If they are 40 spoke wheels you did Ok. DHL is the cheapest way to ship them, if there isn't a Greyhound term**** close by.
Yep I had been watching those wheels all last week... I ended up bidding and winning a set of restored 35 Ford wires instead... Congratulations... Dave Brisco
They look good. I found an ad for Kelseys a couple of years ago on the Fordbarn. The guy was in southern Cal. and he said he had several sets of four. I asked for shipping info for four of them. That was on a Friday evening. He got back to me Saturday afternoon my time (about 10:00 AM west coast time) and said that a guy had just bought the last four sets. They were all 4". BUT he still had two 4" and two 4 1/2" that he'd part with. We made the deal and when I asked about them running out the fellow told me that his buddy made a jig that they checked every wheel on for trueness. And if they found them running out too much they'd throw them off to the side and save them for spare tires. He said I may have heard of his buddy--his name was Jim Jacobs (of Pete and Jake). Then I recalled an article in an old Rod and Custom where he showed how to make that jig. That was good enough for me. I got lucky. Good luck with yours.
Sure. These rims are over 70 years old now so there's a good chance they've met a curb or two over the years. First thing I did was check all the spokes for any looseness. You can just tap the rim on a cement surface and tell by the sound if you have a loose spoke. Then grab each spoke and if any feel loose tack weld them on the inside of the rim. Some guys do every spoke whether they're loose or not. I suppose the ideal way to check for runout would be to find a big enough lathe where you could swing the rim (they're about 17 1/2" O.D.) and use a dial indicator. But that's probably overkill. The fellow who I bought my rims from said they considered 3/16" to be borderline and 1/4" to be excessive. As I remember the jig they used was made from part of a front axle with a hub and brake drum that they mounted on a stand so that they could spin it.
The Jalopy Journal
