Wheel Identification

SS-IV wheels

     This "polycast plastic, molded to a conventional steel rim" was available from the factory on 1971 and 1972 Delta 88's only. Price was $101.11 in 1971 and $98.00 in 1972. These were not aluminum. They appear to have raised ovals outside the lugs, and the rim itself is gray. 14x7 are option code PE1, 15x7 are PE2.

     These are a steel wheel with a soft plastic facing molded onto the wheel. Motor Wheel, which is a large OEM wheel manufacturer produced such wheels in the late 60s and through the 1970s, and other OEM manufacturers may have produced similar products as well. Motor Wheel also sold aftermarket wheels under their own name for a few years, including a polycast wheel called the "Exiter" which was similar in appearance.

     If you can get close enough to a polycast wheel to touch it, they're easily identified because the plastic material is fairly soft. Soft enough, that the edges of oval openings can be deformed slightly with just a little pressure from a finger. The plastic rebounds right back into proper position as soon as the pressure is removed however, meaning that the wheels are fairly durable and therefore maintain their appearance well.

     The down side is that under the fancy facing, they're steel wheels, so they're heavy. Heavier of course, than a plain steel wheel, due to a couple of pounds of plastic material having been molded onto the wheel. At the time however, they were considerably cheaper than any aluminum wheels.      (photos courtesy Texas442.com)