Midyear Monday: A Set of Five Kelsey-Hayes Knock Off Wheels are Offered on Bring a Trailer

Perhaps nothing defines the C2 Corvette more than the rare knock-off wheels available from 1963 to 1966.

A set of five such 15-inch diameter and 6-inch wide knock-offs produced in 1965 by Kelsey-Hayes is available at no reserve on Bring a Trailer. With five days left in the auction, the bid has already climbed to $2,500. A shipping credit of $250 will be provided to the auction winner, by the way.

The knock-offs allow “easy” removal and installation by hitting the three-pronged center spinner with a hammer, though if you happen to get a little careless with said hammer, you might whack your Corvette’s fender by accident.

Knock-off wheels were eventually outlawed by the federal government because they were deemed unsafe, so the value of an original set has skyrocketed over the years.

This set – acquired by the seller in 2020 in Chilliwack, British Columbia and said to have been refinished with dark recessed areas – includes radial fins, center cones (five brushed and two chrome), spinners (two left-side and two right-side), center caps (aftermarket, featuring red, white and blue accents), hub adapters, and aftermarket lug nuts.

The K-H symbol, part number D-49985, and other production marks can be seen on all five of the wheels, with date code stampings legible on two of them showing 1965 production.

The Corvette Black Book says 13 such sets were produced in 1963, but apparently no 1963 Corvettes actually left the St. Louis factory with knock-offs. Production climbed over the next three years, however, with 806 sets sold in 1964, 1,116 in 1965, and 1,194 in 1966. For 1967, safety legislation forced Chevy to switch to a bolt-on, cast alloy style with a clip-on center cap to hide the lug nuts, and 720 of these sets wound up being sold.

Have any of you out there had experience with original knock-off wheels that you can share with us?

Source:
Bring a Trailer

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