I have a pair of Halibrands on my Model A that are 11" wide and I want to have then narrowd on the back side to 8.5"... Someone said Eric Vaughn did 'em... but does anyone know his number? Or anyone elses number? Thanks a bunch guys! Sam.
From Roadsters.com ... Vaughn Machine — Eric Vaughn repairs and modifies vintage aluminum wheels 111 North Myrtle Avenue, #B Monrovia, CA 91016 (626) 358-6413
Sam, Eric Vaughn cuts out the center of your wheel and replaces it with a narrower outer. I do not think they make an 8.5" barrel for a two piece wheel. either 7", 8" or 9.5". I heard stories of how this done. He will machine the outside of the rim center to be a few thou bigger than the rim outer, mount the center on the hub, heat the outer in an oven and then press the rim outer over the center. You set your backspacing, true it and then quench it. I think that is the mobile way of doing it, I would assume the his shop is a little more advanced. I got his info from the Roadsters.com site. Good luck, ken Vaughn Machine Eric Vaughn repairs and modifies vintage aluminum wheels 111 North Myrtle Avenue, #B Monrovia, CA 91016 (626) 358-6413
Our local guy does it by machining step flanges on either rim section, fitting and trueing them the welding them together from the inside.
That's the way I want it done Tman. Can you find out how much he'd charge to do a pair of rims? Also his address and phone number? I bought these rims almost ten years ago and they set me back $650ea... I'd like to keep them for a few reasons... one of which they are aluminum... secondly they'll look cool with the deep dish (like Barry Lobeck used to do) and thirdly, most of the rims out there for sale are Magnesium. Sam.
I called Eric Vaughn... he sounds like he knows what the hell he's doin'... said he can take up to 2" out of them... maybe 2.5"... so I need to do a little research on BFG radials... rim widths and sizes... I may just buy some steel wheels and try different size tires on them until I get the right width... but I', thinking 8.5 or 9"... Thanks guys! Sam.
Sam, I had Eric Vaughn narrow some aluminum Halibrand smoothies for a car that I am building, they turned out killer. He is a really nice guy and he is a really good machinist. I highly recommend him. Jimmy White
Sam, even though his name is the same as mine, he does do good work at a reasonable price. He repaired some Volvo mags for me and they were great and price was great.--TV
you should probably try to trade them to someone first,pro-street is alive and well in the midwest.maybe someone out there has a set with the right width-george
<font color="purple"> Well, I can't find the number but there is an oldtimer in Stockton that has been doing that for more than 20 years. He won't do magnesium again though, once was enough for him. </font>
Is this something I could try myself? I have got the tools to do it ( Mill, Lathe, Tig...) Can anybody give me some tips?
I think it is something that you could to yourself if you lathe is big enough. The one thing Eric mentioned is that the Halibrand wheels, although having a taper to them in the area that you are taking out, are thick enough to narrow... you'd just have to do some careful measuring. Sam.
You got me thinking. Tman, do you still have that set of 15" smoothies? They were not drilled yet if I remember.
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