This post is a response to a question Dave (65L79) asked in another post in the El Camino forum. I think this item will get more visibility here in the Restoration Forum, and the wheel and tire forum is mostly aftermarket wheel applications.

Dave asked about codes on wheels for a 65 El Camino, and I responded that they were the same 14X5J (1 inch offset, 4.0 inch backset) wheels used on Chevelles. I said that I have a set of wheels that came off of a 65 Malibu that I purchased to use on my 66 El Camino. I am going to include photos of these wheels. I acquired the 4 matching wheels about 25 years ago from a friend of mine who purchased a very original 65 Malibu about that time and replaced the wheels with ralley wheels. I am as certain as I can be that these are original wheels. I also have 3 other 14X5J wheels that I have collected that have less certain origins, two of which were removed from a 66 Malibu, but may not be original to the car.

I did a little research in Chevrolet by the Numbers and found that these wheels should be coded with XC but found no such codes on any of these wheels. CBTN also indicates that there were two suppliers of wheels in 65, Kelsey-Hays and Chevrolet Warren. I did find evidence of two suppliers among these wheels that have the same dimensions but obvious differences in tooling and locations of stampings. The following photos will show these differences.

The following are three photos of the 4 1965 Malibu wheels that apparently were made by Kelsey-Hayes. Notice the A code by the valve and stem that looks like the top is missing. The 65 GM was stamped together on one raised area in the center and the 14X5J, a circular stamp and the Kelsey-Hayes stamp were located on the inside (tire side) of the wheel.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_GM_65.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_65_valvestem_code.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_65_KH.jpg

The next photos are from 3 other 14X5J wheels, 2 of which were removed from a 66 Malibu (but could be 65) and another wheel that was marked as a 65. These wheels have different tooling marks and are stamped differently than the Kelsey-Hays wheels making me think they were made by a second source. CBTN indicates a second source for only 65. CBTN called that source Chevrolet Warren. I found no stampings on the inside of the wheel (tire side) and the stampings close to valve stem were not next to it, but below it (see photos). The two wheels with red paint have M whereas the photo shows a S on the one wheel.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_65_spare_S_OB.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_65_spare_C.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_66_5_GM.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_66_5_B.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/14X5J_wheels_66_5_65.jpg

That's all I have Dave. I hope that helps.

What do the rest of you have on your 65/66 300s, Malibus, and El Caminos?

I have 7 rims; but they are all 14x6JK rims with the 1.00 offset that came on the 66SS cars. On the inside of the rim hidden by the tire they all have the kelsey hayes logo and the kelsey hayes stamp; and also stamped is 14x6JK or 14x6.00JK along with a 65 and 1 or 2. On the outside, near the valve stem some have just an A or just a 6 and some have both a 6 & A3. On the spider section some have both the "GM" & 65 stamped together on one raised lobe of the spider and some have the "GM" on one lobe of the spider section and 65 on another raised lobe. No stampings on the inside of the rim. Even though these are 14x6 rim, I would think the stampings would be generally the same. I think you could order the 14x6 rims as an option on the elcamino and maybe they even came with the 396 engine if you ordered that along with some other SS things like the rear frame stiffners, larger gas line, 12 bolt?

Hi Jim,
It would appear that there may be 2 suppliers for the 14X6JK wheels also then.

I haven't found any evidence that 14X6JK wheels were optional on any El Caminos, even with the 396 engine option, like mine. I wish it were so, because the SS wheels have that extra depth and width that looks better than the skinny 14X5s. But they don't don't really look that bad once you mount 7.75 tires, and my wire wheelcovers will cover the wheels.
Bruce

it helps a lot.... still some what confused but i think i need to be looking for ?? 65 stamped? wheels....thanx,dave

Dave,
You need to look for wheels that have either of the GM 65 attributes along with an overall width of 6 inches (5 inches wide at the inside beads) and 4.0 inch backspacing. A body wheels are the only ones with a 1 inch offset and it is easier to measure the backspacing.
Bruce

Dave,
You need to look for wheels that have either of the GM 65 attributes along with an overall width of 6 inches (5 inches wide at the inside beads) and 4.0 inch backspacing. A body wheels are the only ones with a 1 inch offset and it is easier to measure the backspacing.
Bruce

well im looking again for some 65 stock wheels. and after re-reading this i have a question.. the 65 el caminos came with 14x5.5 wheels or 14x5..? and are they back spaced 4.0" or 1"...dave