Slotting out mag wheels?

I have an old set of 14 x 6 Rocket racing wheels, kinda look like Cragars that i've held onto for over 20 years. There not the best condition , but good enough to get me by for now. They are slotted already for a 4 1/2 and 4 3/4" bolt pattern. Of course my Pontiac is 5 x 5.

Slotting them out furthur to a 5 x 5 bolt pattern is what i'm thinking. Is this something I should have done at a machine shop or just mark the wheel pattern out on the backside and grind them out. I know it sounds kinda backyard style to hand grind them but has anyone had success doing this?

 

Personally I wouldn't do it. My life (and others on the road with me) are worth more than a set of old wheels. If you really want to do it then have a machine shop do the work. Don't expect it to be cheap. They'll need to try and index off the wheel center as they set up to do each wheel.

-Bigcheif.

 

I know what your saying about the safety deal. But the backside of the wheel has a machined off area next to the slot that if I removed the metal off to the edge it would give me enough to go to 5" bolt pattern. I feel there is enough extra material to get this done also. I have a stand up drill press large enough to put a cutting bit or drill bit if that was sharp enough to cut through the metal. I would put the rim upside down on my press table and be able to watch what i'm taking off.

 

You will want to have the pattern fit as close as possible,you will need offset spacers or some thing to make that tiight fit.Or get a machinist to do it and you may live through the first drive

 

You cant do this with a drill press, the chuck on the drill press will... not... hold the endmill. Talk to your local friends , every neighbor hood has machine shops in bacements and gaurages . Check your local news paper cl***ifieds under machine time or just talk to some machinests. Dont try and do this on a drill press, the quill wont take it eather. What town are you in? DRAGON/M47

 

best done on a bridgeport type mill with a 1/2 inch endmill then they can find the center and then index it.

 

does your wheel have steel oval washers? just a side note you need to s****e that crud off the back side of your wheel where it site against the brake drum or it will never run true, i use a paint s****er to do mine. just remove the crud not any metal.

 

If you try to do this yourself you will just ruin a cool old set of rocket mags. I like the rockets. Used to have a set myself.

Keep in mind, these are cast centers and probably cheap cast centers at that.

However, that being said they can probably be drilled by a competent shop. I sent a set of early American 5 spokes off to California to one of the wheel shops (can't remember which one, but it might have been wheel smith or someone like that who deals in custom built wheels). They redrilled a larger bolt pattern in them and I had no problems with them at all. The only difference was that they were not truly slotted out for the dual pattern, but rather had two circles drilled overlapping (They were a single hole 4.5 pattern and I added the second hole 4.75 pattern). Not a problem with a self centering mag shank lug nut. I think it cost me $5 a hole or something like that.

Don't even think about attempting this yourself!!! You will be sorry.