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neohic
Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012
Posts: 190
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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 Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 3:29 pm Post subject: Banded Steel Wheels |
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Been working on a buggy off and on for a number of years now and I'd like to start picking away at it again. Link to the build found here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=518388
I love the idea of going old school and recycling my stock wheels by banding them. The plan is to be able to keep the stock hub cap and I know that I could cut up a 15x8" Chevy truck wheel for its barrel but there's just the thought of cost. Why spend the cash when I can tinker around for a couple weekends and do it myself for next to nothing? The problem comes in when doing research on the banding itself. I know that I have the skill and the equipment to do it properly. What I don't know is if it's legal to run on the road. Sure, you can flip over to the classifieds and purchase wheels that have been set into wider barrels, and one can even find a shop that still widens wheels by banding... but it is legal? Physically I know that it's possible to do as so many on several forum sites post up that they've either done it themselves or have had it done. Then there's the horror stories of wheels flying apart that I can only imagine was due to poor craftsmanship. Personally, I wouldn't run any banded wheel that I didn't know who did the work. If it were my wheels and my welds, I wouldn't think twice.
Anyhow... legal? Would you run them? Eh?
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-Ben
I like to build stuff... |
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theastronaut
Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2007
Posts: 1631
Location: Anderson, SC
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:00 am Post subject: |
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There are companies that offer the service on aluminum wheels. So it must be legal. I had a pair of smoothies banded and had no problems with them.
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'64 Beetle Sunroof OG Bahama Blue
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neohic
Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012
Posts: 190
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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hitest
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2008
Posts: 10296
Location: Prime Meridian, ID
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nice Imp! But be warned, as nice as banded wheels are- if you don't have a local source- shipping your wheels to a place like Stockton Wheel (world renowned) for this service is not cheap.
The dollars would be darn close to (yet more appropriate IMO) big n little repop steel Empi Sprintstars in cost.
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| EverettB wrote: |
I wonder what the nut looks like.
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'62 L390 151, '62 L469 117, '63 L380 113, '64 L87 311, '65 L512 265, '65 L31 SO-42, '66 L360 251, '68 L30k 141, '71 L12 113, '74 ORG 181
FU#5 |
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neohic
Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012
Posts: 190
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:39 am Post subject: |
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Thanks, dude! It's actually not a real Imp, but really a Linton knock off. Most of the body lines are the same, but some are softened out with some other shapes added... it's different anyway.
I'm really happy with how my experiment finished up. It came out closer to round than the wheels started out and it took minimal weight to get it to balance. The whole wheel needs to come out just slightly though. I started with a wheel with 4" backspacing.
Ol' George has plenty of room to wiggle around in there. Actually, ol' George is kind of a metaphor to the budget I'm working with on this car. 
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-Ben
I like to build stuff... |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17970
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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No Shipping! 
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neohic
Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012
Posts: 190
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike Fisher wrote: |
| No Shipping! |
Nope. I rolled my own barrels, cut the wheel, welded... kind of bummed that I don't have the equipment to mount/balance my own tires. Ah well... still no shipping involved. Figure in that my time is worth nothing too. 
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-Ben
I like to build stuff... |
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neohic
Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012
Posts: 190
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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| Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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Finally got my other three wheels done. 9" wheels for the rear and 7.5" on the front. Now for paint and mounting!
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I like to build stuff... |
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