Cutting up vintage mag wheels to get what you want

[PxTx]

Over the years, we've talked about having old Cragar SS and other wheels restored. I've been collecting some over time, waiting for the right ones to send out for restoration.

Recently we've had some posts which piqued my interest on doing this. Joe Barr mentioned how 14" vintage mag wheels are much more common than a 15 version. It was also brought up that Stockton Wheel is under new ownership.

What I've been thinking of doing is having a pair of wheels modified into what I want. Has anyone changed ther wheel setup during a wheel "restoration"?

I'm looking for a discussion on re-hooping a wheel. What I would like to do is take a set of 14" wheels and have them made into 15"x4" skinnies.

I just picked these old Keystone wheels last night. Before anyone tells me to buy new ones and swap the center cap, please note some of the differences.



I know some wheels the centers are the same for 14 and 15 wheels. Anyone know about these? Is there a down side on vintage tires for a 14"x4"? Maybe they don't make a set which lends themselves to a tall skinny front runner.

Brent, stole this from a post you made. Are these centers polished or chromed?



I really prefer the early gray centers. The wheels I picked up appear to have been painted black, at a later date.

Here is a newer design for ref:


I started this on the Keystone wheels, but all types are welcome to be discussed. I have several Spyders I'm considering modding too!

[PxTx]

Interesting there seems to have been some with a Magnesium center.

[brent396]

Paul the center is chrome not polish . The center is painted grey not black. the 1 that's painted gray is dated 68 and the other dated 71 is black ?

[whitetop]

Paul,

My 15 x4 and 15 x10 Cragars have a different center than the 14" centers as they are 1" taller. I would suspect the Keystones you have are 1" less tall than than the comparable size Keystone 15 inchers

1.If you do modify them to 14 x 4 there is no "skinny" tire out there that will look right or is even available that I am aware of.

2.If you do find a 15 x4 rim that will work on your 14" this is what you will probably end up..see picture below of late 1970's Cragars 15 x7 using what i believe is 14" centers. Notice the extra wide "kickup" of the steel rim so it is able to meet the 14" center. Looks unattractive IMO. I thought these were hideous back in the late 1970's when Cragar did this.

I'm not 100% sure this is what Cragar did but the earlier 15 x7's and later 15 x 7's did not have this extra wide portion on the rim. Cragar ran this rim from the late 70's to early 80's and then dropped it and went back to standard 15 x7 rim...

3. Early 15 x 6 , 7 etc" Keystones are on eBay every so often and the 15 x 4 steel rim was just a universal rim of the day with the same kickup and same center diameter and they are still available.

4. If you are going to go through the expense of getting the rims modified, hoops chromed might as well do it right and go with 15" plus if you ever want to sell them you will find a 14 x4 rim will have a limited market.





http://www.ebay.com/itm/150689634189...3D1&_rdc=1

[PxTx]

Thanks for the input Dave. The stepped rim would be fine with me, but I don't like the tapered ste-up. It would have to be a verticle bend. I'll have to see.

I find it very tough to find the early Keystone in 15". My preference is towards the unchromed centers, which I've never seen in person in 15".

I've been told The Spyders were made in 15" with both smaller and larger centers. Would be interested to see pics there.

[TheNovaMan]

A couple summers ago, I talked to a guy at Stockton Wheel about rechroming Cragars and making them different sizes. I don't know how much of this applies to Keystones, but this is what he told me about Cragars. The 14" and 15" wheels use the same centers, except the 15x4 skinnies, which require a larger diameter center because the ID of a 15x4 rim is larger than the regular center sections. Current production Cragar skinnies are 4.5" wide so that they can use the same center section as the rest of the wheels.

My guess is if you want to turn your 14xSomething Keystones into 15x4 skinnies, it probably won't work. However, you could probably have them made into 15x4.5 skinnies and 99.9% of people wouldn't even know they weren't originally made that way.

[PxTx]

Great point Pete. I'd be fine with that. Anyone use companies other than Stockton?

I saw this over on V8Buick forum. This fellow seems to be the guy to see on Motor Wheel Spyder re-hoops.

Sheradon Performance
15775 HWY 61
Hugo, Mn 55038
Ph is 651-426-0061
Ask for Don Sr.


http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=...+wheel+spyders

Might reach out to them to see what their thoughts are on the Keystone wheels.

[TheNovaMan]

Just to clarify, I didn't have Stockton do anything yet, but I had been planning to have them rechrome my Cragar skinnies. Now that they're under new ownership, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing...

[Tommy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: whitetop</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you do find a 15 x4 rim that will work on your 14&quot; this is what you will probably end up..see picture below of late 1970's Cragars 15 x7 using what i believe is 14&quot; centers. Notice the extra wide &quot;kickup&quot; of the steel rim so it is able to meet the 14&quot; center. Looks unattractive IMO. I thought these were hideous back in the late 1970's when Cragar did this.

</div></div>

I saw these and remembered a friend has one in his shop identical to it. It's really ugly.

POKE HERE


Tommy [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/[/img]

[PxTx]

I'm note sure those are anything more than a different type of hoop. The Fast Tracks Nova has a 14&quot; wheel on the back with a similar hoop. I love that car and the rims doesn't kill it for me.

I actually think they looks worse without being on a car.