Posted by Marty on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 20:14:38 :
In Reply to: 20" rims posted by Chris Becker on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 19:56:19 :
Chris,
The 20" rims aren't hard to make...just time consuming. You need to find a shop that can air arc the centers out for you. Any goog welding shop. Otherwise you got a ton of welding ahead to remove the centers. The early 20" Budd rims were riveted...I'd stay clear of those ones...too much work driving all the rivets ot & welding up the holes.
Once the center is loose you still need to alter the centers to fit our 5 bolt pattern. Lots of different ways to do it but none will make the DOT very happy so I decided to insert a new circle & grind it perfect after welding so as not to draw any attention to them...if you know what I mean! If you don't have a few welding tickets...get someone who does to weld this.
Find a big flat steel plate & place the rim face down on the plate. Let the center drop down until the outer face is flat on the plate & tack it in place...that will give you the right offset that looks best & won't rub, front or rear.
Find someone with a big lathe that can spin it slowly or bolt the rim to a truck & use a dial indicator to get it perfect before you weld the center in permanently.
You need to have access to a machine shop to make this easy. Machinists...wheel builders...welders...they won't want any part of the responsibility associated with altering wheels.
Good luck!
Hey, I have a set of 20" Unimog wheels that are tubeless. I intended to convert them for a Power Wagon but I decided I don't like Power Wagon's without Budd wheels.
I'd consider selling them if you go that route.
Marty