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Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:01 am

If I'm not mistaken, I think the rivets were re-istalled the wrong way, so that there is virtually nothing, holding the barrel of the wheel, to the actual center... I know when mine came apart, the head of the rivet, in the original location, was inside the barrel of the wheel, and that's the way they are now...
Not bad price, but I think at this point I'd invest in some Grade 8 bolts and nuts...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=520724

Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:54 am

I'd be worried about re-installing the original rivets. When I have helped restore raders in the past, we used a good grade cap screw and some loctite. I guess if you had to use the og rivets, you could always weld the head to the barrel like newer original raders are. I also wonder if having different types of fasteners on one wheel would cause balancing problems.

... and Dave, what would you do with the nuts????

Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:39 am

Dave, we, for lack of a better term, "Case=savered" the holes in the spokes, and ran bolts through, as you do when you restore a pair. I think, for extra added protection, next time I'd be tempted to use longer bolts, run them all the way through the rim the spoke, and stick a Nylock-style nut on the bolt, with the Loctite, too.. I haven't had any trouble with the bolts backing out, I just think it might be one more extra layer of protection...
Yeah, re-using the original rivets, and sticking them in backwards, might not be the best idea I have ever seen for restoring a pair of Raders... :shock:

Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:28 am

wait a minute. The those wheels have the rivets going from the spoke to the rim? doesnt make any sense.

As per the nut, my machinist friend claimed that a steel bolt in aluminum along with a little red loctite will NEVER come apart. Realize we're talking about cleaning up the original rivet hole, drilling from the spoke out through the barrel so everything lines up, tapping the holes and the run the bolts in.

Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:56 am

DaveM wrote: wait a minute. The those wheels have the rivets going from the spoke to the rim? doesnt make any sense.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking... but look at the photo, the close-up with one rivet and one bolt, going through the spoke...

As per the nut, my machinist friend claimed that a steel bolt in aluminum along with a little red loctite will NEVER come apart. Realize we're talking about cleaning up the original rivet hole, drilling from the spoke out through the barrel so everything lines up, tapping the holes and the run the bolts in.

That's what we did on my wheels, Dave. we added threaded inserts ( actually, I think they DID end up being case savers, or maybe the next size up, I don't honestly remember now) Loctited them in, got the bolts in, made sure we knew what torque on what bolt, made everything true, and Loctited the bolts in. What I was saying was, that if I had it to do over again, I might use longer bolts that protrude through the spoke, and, for extra insurance, add a nut to them. I don't know, though, I check the wheels every year when I pull stuff apart to take a look-see, and so far, nothing has come loose, and everything has stayed in balance and true...