Do You Know Your Vintage Factory and Aftermarket Mag Wheels?

Pontiac introduced the Honeycomb wheel in 1971.

The term “mag wheel” originally came from race-oriented magnesium wheels sold by “aftermarket” manufacturers. Even when aluminum wheels gained in popularity or manufacturers began to build their own performance-inspired wheels, they continued to be called mag wheels.

When the muscle car era was incubating in the 1950s, there were no aftermarket mags for street cars. Around 1962-63, the Cragar S/S, American Racing Torq-Thrust, and Ansen Sprint gave enthusiasts a choice beyond the typical wheelcover. As the decade progressed, mags became OEM, either created in-house or licensed by aftermarket manufacturers (such as the Magnum 500 made by Motor Wheel Corporation for all four car corporations).

A common belief is that most enthusiasts slapped aftermarket mag wheels on their new cars, so they went with poverty caps and ditched them for the mag. The truth is somewhat different, however – for example, around 40% of 1969 Plymouth Road Runners were built with 14-inch Custom Road Wheels (the Magnum 500).

Another 26% were built with either the Deep-dish or Deluxe wheelcover available. (There was a 15-inch Cast Aluminum Center Wheel made by Kelsey-Hayes but after around 50 built, it was recalled.) That leaves around 34% of Road Runners built with poverty caps. So how many people left the hubcaps on? How many went with aftermarket mags? And which mags did they buy?

Cragar and American Racing seem to be the most popular, but the brands were a lot more than the S/S and Torq-Thrust. Take a gander at some of the more interesting wheels from the muscle car era, both factory and aftermarket.

Both of these wheels are Ford's Styled Steel Wheel. The one on the left was popularized on early Mustangs and Fairlanes through 1967, while the one on the right came into vogue starting in 1968.

Pontiac started off the 1960s with the magnificent 8-Lug wheels, which only worked with drum brakes and were only available on the big cars. In 1967, the Rally II made its debut, lasting more than a decade and lending even Pontiac's most sedate sedans a bit of sportiness.

Chevrolet used these fake mag wheelcovers from 1965 to 1969 but you don't see them much after 1967 when Chevy's factory mags took over.

The ever-popular Rally wheel had a unique center cap for 1967, different from other years. New-style mags were introduced for the 1970-1/2 Camaro and 1971 Chevelle.

Oldsmobile's Super Stock II wheel debuted in 1968 and continued well into the 1980s as the Super Stock III (the difference being SSII was argent, SSIII body-color).

When this 1960 Chrysler 300-F came out, there were no factory mags available. Aside of Magnum 500s and the infamous 'recall' mag wheel, Mopar fans had to wait till 1970 for the Rally wheel.

The mag typically found on Buicks is the 'five-spoke chrome-plated wheel.' In 1971

Maybe you have heard of 'Machine' wheels? The ones on the left look like 'em but aren't - they were available everything from the Javelin to the Gremlin. The five-slot mag on the right is from a Rebel Machine.

The unique and stylish Motor Wheel Spyders were renown but somewhat rare today.

As Baldwin-Motion supercars were built to order, a buyer could specify which mags. However, Joel Rosen often made recommendations based on the modifications he had already made. All these mags appear on Motion Corvettes.