32 Pierce Arrow Rat
- Thread starter jdybowski
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
Flipper_1938
He recycles the right way
I guess tire height is no longer an issue...[cl
jdybowski
Well-known member
lol...the only issue now is the width of the car...I'm not 100% until I get the body in the garage and the tires mocked up, but I may have to tub those beasts into the body a bit, otherwise I won't be able to fit out the garage door (8' wide doors...ugh!)
Torchie
Well-known member
Legend has it that when Henry Ford built his quadrcycle car he had to knock out part of the brick wall in his shop because the car was wider than the door.
Nice score on the wheels.
Torchie.
8literbeater
Well-known member
Hey, I just checked back in and noticed you were talkin to me.
I can tell you how I did it, but first I'm going to sleep! It's almost midnight.
I'll log on in the morning. I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you.
8literbeater
Well-known member
Excellent score on those tires and wheels. That's the same size that I have.
I'll warn you though, that tire size is obsolete, not the rim but the tire. If you do like I did and build for that size, and need to find a replacement, you'll have better luck finding 295/75r22.5 tires. They're the same diameter, but almost 2 inches wider than the 10r22.5s.
Anyway, on to the centering.
Once you find the small rims that you want to use, with the right lug pattern, and hopefully a small enough diameter that they don't overlap the holes in your 22.5s, you want to make sure the backspacing is what you want it to be. Spend a lot of time with your tape measure on that part.
Then what I did was buy three or four long carriage bolts or some pieces of all-thread. They need to be around 10 or 12 inches long, and I think I used 5/16", but almost any size would work. Each end gets big ol' fender washers and wing nuts. Space out the all-thread in the spokes of your small rims, and run them through the lug nut holes of your 22.5s. Center it by eye, and tighten it down. Mount the whole thing on your axle so you can rotate it, and just loosen, make adjustments, and tighten, until it runs true. Once it spins around and looks straight, and not like a clown car, ground to the rim (not the axle) and tack weld evenly around the rim. Spin the rim again to make sure the weld didn't pull it off center.
I welded my rims with a full bead all the way around the rim. Still, if you do this, alternate back and forth across the rim with your weld, or it will probably pull off center even after it's tacked in place. If nothing else, it helps to heat the wheel evenly, so it won't be as likely to warp. Maybe you could preheat the rims, but I don't preheat anything because I'm a 2-bit hack.
It looks like you know about welding, but this is a public forum where a lot of people read about our experiences for advice on their own projects. I think the responsible thing for me to do is to at least offer the following advice.
Welding to a wheel is not something to be taken lightly, or done haphazardly. Don't accidentally strike an arc on the rim anywhere, especially near any edges around the tire mounting surface, or the lug holes on the inner rim. Arc strikes cause cracks. They aren't just harmless pock marks that we normally ignore on non-critical items.
Also, here's a fun little video for anyone thinking about welding stuff to your rims without dismounting the tire first. http://youtu.be/HiLeji8bLOk
Another one with a deflated tire, that blew up after welding. http://youtu.be/uQbKCd3ezrA?t=59s
Did I forget anything?
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jdybowski
Well-known member
wow, thanks a ton 8liter! That was a great tutorial! I (and anyone else who may be thinking of doing this to their rims) REALLY appreciate your help. It's people like you that made me keep coming back to this site
Bamamav
Well-known member
That may work, but I'd be afraid of it. Those truck wheels are heavy and thick, and you'd be welding a lightweight and thin wheel to them. Actually, I think you would be over stressing the lightweight wheel, and eventually it will break . Not to mention the stress on the lug studs carrying the extra load.
If you think you must run big truck wheels and tires either: Get the proper axle they bolt up to, or, build a adapter out of thick steel that allows you to bolt the adapter to the axle, then bolt the wheel to the adapter with proper size studs. That will be the only way to get them to run true. I would probably run a 3/4 or 1 ton axle with the eight bolt pattern at a minimum.
Just thinking about the safety aspect here. I don't want you to be cruising down the highway and the rear wheel decide to break loose. I've seen the damage that big of a tire can do. 30 years in the trucking business, so I know big truck tires......
If you think you must run big truck wheels and tires either: Get the proper axle they bolt up to, or, build a adapter out of thick steel that allows you to bolt the adapter to the axle, then bolt the wheel to the adapter with proper size studs. That will be the only way to get them to run true. I would probably run a 3/4 or 1 ton axle with the eight bolt pattern at a minimum.
Just thinking about the safety aspect here. I don't want you to be cruising down the highway and the rear wheel decide to break loose. I've seen the damage that big of a tire can do. 30 years in the trucking business, so I know big truck tires......
8literbeater
Well-known member
It is surely stronger than the original wooden spoke wheels, and most likely will be hauling less weight, on smoother roads. I could be wrong. I'll let you know how it works out.
