Posted by Clint Dixon (Curator of Antiquities) on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 at 10:42PM :
In Reply to: Question: Split Rims... posted by Chris on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at 4:51PM :
Chris, I don't know if you ever found a satisfactory answer in all of this entertaining circus, but I tend to believe that the explanation by Paul Cook is right on the money. The guy is probably just telling you what he was told to tell you and watching his backside. These instructions were most likely based in the experience gained from hard lessons and the assumption that various styles of rings and wheels from different manufacturers could be mistakenly mounted together. Never mind that, by default in dealing with a Power-Wagon and Power-Wagon suppliers, your chances in getting the correct matching rims to your wheels should you buy NOS are in your favor. There just were not that many possibilities out there to create error to begin with.
Something that no one else has touched upon is that his instructions may be based in part on another theory. Your wheels and rims are old. They have been mounted together for a long period of time. Not bolted, not doweled, not welded, just mounted, which means that there is the possibility that they have taken a set to each other over the years because their mating surfaces can move against one another ever so slightly during normal driving. Probably not as big of a deal as swapping worn piston rings around between engine cylinders, but the same principle nonetheless.
Junior