Is this rim off an 88 GT? I understand that it is the placement of the valve stem that is different between 86-87 and 88 rims.

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1988 Notchback

quote Originally posted by Nextel dude: Is this rim off an 88 GT? I understand that it is the placement of the valve stem that is different between 86-87 and 88 rims.

You have an 87 or prior wheel. 88 wheels have the valve stem between the spokes, on 87 and older gt wheels the stems are at the point of the spokes. It has been pointed out to me that gold wheels only came on the 88s but the wheel in your picture is not manufactured in 88 and every 88 I own front and rear has the valve stem between the spokes. NOT ONE has a front and rear wheel that the valve stem is in different positions. So it could be a wheel that was painted gold but did not come from an 88. To know for sure you would have to sand down the paint to see if the wheel has a different color underneath and even if it does not the fact is you still have an 87 model as indicated by the valve stem position. That wheel that may or may not have come on an 88.


87 or prior wheel


88 wheels

[This message has been edited by lou (edited 05-26-2018).]

I say yes. It has been found that some early 88's may actually have used the 86-87 wheels due to a shortage of the new 88 design at the time. My Formula, #1163, has a similar wheel in black. My late 88 GT, #26397, has the correct 88 wheels in black.

/\/\/\ What he said, YES /\/\/\

you guys may be on to something. Here is a pic of the front rim.

Are these rims worth $50 a piece?

Easily, if cleaned up and lips polished, even more.

I think the question is if that particular wheel came on a 1988 Fiero and the common answer is that wheel "May" have but only if it was an early 88? although there is no clear evidence of that. But if the wheel has the valve stem between the two points then it definitely did come on the 1988 because it was not available on the earlier models. So the first guy with all the pictures has it right.

For me if it fits, looks and works the same it does not really matter unless you have a mint all original car.

As far as the "gold wheels where only available on the 88 model years" statement:
Years back I saw a gold 86 GT with gold wheels and a tan interior at the junk yard then years later I saw a red 87 GT with gold wheels parked at a local mall and they both had the gray lower trim and both looked stock and unaltered to me. This 1986 Pontiac ad clearly shows gold wheels where available in the newly released 1986 GT along with the new fastback as the ad flaunts. If you look carefully you can see the location of the valve stems :

[This message has been edited by Jonathan Tate (edited 05-25-2018).]

I have sets from 88's that show both valvestem locations on the rear wheels.
All front wheels (6") that I have observed have the valvestem in the same location.
Pre-88, all lace wheels were made by Western Wheel in Huntington IN.
Some of the 88 wheels were made there as well, but a German company also made lace wheels for the 88's.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: I have sets from 88's that show both valvestem locations on the rear wheels. All front wheels (6") that I have observed have the valvestem in the same location. Pre-88, all lace wheels were made by Western Wheel in Huntington IN. Some of the 88 wheels were made there as well, but a German company also made lace wheels for the 88's.

Are any of them Black?

Here is a 1986 Fiero black with gold wheels that is right hand drive and currently for sale in Australia. Notice they painted the aero trim in gold as well. I bought a new Dodge Intrepid in 93 with silver lower cladding that has gold wheels and I made the dealer change them to silver as I felt it looked out of place.

[This message has been edited by lou (edited 05-25-2018).]

Yes, the wheels in question are black.

My 1987 car has four 15x7 Fiero wheels with only the ATS logo on them, just to make things really confusing..

Just to add to the complexity of this question here is a wheel manufactured in 1988 in Gray.

My original Formula wheels front and back have the valve stem in the middle.
My (supposed to be) original 88 GT wheels have one rear stem at the point, the other three wheels have the stems in the middle.

From the Enthusiasts Guide:

quote Originally posted by lou: Just to add to the complexity of this question here is a wheel manufactured in 1988 in Gray.

Could well be manufactured as a service part. Manufacturers make more parts than needed for production requirements to ensure the availability of repair parts.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: Could well be manufactured as a service part. Manufacturers make more parts than needed for production requirements to ensure the availability of repair parts.

This is a picture of one of the four that are on a 1988 gt in England, I am told they came on the car this way. The close up of the front I posted was to prove it is original?

Here is the car

My ‘88GT with gold wheels have the front stems between the points. And my rears both have the stem on the point. I purchased the car from the original owner and I just verified (if he is being truthful) that he has never changed out any of the rims, ever. So, it supposedly came that way from the dealership.. wierd.. I wonder if there is a date cast or stamped on the wheel to see when they were made?

quote Originally posted by lou: This is a picture of one of the four that are on a 1988 gt in England, I am told they came on the car this way. The close up of the front I posted was to prove it is original? Here is the car

OK, from the picture I could not tell how wide the lip was....
That is an 88 front wheel.
Perhaps it is original color (that would be something!), or perhaps it was repainted.

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 05-28-2018).]