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8literbeater
Well-known member
This is true. I was thinking of using those on my 59 with wide base wheels and tires. The problem was that they're $900 for a set of 4, and lug nuts are about $50 per wheel. I don't know what they'd cost with the backspace built in for standard dual rims. It'd still probably add up to about $600 for 2 adapters with nuts.
Skip
Well-known member
When my 2nd ex asked her daddy how much to spend on a racing helmet, he asked her what her head was worth.
jdybowski
Well-known member
ok, subject change....not much going on...making templates (waiting for a buddy to fill his o/a tanks...ugh). When I bought my fron suspension (42-48 Ford) the brakes were seized. I decided to gut them so I wouldn't have to drag the entire thing around the stone floor. My plan was to originally rebuild those brakes, well, after seeing how much it would cost, I then decided to get a disc conversion kit for almost half the price. Until I started gutting the brakes. Something didn't add up as to what I was seeing. I did some research and found that the brakes were not original to my setup. I got lucky and someone down the road decided to upgrade the brakes to 53-56 F100 brakes. I did some pricing and can get new shoes/drums and wheel cylinders for $87! Just felt like I needed to share my good luck...[cl
jdybowski
Well-known member
UPDATE.
Wrestled the body into the garage. 3 men, 1 bitchin' wife, a 14 year old the size of a man and one riding lawn mower later, and we got it in. I cut out all the stock brackets, etc. and lowered it to the probable ride height. VERY difficult to align the twist of the body since there is no rocker panels connecting the bottom of the door pillars and no original doors, but I got it to where it looked right and the measurements match. I am stretching the doors so I will just make them fit to the opening. (My cousin, who gave me the body, still has the original doors, so I MAY have to try and sweet talk him into letting them go....he had to buy the body/doors, etc. in order to get the window regulators he needs to restore his Pierce Arrow, but when I took the body, the doors had to stay )
Here's some images of the body at ride height....wish I could get a better profile shot, but SOMEBODY has an unfinished 54 Pontiac Hearse taking up 3/4 of the garage!)
Wrestled the body into the garage. 3 men, 1 bitchin' wife, a 14 year old the size of a man and one riding lawn mower later, and we got it in. I cut out all the stock brackets, etc. and lowered it to the probable ride height. VERY difficult to align the twist of the body since there is no rocker panels connecting the bottom of the door pillars and no original doors, but I got it to where it looked right and the measurements match. I am stretching the doors so I will just make them fit to the opening. (My cousin, who gave me the body, still has the original doors, so I MAY have to try and sweet talk him into letting them go....he had to buy the body/doors, etc. in order to get the window regulators he needs to restore his Pierce Arrow, but when I took the body, the doors had to stay
)Here's some images of the body at ride height....wish I could get a better profile shot, but SOMEBODY has an unfinished 54 Pontiac Hearse taking up 3/4 of the garage!)
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Oldrodder43
Well-known member
Well, I guess I am in the minority, BUT, if it were me, I would cut down the body to make it look coupish, like those pics! But what do I know, and, it is YOUR car. Do what you want with it. Perley
jdybowski
Well-known member
Is there any down side to hard mounting the body?
Also, on a good note...got an early birthday present last night! Triangulated 4 link kit and air bags for the rear. I am not running a compressor, etc. for the air bags...I will be running a nipple out somewhere to fill and deflate as needed.
Also, on a good note...got an early birthday present last night! Triangulated 4 link kit and air bags for the rear. I am not running a compressor, etc. for the air bags...I will be running a nipple out somewhere to fill and deflate as needed.
8literbeater
Well-known member
Is there any down side to hard mounting the body?
I'm gonna say that you might have problems with vibration causing a lot of unnecessary noise and possible cracking of the body mounts over time. Maybe. I considered doing the same, but it wasn't too hard to just make some rubber cushions.
zzrodder
It ain't grey hair, it's chrome!
This is such a cool looking body, it's going to make a great rod. Of the dozen or so cars I've built, I've never rubber mounted the body on a single one, never had a problem. I think it actually stiffens the whole structure by tying it all together. Of course the frame needs to be stiff, I always use plenty of crossmembers and an X member to ensure that.
There are millions of unibody cars on the road after all, essentially the same thing......
There are millions of unibody cars on the road after all, essentially the same thing......
jdybowski
Well-known member
just a quick off the subject question:
Does anyone have an updraft carb they would be willing to sell?
I am going to get the motor running as/is before I start to make custom intake/exhaust manifolds.
Does anyone have an updraft carb they would be willing to sell?
I am going to get the motor running as/is before I start to make custom intake/exhaust manifolds.
RickyBobby
Well-known member
Between my body and chassis, I have a 1/4 thick hard rubber pad.. just cause.
