Special period wheels?
 

This Blazer if from an automotive show in 1970. An era when it was popular to chrome steel wheels. OK, it is a Blazer, rear axle appears to be the standard 1/2 ton axle. Wheels appear to be period 16.5's. Hubcaps are the large 12" caps used only on 8 lug wheels( a trained eye can easily spot this out). My conclusion, these wheels must be 6 lug with a much larger 12" nub spacing, not the typical 10 1/4" nub spacing. I would say these 6 lug 16.5" wheels would be very rare if they accept the 12" 3/4 ton caps.

Re: Special period wheels?
 

I dont know, but it looks good! Wish it was in color

Re: Special period wheels?
 

Cool pic.

I wouldn't read too much into how the wheels or caps were made. For a show vehicle they could have been stamped out of pie tins and taped on, or the centers cut out of a set of 3/4 ton wheels and welded up to create a set of four.

K

Re: Special period wheels?
 

- or - machined out of flat stock and held together with set screws.

K

Re: Special period wheels?
 

It could also be that the wheels are "Argent" the color of the later rallyes and have beauty rings and special caps.

Re: Special period wheels?
 

So the "trained-Eye" looks at the center of the cap to determine it belongs to a 3/4 ton?

Re: Special period wheels?
 

I think the picture was doctored. Just look around the back of the bed where it meets the camper.

Re: Special period wheels?
 

I have this picture from the magazine article. While it's true a wide truck tire back then would have been a 16.5, and that's what a 1/2t got with the 10.00 flotation tire option, I think these are chrome reverse 15s. You never saw a whitewall 16.5. I think those are L78-15s on 15 x 8s. That was the biggest car tire a whitewall came on. True, a whitewall 16.5 could also be easily created. If those are the hubcaps for 8-lug, the front caps are one-off to fit the 1/2t hub. My picture is smaller, but I never felt the wheels looked like 16.5s. That's usually something I pick right up on. Both size hubcaps fit to the rim the same, so the question is rim size. The wheels do appear to be the duplex type, like 16.5s

What I see in 1/2t vs 8-lug hubcaps are the 1/2t edges are actually taller and steeper with the face area more flat. The 8-lug face is more angled

Re: Special period wheels?
 

The plot thickens.

Re: Special period wheels?
 

I heard the special period wheels were only offered for one week out of every month. That could explain why they're so rare?

Re: Special period wheels?
 

Oh, now we really need to know when it's advertised too..hmm

Re: Special period wheels?
 

That is correct, here is the visual comparsion.