Reversing a Wheel

I'm working with an IRS from a 94 Ford T Bird that uses an orphaned 5x108 front wheel drive offset wheel. 63" hub to hub, $125. Only the Tarus, Sable, T Bird Winstar and a couple Lincolns use the pattern, and I need a 3" offset where they all have a front wheel drive deep dish thing going on.

I used to weld up my own wheels from Speedway to get the offset I wanted, so I decided to rework a Tarus JY wheel to reverse it and get my dish I need.

Gind the welds--flip the center-tap it together--mount it on an axle with a pointer on the rim edge, and spin and adjust till true. Tack it and burn it in..

The old guys usta do it all the time to the rivited ones .

PA41

thanks for the info! and you're right the old-timers did do things like that-i got proof...
dad took a ford truck 16" wheel (that was what old fords had in the 40's 50's) cut the rim off and used a 14" car rim to make 14" truck bolt-pattern wheels! he said that when he did this 14" tires were what was plentiful and more importantly....cheap!

just curious PA......whatcha buildin'????

I have built a few and reversed some when they were rivited. I am in the planning stages of some wheel modes too and this is encouraging. Thanks for the post.

hotrod preacher said:

just curious PA......whatcha buildin'????

Click to expand...

Hey Preacher..

I got this 33 Dodge PU a while back and a $100 SBF engine/tranny that I need to stick together before they ruin sitting, so I drug in a D-50 frame, a Chevy Van Axle and started tacking stuff together after Football ended..

There IS life after Football!!!

Not too good shots, Flash is busted, but kinda the idea.

PA41

hey i like the look of that cab, but, er, where's the rest of it?! (looked like the cab corners are "thin")
can't wait to see ya cruizin the watermelon festival with that one -this fall....maybe....

hotrod preacher said:

where's the rest of it?! (looked like the cab corners are "thin")
..

Click to expand...

Yeah--'Thin' is the word for that whole Cab. I kinda got skinned on that deal.. Hate to admit it--I love a bargan, and this really wasn't one..It is a lot rougher than I realized--the whole door posts are gone, and the metal is almost too thin to take a weld--I have to back it with some tin when I weld it.

The guy started way high and I kept after him for a few months and finally got the 'aww--what the ****' attitude and offered him half of what he was askin and got it-(for twice what it was worth)..

I was lucky to get out of the shop at all. It was not a smart day for me. There were some of those chemically skinny guys where I bought it, and I foolishly pulled out a big roll of $ to pay the guy.. They got all bug eyed and twitchy, and I was lucky to get out of there in one piece. I'm seeming to do that more and more. I useta be 10' tall and bullit proof--one of those guys ya momma warned ya about--now I'm just a gimped up fat old man.

Theres some rough places back on the gravel roads round here--I guess I need to stay on the pavement..

PA41

sounds kinda scarry to me! -not the bravest guy around myself, i tend to steer clear of those types as much as possible-glad to see ya whittlin' out another one though..hopin to start on a different project myself, yet haven't got to a stopping point with the old grey truck yet

Startin them is the easy part--its that finishing I have a problem with...

I plan to get this roughed in and fired up, then run it out to the yard and let it 'season' a while. It seems like my first scald on anything often misses the mark, and it can take years to get the car tuned in right. Tweak em and adjust this--change that.. They really do sorta 'season' with time..

I'll probably be back in Cave City in Rusty this year- see ya up there..

PA

A finished shot of the reversed wheels. One took a lot of weight to balance, but it might be the used tire. Works fine though.

PA41

This looks like a cool build. We pulled a couple of the Super Coupe IFS's out of a pick a part, but haven't done anything with them yet. Thanks for the heads up on the wheels.

How did you cut the center out of the wheels?

Thanks DJ, I just used a 4.5" cutting wheel on a hand grinder and cut the welds.

The axle looks pretty good, modern, sophisticated, and looks stout, and would be an easy -almost bolt in- setup. The weird bolt pattern is about the only downside I see for them.

Make for a nice 'sportscar' rat application--especially the turbo axles--possi..

PA41

I've done the same thing except I did it to make the wheel wider or just to repair a bad hard to find wheel.

Did you add a section in the wheel to make it wider? I've considered that, just wasn't sure about how to go about it.

PA41

PA41 said:

Did you add a section in the wheel to make it wider? I've considered that, just wasn't sure about how to go about it.

PA41

Click to expand...

No I just took donor rims such as chevy truck rallies (8"wide) or white spoke truck wheels of various widths cause they are cheap and plentiful!

reversed wheels

I was just telling my son today how I would like to reverse 2 of my old caddy wheels to get the off set down to about 1" I open up RRR and there is a thread about it, how did that happen ? must be my lucky day. [cl

PA41 said:

Yeah--'Thin' is the word for that whole Cab. I kinda got skinned on that deal.. Hate to admit it--I love a bargan, and this really wasn't one..It is a lot rougher than I realized--the whole door posts are gone, and the metal is almost too thin to take a weld--I have to back it with some tin when I weld it.

The guy started way high and I kept after him for a few months and finally got the 'aww--what the ****' attitude and offered him half of what he was askin and got it-(for twice what it was worth)..

I was lucky to get out of the shop at all. It was not a smart day for me. There were some of those chemically skinny guys where I bought it, and I foolishly pulled out a big roll of $ to pay the guy.. They got all bug eyed and twitchy, and I was lucky to get out of there in one piece. I'm seeming to do that more and more. I useta be 10' tall and bullit proof--one of those guys ya momma warned ya about--now I'm just a gimped up fat old man.

Theres some rough places back on the gravel roads round here--I guess I need to stay on the pavement..

PA41

Click to expand...

Cash in one pocket, revolver in the other. Unless you live in one of those state where you are not allowed to protect yourself. Then you bring a buddy or two.

I've done the same using the Chevy truck 8" rally rims, and weld in a car center. You can usually find the 8" 6 lug Chevys on 4x4s for next to nothing.

All I did was lay the rim on a flat level surface, set a roll of 3" masking tape in the center for my backspacing, then tack the center in place.

i was just thinking my wheels need to stick out more and how much i hate wheel spacers so i may give this a try

thanks

8" Corvette ralley wheels

I cut just inside the welds on these Corvette Rally's then mounted the center on a clean front spindle, clamped the spindle in the vice with put the rim back on the center with the edge close to the table to check straightness then tack all the way around and welded it back together.
Not hard at all!

8" Corvette ralley wheels

I cut just inside the welds on these Corvette Rally's then mounted the center on a clean front spindle, clamped the spindle in the vice, put the rim back on the center, 5/8" inward for fender clearance with the edge close to the edge of the table to check straightness, spin the wheel to see if it's straight, then tack all the way around and welded it back together.
Not hard at all you can do it!