedan Delivery kit#2773, a bit deeper this time, and with a plain center cap. To my eyes this is a better looking wheel than those in the Pontiac kits and in fact looks more correct than the kit supplied wheels in the 70 Trans Am.

AMT/MPC  Rally II	Monongram Rally II Un-painted
Monongram Rally II Un-painted	Monongram Rally II Painted
Monongram Rally II Deep Dish	Lincoln Mint Rally II

HONEYCOMBS

Same car as above (69 Goat), except with the 1/25 Honeycomb wheels from the Modelhaus. The wheels haven't been detailed yet, and will benefit from a wash of light gray metallic paint.

Monogram Trans Am with the Modelhaus 1/24 Honeycomb wheels. The wheel has been paint detailed with Testor's metalizer steel mettallic. The tires are the kit parts with the lettering sanded off and Shabo dry transfer Firestone Wide Oval (60) lettering added.

Finally, beginning in 1971, Pontiac began offering it's most unique wheel since the eight lug, It was called the Honeycomb. A completely new wheel is both design and construction from anything previously offered. It was designed by Pontiac engineer Bill Porter, and was initially offered on the 71 Firebirds as a 15x 7 inch wheel. It was added to the Lemans/GTO option list in 1972. It was comprised of polycast plastic molded over a steel rim and painted argent silver. A pentagon shaped center cap and stainless steel trim rings completed the wheel.

This wheel is offered in scale in resin only by the Modelhaus. They offer the wheel in either 1/25 to fit AMT/MPC kits and 1/24 to fit Monogram kits. I've asked Don Holthaus of the Modelhaus what the origin of these wheels were. He indicated that he received the original wheel at a swap meet 10 or so years ago. He modified and mastered it in the two scales. He believed that it was originally from either an Otaki or Doyusha kit. The 1/24 version of these wheels are a great addition to Monograms 70 Trans Am kits, essentially allowing the builder to replicate either a 71 or 72 car. The 1/25 versions are nice additions to the old MPC 72 GTO and their 71 and 72 Firebird kits. As with all Modelhaus items, they are cleanly cast, and have crisp detail and plating.

Modelhaus Honeycomb 1/25 Un-painted	Modelhaus Honeycomb 1/24 Un-painted
	Modelhaus Honeycomb 1/24 Painted

THE HURST WHEEL

Any discussion of Pontiac optional wheels from the muscle car era would be remiss if the Hurst wheel wasn't mentioned. These wheels were never technically offered by Pontiac as a option. They were considered in 66 when it became apparent that Kelsey Hayes wasn't going to come through with a cost effective eight lug for the A bodies. John Deloreon wanted a unique wheel for the GTO and approached Hurst about making the wheels a RPO (regular production option). But the same problem with cost arose and the stamped steel Rally I was the top wheel option for the Goat. None the less, the wheels ended up having a strong promotional tie in with the GTO. They were used on Ace Wilson's 66 GTO drag cars and conversely Hurst used GTO's shod with the wheels in their advertising. Look for these wheels in the soon to be released kit of the Ace Wilson GTO Tiger drag GTO. They are also available in resin from the Modelhaus.

TIRES

Fancy wheels wouldn't be of much use without proper tires to complete the rolling stock. Though we certainly have more kit tires to choose from today, it is again the aftermarket that really opens up the builder's tire options. By combining aftermarket and kit pieces, one can have correct width (period correct) whitewalls from the early, mid, and late 60's. Thanks to Shabo's dry transfer tire lettering, one can replicate Polyglass GT's, Firestone Wide Ovals, Uniroyal Tiger Paws, and for a later "restified" look BFG Radial T/A's. Shabo also offers red, white, blue, and goldline transfers.

The Modelhaus aslo offers a line of excellent resin tires. They offer various width whitewalls, red, gold, and blue line tires. They also offer some very nice period slicks for those super stock and street (as in Woodward Ave.) racer specials. The Modelhaus tires are molded in either hard resin or flexible resin. They are molded in color and sold in sets of 4, or in the case of slicks or big and little rod tires in pairs.

Finally there is American Satco. They offer a line of very well done vinyl tires. Again various width whitewalls are available, as are red, gold, and blue line tires. All of their tires have great sidewall and tread detail.

KIT SOURCES

AFTERMARKET PRODUCTS

AMERICAN SATCO
PO BOX 38
11426 TENTH STREET
STANLEY, IA 50671-0038  http://www.americansatco.com/asp/mzStorefront.asp
800-777-2826 319-634-3999
FAX 319-634-3998
Manufacturer of injection molded kits and real rubber tire sets. Exclusive USA importer/distributor of Aoshima (Japan) kits.  V/MC Catalog:
Dealer and Distributor pricing

THE MODELHAUS
5480 TRAUGHBER RD
DECAUTUR, IL 62521
217-864-4402
modelhaus@q-com.com
http://www.modelhaus.com/modnav.htm
Resin cast 1/25th scale automotive parts and kit conversions.
Catalog: Large SASE & .78 postage
Dealer Pricing

SHABO
W225 S4839 GUTHRIE R
WAUKESHA TWP, WI 53186
Dry transfers for tires, foil, tools.
Catalog: Large SASE
website unknown