Set of early 70 1/2 Z28 Camaro rally wheels

[Rainer]

Here's an update on these wheels. I know these wheels should have a date code on them, but they do not have any stamps inside the groove. I have had these AU wheels in the past, with dates, and I have seen what it looks like and where it is located. The AU and assembly date code is not where it is supposed to be on these wheels - period.

Now, what I did find is the general date code in between the bead area near the Kelsey-Hayes stamp (i.e. the interior wheel stamping). These are coded K-1-0, so they were manufactured in 1970. They also have A and 4 stamped below the "15x7 JJ" stamp (see pic). According to my Colvin book, this means that the rim component (less the center) was manufactured in the first production run (possibly January) and the 4th day of the month. Colvin states that this is not necessarily the same date that the wheel was manufactured (i.e., components welded together), but it can be in some cases.

Now, consider this - the exterior date code near the valve stem hole is the wheel assembly date. However, on this type of wheel, once they are assembled, it is impossible to stamp them in the standard location. Therefore, the outer rim needs to be stamped with the assembly date first, and then assembled to the wheel center. Could it not be possible that Kelsey-Hayes was not set up (or some workers were not prepared) to stamp and then assemble the wheels when it was likely standard operating procedure to assemble and then stamp with assembly date? In such a case, these very early wheels may very well have gone unstamped after assembly. Who knows?