Ive heard alot about using 60-70s VW steel rims for the hoop and welding in different centers to use for skinny fronts.. anyone have pix of there finished rims. I found a pair off a 57 bug and might try welding in some ford centers.
i would def go get the wheel balanced before trying to drive on them dont want them flying apart st 50!!!!!!
How do you think the factory makes steel wheels? They slap the center in there, true it up, and either weld or rivet it in place! Guys have been pulling them apart and swapping/widening/narrowing/reversing them and rewelding them for decades. It's not that complicated or dangerous of a procedure if done correctly.
following along with Drive Em's post http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348830&highlight=wheel his rear end shortening post was a major help when i shortened mine,,
I put early VW 15" hoops on 40-48 Ford centers... Here is the link http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=405351&page=2 Also, there is a difference in the VW hoops. The early versions did not have bead locks pressed into the hoop. The later 60s did have them. Both styles were used with tubeless tires.
your post said the VW hoops are to big for a ford center.. i have late 60s ford centers i wanted to put in VW hoops, it wont work ?
I installed some 65-66 VW outer rims onto some 15" Monte Carlo (rally) centers. These centers were smaller than the ID of the VW rim. I used stainless steel shims to compensate for the difference. The stainless pieces made the assembly very slippery. If I were to do this again I would weld the centers and machine them to fit the wheel with an interference fit.
The way to do it with early Ford stuff used to be using a sixteen inch center from any '40 - '48 passenger car, or up to late fifties truck. Drill the rivets, pop the centers, turn the O/D down to fit the VW I/D, true, weld, done. As far as the late sixties wheels, I'm not sure if the centers are large enough to pull this off. All you can do is try. And, if this is for your Falcon, do use the '68 and later VW wheels with the safety bead. It will be a bit more work to cut the centers out because they are welded, but I ran 145R-15" on my falcon for a bit on some weird old wheels without the safety bead for a bit - not a great idea! Took a tire off on the free way one night... End of experiment!
Sorry to hijack this a little..... does anybody know the Inside diameter of a VW rim? I'm lookin for some skinny rims for my '49-'53 chevy centres, which are 12 9/16" diameter. Cheers, Stewart
the VW have 13.228 ID, most normal wheels have the 12 5/8 size, but there are some late 60s ford centers that have the right size. You just have to find them. I made some and sold them on ebay just a couple of weeks ago Jimmy
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