***how to widen a wheel*** PART 1

when i was building my 32 truck i found out that 32-34 ford wire wheels were 3 1/2" wide not 4" like the 35 wires. the only way to run 7.00 on my 32 ford 18" wires was to make them wider. it seams that i have started a new trend with some of my customers. this is where this tech comes from, hope ya'll enjoy.

PART 1

i have an old ford axle that i use to mount the wheel in a large laith. i cut the wheel on the back side to keep stock look of the early ford wire on the outside. i have found that cutting the wheel where the tire sits gives a stronger wheel with less chance of warpage. with using a laith, you can cut the wheel true and straight. this gives a nice edge to add metal to. any large machine shop can do this. tell them to turn it really slow, these wheels ring like a bell when cutting.





all steal wheels have a seam where the hoop is rolled into a circle and welded. i cut a line at the seam so i know where the two halves go back together.




now that you have cut the wheel it is time to measure for the filler metal. if you measure across the center of the wheel you will have a measurement of 18" on an 18" ford wire wheel. take that number an multiply it by 3.14 and you will get 56.52". that number is the length that the filler metal needs to be. i cut my straps longer to have some wiggle room for mistakes. if you go to a steel supplier you can get strap that is allready cut to width, that will give you a straight cut and a true wheel when done. most wheels are made from 1/8" material, so make shure that you have material the same thickness as the wheel. after you have the strips cut, it is time to roll them into a circle. my small slip roll will roll 1/8" steel strap. if needed have your local steal fab shop roll these for you.






after you roll them into a circle, start clamping them to the wheel. make shure that the strap is flush with the edge of the wheel. you will see that i have an overlap at the end of the strap. now is the time to trim the strap to length. mark where the strap overlaps and remove the excess. i like to leave a little of a gap to give me a good weld. once it is cut and tacked together, recheck the fit on the wheel.






if the hoop fits nice, go ahead and weld it up. if you are planning to grind your welds, grind these welds at this time. i weld all my projects with a tig welder, but you can weld your wheels with a mig as long as you have the heat set high enough to get a good strong weld.





most metal will be "hot rolled" that you buy in strips. to give you a clean weld blast or grind the areas that you will be welding. after the hoops are clean start tacking them to the wheel. make shure that you jump around when tacking. doing that will keep the hoop from getting out of round. while you are tacking, keep the edges pulled together.

 

added on to #1

 

Added on to #1

 

Thanks for the cool post!
Now all the info will be in one place.

You didn't suggest gas welding as an option.... Any reason?

Sorry all you guys still on dial up...

 

That is awesome. Very good photos and explanation--nice work!

 

Wow! Very impressive work!

 

thanks for cleaning all it up.

-danny

 

Danny, how many shop hours to do one wheel?

 

man thats a cool tech, just might need to find some wheels like these and try it out

 

awesome post , great tech !

 

i don't gas weld, that's why.

-danny

 

it takes about 1 1/2 days to do a pair when grinding all the welds. a day without grinding the welds.

-danny

 

Great tech article, great work.

 

nice job

 

can original wire wheels be straightened and trued before doing this...any companies doing it?

 

i have them done after i'm finished. there is a shop down the road from me that fixes trashed wheels. a-1 wheel 281 376-9477 talk to richard.

-danny

 

tech thread mods, would you add this to the contest list. i want to try for larry's money.

 

nice

 

Nice quality work!Thanks for posting.

 

Thank you sir, Great post. Slim

 

Great Tech!! Thanks for posting

 

Very cool great idea.

 

Lol, I'm not a mod, I just started doing the lists during tech week since I hate trying to chase it all down. But it's been added.

 

Damn Bruce, that's beautiful work. I've wondered for years exactly what the process involved, although what you show is pretty much what I imagined...just nice to see it all put together in a picture spread. Thank you! DD

 

stop by if you are in the spring area.

-danny

 

Nice job! What did you use to grind the money side of the wheel? 2" air grinder?

 

I use a 3" angle grinder. A 2" hits the wheel center not letting you get close enough to grind the inside welds.

-Danny

 

Unfortunately this mod is illegal here in New Zealand. Damn shame, I'd love to widen my rear 16s.

 

Is mounting and removing tires hard to do when you widen that area of the wheel? Usually you have to squeeze the bead of the tire down in the valley of the wheel to get enough room on the other side to get the bead over the rim.

 

Excellent tech.

Have you thought about using the lathe to finish the welds? I'd imagine there's gotta be some time savings with the right setup