Wheels

[modelacarman]

Is it possible to weld cracked wheel rims? Or will they crack again?

[Gary WA]

Clean good! Depends on the area have a picture! Year. there is plenty of rims out there.

[Charlie Stephens]

Any idea why it cracked? Any chance you were running early Ford wire wheels on a later brake drum without the proper adapter?

Charlie Stephens

[McMimmcs]

The first time I had them welded only to have them crack again. The second time I bought very good used ones for $100 for the four. That was 5 years ago and still no problems. They were plentiful at Hershey!

[Jack Shaft]

Ford made over 20 million model a wheels..probably more 21's than 19's...thats a lot of wheels

[CWPASADENA]

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Welding wheels is not for armatures.


Done correctly, a properly welded rim will work just fine.


The area of the crack must be CLEAN and I TIG weld them after I have properly prepped the crack.


I would NOT recommend MIG or stick weld because difficulty of controlling the heat and also contamination. I have a couple of wheels I welded on the car I use for touring and after 15K miles over 10 years, I do not see any evidence of the cracks re appearing. Some of the miles were over terrible roads.


One suggestion is to keep the wheels tight, this helps a lot.


My opinion,


Chris W.

[marty in Ohio]

How bad are the cracks? What year is the car? As CWPASADENA says welding wheels id not for amatures, are you a good enough welder? Maybe you should find a friend to weld them for you. Maybe you ought to just loosen up your wallet and buy some new ones.
Marty

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Gary WA

Clean good! Depends on the area have a picture! Year. there is plenty of rims out there.

Now that depends on where you are. Good wheels are a sought after commodity here. I've repaired some and seen some shockers on the road. I've not had much luck repairing them except when I decided to make them stronger. I kept cracking them while towing and repairs didn't get me far. Once home, I had a profile cutting company cut me some rings out of 3mm sheet. ID was 270mm and OD, 290mm. That gives me a 10mm wide ring all the way around the wheel centre. Pry the rings on, a couple of welds to hold it in place and I haven't had one crack since but it causes the failures to move to the next weakest place - pulling the spokes off the rim.

[modelacarman]

Thanks guys for all the help. I think I will scrap the wheels!

[Gary WA]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

Now that depends on where you are. Good wheels are a sought after commodity here. I've repaired some and seen some shockers on the road. I've not had much luck repairing them except when I decided to make them stronger. I kept cracking them while towing and repairs didn't get me far. Once home, I had a profile cutting company cut me some rings out of 3mm sheet. ID was 270mm and OD, 290mm. That gives me a 10mm wide ring all the way around the wheel centre. Pry the rings on, a couple of welds to hold it in place and I haven't had one crack since but it causes the failures to move to the next weakest place - pulling the spokes off the rim.

Forgot about Australia!! Sorry.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Gary WA

Forgot about Australia!! Sorry.

Don't let it bother you. As I've said before, you guys don't realise how fortunate you are to have all that stuff at your fingertips.

[juke joint johnny]

CW Pasedena has it right !! They can be repaired by properly prepped Tig weld I've done a few that way with good results
Here in the UK good wheels are not always easy to find

Best to consider the condition of the rest of the wheel before starting though .
Those that have oversize wheel nut holes , badly rusted rims especially the 21"s,
lots of missing spokes, or greatly out of true ,might not be worth repairing IMO.

I've often wondered why did they crack ?
Loose lug nuts, miss match late wheel on AR early hub,
or mounted on a later hydraulic hub without the adapters
What does the team think ?

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by juke joint johnny

CW Pasedena has it right !! They can be repaired by properly prepped Tig weld I've done a few that way with good results
Here in the UK good wheels are not always easy to find

Best to consider the condition of the rest of the wheel before starting though .
Those that have oversize wheel nut holes , badly rusted rims especially the 21"s,
lots of missing spokes, or greatly out of true ,might not be worth repairing IMO.

I've often wondered why did they crack ?
Loose lug nuts, miss match late wheel on AR early hub,
or mounted on a later hydraulic hub without the adapters
What does the team think ?

I think we need a picture.

Charlie Stephens

[rocket1]

As far as Hershey being a good source for A wheels I have found over the years the good ones have been almost picked clean especially the 21 inch,the reason being is that the rolled edge rots out.Last year passed up 5 19inch wheels for free,all needed work.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

A cracked Model-A wheel can be welded with a MIG by a competent craftsman.

Something to contemplate though. Suppose someone poorly welds a crack on a wheel and the wheel is driven several thousand miles before the crack reappears. Has anyone ever seen a Model-A wheel disintegrate because of a crack?? From what I have seen, -and by the way most hobbyists drive, when a wheel crack does appear, it is usually not critical enough that the vehicle cannot be driven home if care is taken.

[J Franklin]

[QUOTE=BRENT in 10-uh-C;1882008]A cracked Model-A wheel can be welded with a MIG by a competent craftsman.

Something to contemplate though. Suppose someone poorly welds a crack on a wheel and the wheel is driven several thousand miles before the crack reappears. Has anyone ever seen a Model-A wheel disintegrate because of a crack?? From what I have seen, -and by the way most hobbyists drive, when a wheel crack does appear, it is usually not critical enough that the vehicle cannot be driven home if care is taken.[/QUOTE

I have never seen a collapsed model A wheel that wasn't caused by a wreck! Proper welding should last many miles.

[Big hammer]

Coker tires have new wheels, but boy they are pricy!

[dumb person]

Drill the ends of the holes first.
I've got wheels with welded cracks, never cracked again.
I have wheels where the whole rim has had strips welded in the tire bead area (the 21 inch hollow type) after putting some fish oil inside they'd never had a problem either.

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Big hammer

Coker tires have new wheels, but boy they are pricy!

And no good!

[chrs1961815]

Has anyone ever seen any NOS wheels?

I remember seeing a picture in one of the "How to Restore Your Model A" books of a wheel they cut hslf of the spokes off to show its strength. I do believe they ran it to test it...