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  • Wheels / Tires: widening & reversing

    For years I've planned to do what old Swedish HotRoders used to do when & before I was a kid & they told & showed me pix of...

    To get wider (rear) wheels they used to use two rims/side & cut away the narrow part & ad the wide part from another rim, since you only have to do one weld & two extra second hand rims was cheaper than two new strips of steel.

    & here's the trick for the front ones: just reverse the center part, then you have wider track but still narrow rubber = not as hard to park without powersteering.

    So while I'm looking for two extra rims for in the back I wonder if anyone has a picture of an original rim's "inside" without tire on, not the back side; the inside!
    I've googled but to no avail & my own still has tires on.

    Pretty please...?
    Last edited by Noxnabaker; 02-21-2018, 11:04 AM.

  • #2
    & here's the trick for the front ones: just reverse the center part, then you have wider track but still narrow rubber = not as hard to park without powersteering.
    Not so much. Any time the contact patch is moved farther out, leverage against the steering effort is increased. Yes, it will be harder to park. Yes, it will increase wear on wheel bearings. Yes, it will increase kickback when the tire hits a bump.

    jack vines
    PackardV8

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    • #3
      Probably safer to buy new custom wheels. They come in all sizes and widths, the welds are certified and they handle the loads from radial tires. Many of the old school hot rodders did what they did because that was all that was available. Sometimes their work/designs/techniques were not as safe as modern methods.
      RadioRoy, specializing in AM/FM conversions with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player. In the old car radio business since 1985.


      10G-C1 - 51 Champion starlight coupe
      4H-K5 - 53 Commander starliner hardtop
      5H-D5 - 54 Commander Conestoga wagon

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      • #4
        Many of the old school hot rodders did what they did because that was all that was available. Sometimes their work/designs/techniques were not as safe as modern methods.
        For true, Roy. Some of what we did looks pretty crude by current standards. However, with today's gas-shielded wire feed welders, it's much easier to make welds which will stay stuck. I wouldn't be afraid to tackle it again, assuming a large enough lathe was available. That's the other essential machinery required.

        Probably safer to buy new custom wheels.
        As to buying new, we might remember the OP is in Sweden, where new US spec wheels are very rare and very dear to buy.

        jack vines
        PackardV8

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        • #5
          We have loads of US car speed shops here, big country not much people = needs for comfortable cars, & it's not Russia, google "powermeet Vasteras", it might give you a hint...
          I have MoPar wheels on now but I wanna have the pretty small hubcaps on & you can go on all you want about new wheels.
          I'm bullheaded!
          So: all I asked for was a photo, maby you have to re-read my 1:st post? No? Well then...
          But if nobody wanna show me a pic: fine, I'll find my ways around it.
          & no, I'm not angry, just wanna be clear about it all & yes: I have
          thought about it, a LOT too & for many years.

          & 45 km from here the biggest US car scrapyard is located but they don't have any Studebaker parts at all, Studebaker have a certain status here, a bit of a special car that don't end up on scrapyards anymore, the rest of US cars do thou...

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          • #6
            What year rim are you asking about? I know the rims changed from about 58 to 60ish. I may have one or two of those without tires on them. I'll see what I can do.
            sals54

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            • #7
              the biggest US car scrapyard is located but they don't have any Studebaker parts at all,
              That's good because Studebaker wheels would be the ones you don't want. They were all thin gauge pre-radial tire. Many '60s-'90s Fords and Mopars have the same 4.5" bolt pattern as the Studebaker, but are made of much thicker gauge steel. If you want use the poverty caps, there are some Ford/Mopar wheel centers with the bumps to accept them.

              jack vines
              PackardV8

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              • #8
                Again Jack, I DO!!! have MoPar rims on now!

                & Sal, I'm pretty sure it'll be the earlier ones I'll get here, in what way are they different?

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                • #9
                  I've used the small hubcaps on wheels without hubcap bumps by riveting VW hubcap clips onto the wheels.
                  I know this isn't answering your question, but just providing another alternative that may work for you.
                  sigpic1966 Daytona (The First One)
                  1950 Champion Convertible
                  1950 Champion 4Dr
                  1955 President 2 Dr Hardtop
                  1957 Thunderbird

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                  • #10
                    Click image for larger version

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ID:	1719623I have taken some pictures for you, will see if they will upload correctly.
                    Tom Senecal Not enough money or years to build all of the Studebakers that I think I can.

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                    • #11
                      I'm glad someone had a rim... mine all have tires still mounted. Unless of course, if this is not the rim you're looking for. I have some of the early rims that use the clips for the dog dish hubcaps. But I would need a day or so to get the tires removed.
                      sals54

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                      • #12
                        Having hung out with Sprint Car racers in the '60s, I saw a lot of 'home-brewed' widened rims fabricated. I could whip out a crude but workable set in an afternoon. But I certainly wouldn't recommend this approach for any vehicle to be used on public highways.
                        And I REALLY wouldn't recommend ever doing it on the original equipment Studebaker rims, as it is not at all uncommon for the spider (center section) of these to develop stress cracks and become unsafe even equipped with the original skinny bias-ply tires. Widening them and putting on wider, stronger gripping tires would be asking for trouble in short order.
                        So, if steel Stude appearing rims are desired, there are the Ford and Mopar's, which are very strong and were produced for decades, but now are becoming increasingly scarce.
                        Mopar 'cop car' rims are often mentioned, but personally I don't at all care for the looks of the 'popular' one's with all of those round cooling holes. They fit but you can see blocks away that they are MOPAR cop rims.
                        What I did find was that '70s Mopar B body rims were available in several different widths suitable for my '64 Daytona. A pair off my '71 Satellite, as recall 7"rims, fitted with G-60s, bolted on but overfilled the rear wheel openings to the point it looked like a cartoon.
                        It would have required either narrowing the rear axle or radiusing the wheelwells to even make it driveable. (wouldn't fit the front at all.)
                        Anyway, a lot of words to say there are safe, stock production rims 'out there' that will fit tires bigger than any un-butchered Studebaker can handle.
                        Here in the States we have several custom wheel manufactures that can provide about and width or offset desired. Stockton Wheel and Wheel Vintiques come to mind.
                        If we could get one of our PSMCD racers to chime in, almost all of them run some very nice wide/reversed stock appearing rims (the Wrapper and the Tomato) but I do not know where they obtain them.

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                        • #13
                          As far as the stress cracking is concerned, that was primarily due to the lug nuts stressing the bolt holes. Using the newer style lug nuts with the "shoulder" on them will surely solve this problem.
                          sals54

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                          • #14
                            Thanx a lot tsenecal! Just what I needed.

                            It seems quite astonishing how few really reads my posts & avoid to see that I already haver MoPar rims... & probably (?) also are sure I never even knew about Ford

                            (or VolvoClick image for larger version

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                            or others that has the same bolt pattern, but why bother reminding...?

                            Now then, one more question (that I suspect will give me "answers" & "inputs" too) about the construction:
                            Are all rim-to-centerpiece rivited, or are some welded?

                            & please no more "forget it", "that's what you don't want", "buy new" & such...
                            Last edited by Noxnabaker; 02-24-2018, 02:24 PM.

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                            • #15
                              And remember, most Volvo rims are 5 on 4.25, not 4.50.
                              Bill

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