Trying to identify these 14x6 wheels for a friend of mine. They look like magenesium but the rims are steel. If you have ever seen anything like this please let me know.
Lots of cheap wheels were made like those in the 60’s. Sold by many different brands. They aren’t a sought after wheel, especially in 14” size, and they all look the same. Probably the only way to narrow down the brand is to find a name or number on the backside.
Yep, I have had a few sets of those in 14's. They aren't really very desirable to most folks. I sold a set to a coworker a few years back for maybe $50 or so.
Do the acid test on the back. I cant believe anyone that would go the extra mile to craft out of magnesium would bother with that steel hoop business. -rick
I find it hard to believe the centers are magnesium. Welding magnesium to magnesium is one thing, but to weld it to steel opens pandora's box of problems. Probably not something a no name wheel company would be able to do cheaply and effectively. Other than the steel rim, the centers look pretty nice though.
Looks more like Aluminum to me, my opinion but could be wrong. The Aluminum to steel was more common but just not as desirable based on history. Most magnesium wheels were a complete one piece wheel casting. Found this for you....may help. "Welding magnesium to steel is generally not possible using conventional fusion welding (like MIG or TIG) because they have poor metallurgical compatibility, low solubility, and vastly different melting points, resulting in brittle joints. Instead, they are typically joined using solid-state methods like friction stir weldingexplosive welding, or by using intermediate filler materials. Key Considerations for Dissimilar Metals: Physical Differences: Magnesium is highly reactive (flashpoint 833°F) and has a lower density/melting point compared to steel, making direct fusion dangerous and ineffective. Effective Techniques: Solid-state joining processes, such as friction stir welding (FSW), are preferred as they do not melt the base materials. Challenges: The significant mismatch in atomic structure between Mg and Fe leads to weak, brittle bonds if conventional methods are attempted. Alternatives: If a direct weld is not possible, mechanical fastening (bolts, rivets) or adhesives are often used for joining magnesium to steel, particularly in automotive or aerospace applications. "
I had a set like that on a Mercury Comet back in the early eighties. They were on the car one I got it, so I do not know who made them. The centers were aluminum.
Weld made some racing wheels, sprint car, that had a mag center and steel hoop. I believe they were riveted together.
There was a similar thread a while back and it seems there was several companys that made 5 spoke wheels, no two were the same and it's difficult to pin down a manufacturer, many of the wheels were 14". This is what was on my Falcon back in the mid 60's. HRP
Nobody is welding aluminum to steel hoops, or magnesium to steel hoops. Wheels like this have a steel slug cast into the aluminum. The slug is what gets welded to the steel hoop. -rick
They were made this way so the centers could be cast in a permanent mold and be removable. The question is why didn't they also make the rear rim of aluminum and just weld it on?
At a place I worked at years ago, we had someone with a masters degree in mechanical engineering who must have slept through Metallurgy 101, because he was always insisting that we could weld aluminum to stainless steel. We (those of us who did all the TIG welding) got into get into some pretty nasty arguments with him about that.
It seems that there are those that have a piece of paper/diploma hanging on the wall but have absolutly no real world hands on experience and claims to know everything about what will and will not work. Thank God for the man that actual does the work and knows what he is doing. HRP
I load those into my prepared iron trailer. Not worth the effort to me to deal with the great unwashed and cheap ***ed general public. Probably wrong to do that but after advertising them locally and loading/unloading/loading/unloading them at swap meets a few times with nary a glance I need the space more than the wheels.
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