STEEL WHEEL Pic thread: (These puppies get pricey in a hurry)

Hotroders have been doing all sorts of wheel magic long before major manufacturing stepped in. With next to nothing , centers have been changed, moved, reversed, wheels widened, narrowed, redrilled, welded, straightened and chromed or painted. Axles and hubs have been narrowed redrilled and adjusted accordingly. All backyard garage work. Not that anyone with a garage in the backyard could do it, but that's where the aftermarket industry starts.

Basic availability of stock wheels isn't what it used to be and thats what makes a market. You probably can't go find wide 40's Buick rims in the boneyard at the corner. But you can find 12 steel wheels maybe even 20 to cut up and make a set of 4 if you built a car that needs custom wheels. Building a car that used stock wheels is another option.

 

disc brakes, HVLP guns, and M22 are not traditional...

chill out man. Here, I'll go back and pussy foot around my previous statement by saying "there is no way in hell that I would ever spend that kind of money on STEEL wheels, UNLESS they were Divco wheels"

 

New wheel shells are available in almost any diameter and width. But of course, you have to buy them.

http://mrw-wheels.com/motorsports/wheel parts.htm

 

I didnt think I was being defensive, just explaining what I bought and why I paid what I paid. I love the hunt and REALLY love when I can find something I need CHEAP. That doesn't always happen so, when I want something, I pay. I think a lot of us do. What you think are crazy prices for hard to find stuff I might not. I buy name brand lunch meat at the local deli, my buddy thinks I'm crazy for spending that kind of cash (he's cheap as hell). He buys packs of bologna at the Dollar Store, I think he's a friggin moron. To each his own.


Sent from my Droid powered Samsung Galaxy S

 

Speaking of steel wheels being ridiculous in price check these out :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Beautiful-C...Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b41d652c&vxp=mtr


15" corvette steel wheels for $1,499! and he doesn't even give you free shipping!

 

Shops that sell custom wheels or used tires can't be beat for selection. I paid $25 a pop for a set of 14x6 disc brake wheels. I need to go back for a pair of scuzzy chrome-reverse wheels to dust-blast and repaint - dog-dish 'caps always look better inside a deep wheel.

Sounds like a lot of guts are shopping in all the wrong places just for a set of steelies!

- Tim

 

Response to the OP's picture request.... this is my current beater's combo, just as I bought it. Slowly but surely, I'll start pushing it more into the "traditional" camp, but it's a beater - so my goal is low budget fun, not a rolling museum piece.



Reason I asked on the wheel work is I have a Hudson pickup project in the works and I'm trying to decide which route to go on those. I have a set of original Hudson wheels I can work with and a set of '61 Buick Wheels (along with the rear end and the front hubs+finned aluminum drums).

Thanks for the key word suggestions!

 

He was talking to me. You build yours your way, I'll build mine my way...pretty simple.

M22's were first made in 1965, the cutoff on The HAMB. Disc brakes are smarter than drums on a truck with over twice the horsepower than it had stock. If they were exposed, like on a fenderless old Ford, I would have stuck with drums. I'll take pointless potshots from others about upgrading for safety sake because I'm the one who has to live with the consequences if the brakes are only good for one pump. And HVLP's are the only way you can legally shoot paint in California anymore..it is what it is.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, doesn't make them right.

 

Well you took 6 trips and 4 months more time than I ever would have. I have way too little time for my build already to waste it pissing around with the trying to find 100 wheels so I can make 4 bullshit when I can pick up the phone and have them at my door in a week. I know I am not as cool or as much of a hot rodder as all the guys that look down their nose at anyone who's time is more valuable than some money but I can live with that.

 

And there is a whole other part to this dilemma...people thinking they have gold out there. Even at my local junyard they charge $25 a wheel and that is without knowing wether it is true, cracked, etc.. I think a lot of guys are either in areas where old parts are readily available, or they are remembering better times from year ago.

 

Yep, I agree with you 100%... time is money, and the frustration level I was reaching made it easier for me to justify buying a new set. Some guys will always take the opportunity to point out why you aren't doing it right and how much of a car guy you really aren't. Malcontents are not the kind of guys I choose to associate with in this hobby...

 

Here at Rally America our custom wheel prices start at $65 each for smoothies, Gennies are just $5 more and OEM Styles are another $5 more, and we don't charge extra for custom backspacing with raw steel wheels you'll spend more than that trying to make your own. You're counting hubcaps and powdercoating in your prices for the new ones, but you're still going buy those caps and have them painted if you find the wheels in a junkyard. Also, here in California the "good" old wheels are gone, all you can find in junkyards are the ugly wheels from the 70s and 80s.

 

Smoothies from Rally America (wheelkid), www's from Diamondback.

I value my time as well. I'll search CL for good deals, but in our area junk yards think their junk is gold and the older stuff is virtually non existant. I don't have time to search for crap that they want 4 times what it's worth, not to mention the time for reconditioning it.

I guess if I had $0 money I would work harder at it, but I'm not going to make excuses for not having to.

 

I'm retired but still don't want to waste time looking for wheels as most here are junk and overpriced as well. I just call Wheelkid and get a set made to order that fit-have bought 5 or 6 sets from them over the years.

 

They work well on my Model A. Simple, clean, and kinda gives it a no nonsense look. Expensive but worth the money.

 

Everything's pricey, but some stuff is worth it....

 

My 56 F100 has chevy bolt pattern up front and Ford out back, so i did have to lay out a few bucks to get wheels for the front that could use the Ford caps, looked like the rear and had a chevy pattern. Sometimes you are just stuck

 

by the way how are those db white walls holding up?

 

Probably not what the OP meant but these are steel, they are original and they cost me $100 a piece. They are 16" x 5", 5 on 5-1/2 BP and surprisingly they are GM wheels - 1936 Buick Roadmaster to be exact - one year deal and one model deal only. They bolted right up to my 1933 Ford 3W coupe. I blasted them, had them powder coated and pinstriped. I adapted Ford adapter rings to them with 1933 Ford wire hubcaps and had them pinstriped to an original old pattern. By the time I was done I was into them with the tires for over $2k (tires were over half the total) and happy to have something that was different....

 

Here are the hubcap adapters and hubcaps I used - they work with original steel Ford wheels too....

 

where judging standards are concerned it's probably worth it.Plus its for a corvette those guys who own them usually have money falling out of their asses.Agreed though to us "commoners" they are still steel wheels!!

 

Where do U get 4 new wheels for $300?????

 

The funny thing is that there is a corvette RPO wheel worth about this much, but those aren't them.

 

Almost all the salvage yards don't save them anymore, they're just scrap to them.

 

I'd love a nickle for all the steelies we used to weld together for standing cars at the wrecking yard. I could probabaly afford a set of Halibrands.

 

What year trucks had the 16X5?-Do the have the inside,or outside lugs for hubcaps?

 

$ 65.00 each for the 15X8 rears and $ 55.00 each for the 15X5 fronts, brand new from Wheel Vintiques. 4 trim rings for $ 88.00 (stainless) and 4 41 Ford stainless caps for $156.00. Total $ 484.00 plus $ 25.00 for paint, and an ice cream cone for my painter. .( Plus they threw in a set of baby moons for nothing. ) $ 280.00 for the four tires and I was all done for under $ 800.00. Not junk yard or swap meet prices, but all new stuff. And I like the way they look much better than any aluminum or chrome wheel I've seen for twice that.

 

Tractor green spray paint and original steelies.. Holding up
Very well..

 

Try getting 16" and bias tires for that price!!!!

 

Why bother ? , the 15s are fine.