Source for steel rims and poverty caps?
 

I want to switch over the rims on my ‘63 LeMans to black steel and run poverty caps. I HATE the aftermarket uni lug rims on there now, and the tires are ancient. Shouldn’t even be driving on them really. Gee, I didn’t think it would be this hard.
I see caps for sale in a few places, but where to get new 5x4.5 rims that accept those caps. I found a few places that sell 5x4.5 rims, but from what I’ve read while doing a search here, those probably Ford or MOPAR rims won’t work with stock caps. I even looked for a generic poverty cap hoping to find something that would work with a new steel rim. No luck so far.
Any ideas?

I used the Wheel Smith for wheels: http://thewheelsmith.net/

For tires, Diamondback Tires: https://dbtires.com/

I was able to drive to the Wheel Smith in my GTO, and they measured and walked me through the order, and accepted the liability if my wheel / tire combo didn't fit.

They made them, powder coated them, and then shipped them to my house. The tires also shipped.

Buy 4 or preferably 5 stock steel wheels.

Then have custom wheels made from the centers.

As long as you still have stock brakes there won’t be any issues with the wheels hitting any disc brake calipers. More than likely you could leave the front wheels alone and have the rear wheels widened. Fit the bare wheels on the rear then drop the car down with large wooden blocks under the wheels to measure how wide you can go and what backspace will work.

It’s pretty easy just measure carefully and be absolutely sure before sending them off to be built to your specs.

Been there done that on my 1964 GTO: https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=526735

If you have any luck with the wheels let me know as I have many poverty caps for the Tempest/LeMans wheels.

pretty sure the poverty caps for 61-63 are diff from 64 up A bodies.Tom

iirc Frank’s Pontiac Parts is pretty good on discerning what’s what…

Yes the Tempest 61-63 dog dishes are not the same as others in the era. I will see how many sets are here tomorrow.

Hit the swaps. I see them there.

Do you have any of these in excellent condition? One of move is a little jacked up along the edge that flexes over the wheel bulges. The wheels are 15x7.

I have a set of poverty caps that I *think* are correct for a '63 Tempest, but they're stored in a place where I won't be able to get to them until the weather warms up. If you don't find any sooner, drop me a PM in a month or so and I'll dig them out to take a look.

im looking for a set of caps as well for a 66

I don’t really care if they are “correct” for a ‘63, it’s just that a read on old threads that caps from other Pontiacs won’t fit the 5x4.5 bolt pattern rims.
Thanks for the input so far

In case you end up caring (because if you're anything like so many of us, you probably will after the dust settles - long after you spend money on them), I did a quick google search for 1963 caps, and I believe that these are the ones correct for your car:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1677858059

These are the 1964-1970* caps:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1677858059

You may recognize the second style as the one that so many people have, because they were used on many vehicles for alot longer than the 63 correct caps.

The up side for you is that the 62/63 caps can probably be found at a much better deal than the 64+ caps - because of significantly lower demand for them.

The 1964+ caps are demanding on the used market prices I could not have imagined compared to what you could find them for twenty years ago!
(I used to see asking prices of $50 for a really nice set of four back then - now the asking price is normally much more than that per single cap).

If you are wondering what the "*" was about, I did that for a reason;
This style cap was used through 1971, but (and I hope I have this correct) the parts used after the 1970 model year were Canadian sourced parts which did not have "PONTIAC MOTOR DIVISION", but instead had "PONTIAC PONTIAC PONTIAC";
I believe that Canadian produced cars used this second version for several years before 1971, and that the typical caps sold over the counter after 1970 were the 'Canadian' versions.

I only recently realized this difference myself, and came to realize that almost all the ones I have here - only one cap is the "PONTIAC MOTOR DIVISION" version!

I have:
one set of four that I found in a local scrap yard, which are in rather crummy shape;
one set of five that I bought state side ages ago, which are in great shape;
The one single that I bought state side a couple(?) years ago, which is in fair shape.

EDIT:

If you haven't dealt with Frank's Pontiac Parts, I have found them to be helpful and polite.

frankspontiacparts.com - wheels & caps

When I used to social media, I found them on there often listing parts which were not on their site - so it might not hurt to call them to say what you're looking for incase they have it, and don't show it on the site.

I think the reason as 61-63 tempests are 15in wheels and the 64 up a bodies wheels were 14?Also be careful confusing 61-63 big car poverty caps as they use clips that fit into the wheels to hold the caps.They dont have the nubs on the wheels to hold the caps.Tom

Hey! Awesome. I just talked to Wheelsmith and their price to custom build them is a lot more reasonable than I expected. BUT, he wants me to verify that the poverty caps I would be running have a 10 1/8” inside diameter. Does anyone with a stock poverty cap know, or could you measure, a stock cap?
Edit, while I’m at it, I need a few specs from a stock rim. From what I’ve read on this site the original would be 5x4.5 bolts pattern, 15x6, and have roughly 4” backspace. Correct?

FWIW, 14 inch wheels with the ford, mopar, bolt pattern hit the tie rod ends, and spindle arms. Years ago when I owned a 63 Tempest I tried to use chrome 14 inch wheels on the front, the outer edge of the rim interfered with the steering linkage when installed. It was around 1970 when I owned that car, but I still remember the steering linkage interference. Of course the front suspension was totally redesigned from 63 to 64, and allowed the use of the more common at the time, 14 inch wheels.

They know their trade. I felt the small premium was worth it to get it right.

Regular 61-63 Tempest & LeMans received 4.5" wide rims. '63 Tempest wagons received 15x5's. I'll look in my wheel stock, or pull one off my '63. Then do some measuring.

Sourcing nice straight original 15" Tempest wheels @ swappers & boneyards is pretty much a bust. Went through this in the late 90's, ended up grabbing a pair in the monster French Lake yard in MN, before the owners rowed up the entire yard.

Keep in mind this is posted in 61-63 Tempest LeMans tech so the thread starter is reffering to 61-63s. All the dog dish caps I have are for 61-63 only.

This is the base cap for 61-63 Tempest and LeMans. They are Tempest LeMans only and will not fit full size 63s.