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BIGMIKEY Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2007 Posts: 1102 Location: North East Pennsylvania
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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The Speedway shells are 12.625" ID. VW centers are 13.25" (roughly).
Hey neohic. Are all 4 of your donor wheels the same offset? Say all ET31, or ET46? That number is also stamped on one of the raised bumps around the lug holes. As I recall there are 3 different offsets for 4x130 wheels. ET46, ET41, ET34.
Mike T _________________ BIGMIKEY
Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=
1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue. |
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:23 am Post subject: |
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BIGMIKEY wrote: |
... Hey neohic. Are all 4 of your donor wheels the same offset?... |
As far as I know, a 4" VW is a 4" VW wheel. All of them have a ridiculous amount of paint on them so not much can be made out on them. I took a straight edge to check each one. All the same. _________________ -Ben
I like to build stuff... |
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BIGMIKEY Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2007 Posts: 1102 Location: North East Pennsylvania
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks! Not totally sure about painting the first one black, but I think the body is going to remain silver or change to yellow after some cracks/ holes are taken care of. Might re do it and go with white for the rest. I know getting "finished" is a little ways off yet, but I figure that there's not a whole lot to these cars so it never too early to start thinking. Opinions? _________________ -Ben
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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Wow!... almost fell off the map there again! Things are happening anyhow. I finally got a decent camera again so I can better keep track of what going on with my projects. So lets recap a bit... I started with three 4.5" wide wheels and I cut apart the only 4" wheel I had. I found three more 4" wheels in trade. Just to be totally sure before cutting the rest, I went through and double checked the backspacing on the new set.
... and we're good. Still a buggy on jack stands so that needs to change.
So this is where things get to be more of a hassle than they need to be. For those who are unfamiliar with my shop, I'm kind of a minimalist. Ideally, I should be using a lathe for the initial cut to keep things nice and straight. Well... I have no such fancy things. So, measure everything a bunch of times and throw on a stripe of red tape.
Then I scribe a line with a cut wheel and pull the tape.
Then send it home.
Now that everything is apart, it's a good time to clean everything up. Again, having the right tools would make life so much easier. In this case, I'm sure it would be best to get everything sand blasted. That could work, but like I've said in the past... I'm way cheap. So, in comes a few minutes with a wire wheel.
Things take shape now.
Again, fancy tools. A square and a piece of TIG filler works great for checking for round.
Let's compare...
Anyhow, some other stuff happened and I ended up with these.
What I didn't notice about the wheels before I really started taking a close look at them was the dates. I've got two of them with the dates of 9/67, one with 5/69, and one with 8/70. Do the dates really matter for what I'm doing with them?... not even a little bit. However, what's kind of interesting is the differences them. The two from '67 are actually a little thinner than the later wheels, and they also have this weird square stamping around the valve stem holes. The later do not.
Again, does it matter? No... but it'd bother me knowing that there's a difference. So, the front two are the earlier wheels are the now 8" wide and the later are the 9.5" on the rear. Next is to take my TIG machine and just puddle over the welds. I like doing this just as extra insurance for no leaks. Then it's paint, tires, and then on to something else.
_________________ -Ben
I like to build stuff...
Last edited by neohic on Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:40 am; edited 1 time in total |
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BIGMIKEY Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2007 Posts: 1102 Location: North East Pennsylvania
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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BIGMIKEY wrote: |
Liking your process. Never would have occurred to me to "roll" the widening strip that way. Finished weight?
Mike T |
Thanks! I used a slip roller to roll the barrels then finished everything up with the ratchet strap. As far as weight... I have no idea. I'll throw one of each on a scale and see. Probably heavy though.
Question for everyone... I'm looking for a set of four wheel spacers now. I want to go with 1" spacers but I don't want to use the crap-tastic cast spacers that just bolt on with longer hardware. What I'm looking for are spacers that bolt on and then the wheel bolts on to the spacer. Something like these:
Problem is that I can only find 4x130 to 4x100 spacers. Obviously I need 4x130 to 4x130 spacers. Anyone know where to find such fabled spacers? _________________ -Ben
I like to build stuff...
Last edited by neohic on Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:39 am; edited 2 times in total |
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joescoolcustoms Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2006 Posts: 9054 Location: West By God Virginia
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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Just because a simple idea is used, does not mean the quality is poor. I like your methods and may use them one day myself.
As far as weight, no heavier than other widened steel wheels on the market.
Nice work, keep it up and one day you will be driving it! _________________ Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race
Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.
Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone |
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Wetstuff Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2010 Posts: 700 Location: Maryland
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:54 am Post subject: |
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Neo, Mr. Skill Envy here... 'interesting to watch your work.
I wanted to switch back to 5-wide wheels from Chevy Cragars on 4-wheel disk brakes. Could not find stock items. These folks made perfect adaptors.
http://billetwheeladapters.com
Jim _________________ Manx #2614 |
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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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 10:03 am Post subject: |
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Found a company that makes to order instead of having a big stock somewhere: http://adaptitusa.com/index.aspx
They can do any bolt pattern that'll fit on the same spacer no problem. Got a quote already of $219 for spacers and another $30 for a lug stud conversion kit. Eek!... that's about a quarter of what I already have into this project! _________________ -Ben
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BIGMIKEY Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2007 Posts: 1102 Location: North East Pennsylvania
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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Why are you wanting spacers again? If it's to get the right offset then I think you can cut the centers out and move them where you want in the widened rim. From what I'm seeing you have the skills.
Mike T _________________ BIGMIKEY
Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=
1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue. |
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:57 am Post subject: |
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I'm wanting to add spacers just to push the wheels out... aesthetics, really. The way that I welded the wheels back together would make for a huge job of cutting the centers back out. I left a 1/4" gap all the way around the inside of the wheel to fill. Now instead of just being welded in the four spots from the factory, they are welded all the way around. I did this with the first wheel, got a tire mounted, and then hung it on the car just to say to myself, "Hu... that really should be out another inch of so".
After the first one turned out the way it did, I decided to just steady the course and do them all the same. In the end, I think running spacers are well worth the cost over the time it would take to cut them apart again... lazy?... yeah, maybe... _________________ -Ben
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joescoolcustoms Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2006 Posts: 9054 Location: West By God Virginia
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:09 am Post subject: |
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Sell two rims, and make two more with proper offset. _________________ Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race
Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.
Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone |
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 10:17 am Post subject: |
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joescoolcustoms wrote: |
Sell two rims, and make two more with proper offset. |
That's an option too. If I were to do two, I'd do all four all over again so they're all deeper. Not really looking forward to pushing the reset button on any of them though. Right now what I need to do is get the buggy mobile again. Most likely what'll happen is just finish the wheels the way they are, get the tires mounted, and then rearrange my garage for winter. I can always go back and reassess the situation.
On a side note, is it strange to anyone in warmer states that I have a turn over with my vehicles from cold to warm months? When it's nice out, my Beetle and my '88 Jeep get moved so they're easy to get out. When it's cold, they go in the back so I can get to my projects easier. Hoping to try something new to my garage parking layout so I can keep the wife's car out of my shop... and the buggy in. _________________ -Ben
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wythac Samba Member
Joined: August 02, 2004 Posts: 2791
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:40 am Post subject: |
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Impressive. Don't know why I haven't seen this thread before. I love it when $imple methods are employed to make custom fixtures for a buggy. When I started on my project years ago I didn't have the welding/fab skills required to make my own custom wheels so I paid hundreds to have it done professionally...I will refer to this thread and try making them myself if it ever comes up again. A brilliantly simple and inexpensive means of solving a very fundamental issue that nearly every buggy builder has to contend with. I think even those without welding skills probably know someone talented and willing to try this on their behalf. Bravo!
FYI, I live up north too and have a similar "vehicle circulation" pattern. The ones getting work done are closer to benches and tools in the winter, the drivers closer to the door. My 81 Eagle and Vanagon see less (sometimes zero) use in a good sunny summer like we've been having while I drive the wheels off my buggy. I do any required work on my "winter" cars while I'm not using them as much, so I don't find myself with only a roofless, heaterless car option in the winter. |
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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wythac wrote: |
... My 81 Eagle... |
Cheers to another AMC owner! _________________ -Ben
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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Letting the primer breath right now. Soon to be black. _________________ -Ben
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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Found another odd difference between the early and later 4 lug wheels while painting. The earlier wheels have dimpled in oval holes in the faces while the later are without the dimpled edges.
Early:
Later:
Hu... who knew? _________________ -Ben
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neohic Samba Member
Joined: June 30, 2012 Posts: 190 Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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Tires!!!
This little car took on a whole new personality today. First time it's ever had anything more than those tiny little bike tires. I think it looks tough!
Everything is mobile again!
I like how everything sits now that all of the wheels are under it. I don't think I'll use any spacers, but the stops for the steering need to be reset to keep the front of the tires out of harms way. Best part is one less pile in a corner.
Now to pick something else from the box.
_________________ -Ben
I like to build stuff... |
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