This is great stuff. I remember Tex Smith doing a tutorial on it in Rod Action decades ago, but your photography is waaaaay better. Thanks Tuck
I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but, do you think there is any way to thin out the wheel center, just a bit and the hoop a bit to make this work? 1/8" Overall = 1/16" per side = 1/32" per component.....maybe a little bending on the center tabs....????
You could totally do this... was talking about this very thing with my father-in-law tonight. I think I have enough Cadillac hoops to do this and just didn’t feel like making lathe work out of it-
I get it! If there's other options, take the easier way. But with limited options or parts availabilty maybe this could be an option. I'm kinda talking if someone else wanted to do it....
So... good news. 1966 Cadillac 6” wide, 12 1/2 ID. *5 on 5” b/c So the 66 ring is the same as the 56/7 just spot welded- started to weld up the holes. Exact same hoop! Bad news the KH rims were 12 3/4” ID not sure what they’re off of- GM of some sort. Pulled two more 49-56 wheels.
Managed to get another one mocked up- One to go- pulled the last GM/Cadillac wheel tonight. Hopefully get time in the morning to pull tires and maybe dismantle before work.
I started the polishing process but I prefer to call it sanding Start with 80 grit on “spin” using the D/A, turn the cam on top of the sanding pad so it goes in a circle instead of oscillate. This allows you to massage all of the scratches out and you can see them dissapear. Next step is 180 grit- and with this step make sure you sand out all the 80 grit but do most of the sanding with 80 otherwise you’re wasting your time. I use cheap paper for the 80- and I use a heat gun to heat up the adhesive to make them stick better while it’s on spin otherwise they fly across the room like frisbees- I use an interface pad and 220 to take out the 180... you can take it further but after 220 you can polish it on the wheel. I still have sanding to do but you can see how it looks after quick hitting the edge with the buffer- I need to get some stick 220/320 pads. I have a mini DA too but I don't have any paper for it so I need to order some stuff. I don't have a ton of money right now so I'm gonna sand and polish one at a time and send the single wheels out to get chrome and we will see how it goes. The key is to make it "look" like chrome before chrome. So I'll get it looking just like I would like it to look when I pick it up and we should be a-ok. I'm taking the rubber off the mags and will run them on these. I have a vintage pair of slicks that are about 31" tall (Hoosier recaps) that I'll run on the ET mags with 1" whitewall US Royals on the front. I will eventually replace the Hoosiers with towel city caps. I just need to find someone that can groove tires I need a single groove down the center to match my firestones I really love the idea of being able to change wheels around and I think the front end will look much better with the thin stripe Royals.
Nice work as expected on those chrome reverse wheels Tuck! Just found out that Summit Racing has my chrome reverse wheels - 15x5 with 3" backspacing which will be mounted in Kelsey Goodyear Super Cushion wide whites for the front. Like you mentioned to me before, hope my Buick finned drum covers will stick out where I'd like... The wide whitewall is 2.25", just like my Radir M/T 10" slicks! To me, these wide whites are just about perfect in size.
Fresh off Sams cnc- this was made double sided so it can be sawed in half. They are the bearing pucks for my rear end alingnment jig. once it gets sawed in half it'll get cleaned up on the lathe. So excited for this and to be able to get my rear end welded back together!!
It’s cool looking at the date codes- two are 57, the other ring is a 60 Cadillac and the last one is 66 but that ring is just a little “milky” but the same- the 57s and 60 have the crisp lines. I’m going to try and source a better hoop. I got the other one in the clean up queue- @31chevymike I can't wait to show you the pic of the chassis now from the back it frames the pumpkin perfect and I shortened up the shock mounts which just makes everything look "tighter" PLUS the bones will clear the floor for sure.
I really had to go after the hoop... pitting was deep and required 36 grit followed up by 60/80/180/320. What you see is raw steel sanded with 320- Almost looks like chrome (-; I’m gonna finish this one and bring it in to get chromed and then start the second one. Really happy with how they look/ they’re so “dished” and look really wide- but they’re not! I love the taper too- I think I’m gonna buy some semi truck stems- long brass ones and bend them so they come out right between the Buick fins- it looks like it’ll work- that’ll keep the faces clean! Because I designed everything around the shallow 2 3/8” offset of my mags this is happening- doubt I would have made these purposely to begin with... so the path has taken me here and I’m really stoked about it. View attachment 4244909
Damn, you got that wheel REALLY looking like chrome - just wait till the chroming process is completed... Great effort as usual!
Wow inspirational build, very well thought out and detailed. Thanks for taking us along with you on this journey!
I don't know if any of you have heard of Kintsugi or "golden joinery", also known as Kintsukuroi or "golden repair", is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. So I was thinking about how RAD this is... we live in an excessively wasteful, consumerism based society of throw away and buy buy buy new... It really struck me because I immediately associated this with the small percentage of people truly building a traditional car using mostly old parts. Obviously tires and seals and gaskets etc... there are things you need to buy new... but I've painstakingly attempted to build this thing from old parts, new old parts or parts that were hand made... and I've always thought about that as "these parts have soul", which brand new parts just don't... and most now are made in China and they truly suck (like buying points and plugs for example). Not trying to sound most elite... just trying to justify the "why". (because it's not easy) There should be a name for it... its definitely a philosophy. Why on earth would you go through all the effort to rebuild an old roadster body when you can just buy one from Brookville. (trust me I've debated this over and over in my mind) I know a lot of work in building a hot rod isn't in everyone's skill set nor does everyone have the "time" for stuff like this... but getting back to the philosophy its the journey, not the end result that's important. Most people live somewhere else... just thinking about the future and what it's going to be, how many are in the moment by moment of the build actually enjoying it? Money is not going to make you happy. Learning skills will, and for anyone out there listening to me right now... building hot rods can make you happy by learning and doing things that take you outside of your comfort zone. When you overcome those challenges and succeed that's where true happiness lies... The Tuck Yeah moments.
Interesting concept. My cars usually follow more of a wabi-sabi philosophy... embrace the rough, unfinished and imperfect.
I Really Do...the philosophy, the build, the comradery... I mean opening up many threads here spread good Karma in my opinion... This is one of those threads... Tuckin' Right On @Tuck
Filling in all of the cracks with gold epoxy or clear epoxy with gold flakes. Maybe even match the original color with the flakes. Sent from my SM-G955U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Didn't know that you have such a way with words man... Your words are the true inspiration of all hot rodders goals: build 'em the way you want them and reap in the rewards!! Appreciate the info on Towel City for those great looking, 1" whitewall cheater slicks!
Thrift store score-! Found a swing set hoist to lift the body on and off my roadster. I plan to make an Adjustable H to lift and balance the load from one point. The legs had a twist in them you can see where I heated them and straightened them out. It’s hard too using a cherry picker to pull the motor when the pickers legs won’t fit under the axle without first jacking that up-! Pretty stoked on this- some days it’s difficult being a one man band!
The Jalopy Journal
