Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

Money well spent. They really fit with the rest of the car's theme

 

Score!

 

They'll look even better hangin' in the air!

 

They will not fit under the fenders like the steeliest? What is the difference in the back spacing of the two?

 

Like an inch and a quarter more on the steelies.

The Americans are 2".

These old photos show the difference.

 

Wow, they do look good on the car.

 

Overall - KILLER look! What are your plans for the splash aprons?

 

Car will be black, including aprons. Running boards, rear bumper and windshield frame will be chromed. The roof insert and grill shell will be polished.

 

the heck w/ the car--now THAT shop...!!

 

That's @Von Hartmann 's old place in Rockford, I'll.

 

Gonna look sinister.

 

Darkening Sandblasted Magnesium Wheels:

I've been searching around on how to darken these sandblasted 15x4 magnesium Americans and like always I return to the belief that you need to find peope who are doing "it" - whatever it is - rather than talking about it or mythologizing (college word for talking out of their ****s.)

Since the Internet can be a giant time-****, I decided to take a break and sand the wheels lightly on the "lip" with 400, 600, and 800. I didn't want to polish the wheels but I wanted that area to be smoother.



First myth I want to dispel. "WD40, Gibbs, or ATF will darken magnesium wheels." If a wheel is already oxidized, coating it with one of these fluids will "make it darker" the same way polishing crazed paint with wax brings the color out. I don't believe there's anyhing chemically in any of the protectants that make the wheels darker. The darkening/oxidizing is happening separate from the protectant.

I realize spraying magnesium wheels with chemicals (acid) is somewhat controversial. I'm not looking to turn this thread into any bickering...the wheels are done. We can start a tech thread for that, if anyone chooses, cool?

My reason for wanting oxidization sped up is that I live in the dry, high desert, I'm impatient, and I'm up for taking on a challenge and learning. Oh, and I have a beautiful set of unmolested Halibrands that I want to match. Based on how long this car is taking, I probably could leave them on the shelf and put them on when the car is done and they'll be just how I want them... hahaha.

@ShakeyPuddin55 has a thread from way back about "restoring" some crusty magnesium wheels. I trust him, he's got a dang rack of mags. Haha. Anyway, the chemical he used is no longer available. I'll share some of what I did/learned over there, too.



Here they are ready to start. They've been wipred down with acetone, twice to remove any WD40 or Gibbs that was already applied after blasting.



First test was 10-15 seconds. I was nervous they'd be too dark or etched. It was barely noticeable.



I hosed them off well.



... and dried them with compressed air. Later on, when the wheels do have a darker oxidized color, it's really neat to watch them go from wet/dark to an ashy, flat pewter gray as they're dried.



This is what they ended up looking like after a few rounds (and leaving the chemical on longer each time). Annoyed and doubting myself, I applied Gibbs and put them up on the shelf.



Star Brite is supposedly the same stuff as the Eagle One Shakey used but it's for pontoons/aluminum boats. I tried it and got poor results. I don't recommend it and while it may have the same chemicals (I didn't verify the MSDS) I doubt the strength/mixture is the same. However, the going through the process helped me get over the worry in the back of my head from reading warnings by people about water and chemicals and such.



The Mac's aluminum brightener from Napa (I used the 32oz spray bottle PN1458) and after a couple rounds it got me close enough. 30 seconds with this stuff and it was noticable.



This image and the next couple are why I don't believe Gibbs "darkens" without the wheel being oxidized. I believe the wording or ***umptions about the process leads people to give Gibbs or WD40 that power. It's a corrosion inhibitor. The dark conversion of the magnesium surface is corrosion/oxidizing.



Now they're looking good!



After drying and letting them sit in some of the last warm days of Utah's fall. I felt good about putting them in Gibbs and letting nature take it from here.



I found that cleaning the wheel with acetone and then spraying, followed by rinsing worked best. Then, I blew off the wheels with compressed air. After that, the process repeats. The rinsing water will show the depth of the oxidizing.



I gave the wheels a good soaking in Gibbs. I didn't rush to wipe it off. The wheel soaked up a good bit. About an hour later they need some more.



And here is a front and rear together. I've been wanting this combo for a loooong time.

 

Fantastic Brent, wish I had them.

 

Beautiful wheels.
Excellent tech (with pictures for us knuckle draggers).
Real tradition.
This is why I love the HAMB.

 

Good stuff! Be careful with that mag sanding dust

 

Good point! I should mention, I wet sanded using WD40. Not my idea, I read it somewhere.

 

Thanks from a fellow knuckle dragger. I long for the days of Tech Weeks and pic-filled build threads.

 

That’s a great lookn’ pair! The darker they get… the better they look!!

 

Brent, your commitment to darkening your front magnesium American wheels are truly inspiring sir! Keep up your great work!

 

Detailed pics and true world experience...thanks Brent

 

I underestimated 500-15 BFG Silvertowns. I figured they'd be close but a smidge smaller.

There wasn't much of a mention here on them but here there are compared to 4.50/4.75-16 Firestones.

 

Yeah buddy!

 

Hey Brent great post and info on the latest ‘treatment’ for mag wheels. That NAPA brand squirt bottle really got the job done they look great!! I’m gonna do the same thanks.

 

Never handled a mag rim - what do they weight?

 

A little lighter than aluminum, like 30%

 

I had a similar situation with the Goodyear Supercushions that I bought last winter - WAY TOO TALL, an inch lower in height to my Radir Mickey Thompson cheater slicks out back. I couldn't see the height of the front tires till I moved here to LHC and finally got to see how my '31 sits on the ground. The tires I recently purchased are 3" shorter in height. MUCH BETTER!

 

15x4 Magnesium Front Runners and 500-15 Tires:

The Americans went up on the shelf soon after they were finished but that only lasted a few days. When the tracking numbers started coming in for tires, tubes, and lug nuts, I reached out to Kris Elmer (@loudpedal) knowing they’d either be able to handle it in-house or point me to someone who understands mounting with tubes and respects old magnesium wheels.

It turns out that they mount tires for a local land-speed racer and hot rodders. So, I drove 45 minutes north to drop off the wheels and tires to Tim Elmer, Kris' brother and part of Salt City Speed Shop.



It's not hard to know you’re at the right place.



Yesterday afternoon, Tim sent me this pic:



I couldn't get home fast enough and get them mounted up. Here are the before pics:





And, now:



This is how I've wanted it to look.

As some of you know, when the tires showed up, I was a little hesitant because they looked too narrow. I unwrapped one and felt better about it. Still, I reached out to a few pals and talked tires. Late one night, I scrolled through the Ultimate Willys G***er thread and that sealed it for me. So many cars ran similar sized fronts.




At the end of the day, this is what mattered most to me. They're pretty close width-wise.

The front was dropped slightly due to the 500-15s being shorter than the 4.50/4.75-16s.

Before:



After: a 5/16" drop.



Finally, my favorite pic:

 

HELL YEAH!!!

 

As we discussed, a bit more space between the front new tire and fender - PERFECT!!!! That's about as SPOT on as you're gonna get Brent!!