65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
Drivetrain => Rims & Tires => Topic started by: Loren At 65GS on April 18, 2009, 09:54:30 PM
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Wondering if anyone has had a set of original sport wheels rechromed
Thanks ,
Loren
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Me too.
Mark
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Curt McWheels has been mentioned over on V8Buick. The word is that he does excellent work, but turnaround time varies. I don't know if wheels have to be disassembled for the process.
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I'm sending mine out to Rallyamerica.com to see if they can make some replicas. I have 3 OK ones, would like 2 more.
Ted
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This was a long time ago, but I remember that some place took the centers out and welded them to new rims, then chromed the whole wheel.
Sound familiar?
Loren
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Loren, that could be McWheels.
Bill Burton had a set done by him.....new rims were welded to NOS centers.
Contact info is in this thread:
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=174387&highlight=mcwheels
>>>Curt McKim is McWheels.
He's out of Slater, Iowa. 515-685-3397<<<<<
And another company that that sells refurbished wheels:
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=147736
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Thanks Walt!
Loren
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I had a lengthy conversation today with Curt McKim. He described in detail his process and the various options he offers. He also has about 20 rally wheels left of an original 120+ he purchased from an Iowa salvage yard. He was very matter-of-fact about his ability to restore my wheels to like new condition. He seemed very knowledgeable and credible to me. On top of it all, his pricing is surprisingly low. In my case, I am lucky, as he is in Iowa and I am in Minnesota. He drives up to the Cabellas Sporting Goods store in Minnesota once a month so all i have to do is meet him there and he will take the wheels and bring them back on his next trip. So no shipping costs. I am meeting him in about three weeks with five wheels for him to restore. They will be ready in two to four weeks. I will let you guys know how they turn out. I'll take some before and after shots.
Rob Keena
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Rob,
Just curious.. are you willing to share the price of having all four redone?
Thanks,
Chris
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Chris,
It would cost more for me to apply new rims to my centers, but blasting priming, and painting my centers, and acid cleaning and bringing the chrome back to full shine is only $40 per wheel! To me five wheels that will "look like new" for $200, seemed quite reasonable (and i am a known cheapskate). He also said that if my wheels can't be restored to "like new" then he will switch him with a wheel he has. Wow
Rob
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Very Nice! :thumbsup:
Is the chrome just acid cleaned or actually rechromed?
Just wondering since mine have pits which would require new chrome.
Chris
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Chris,
The "acid cleaning" is more complex than a simple cleaning. You may be familiar with this process but i wasn't. He puts this acid substance on the wheel and (in his words) it foams up for about 20 minutes and draws all of the impurities out of the chromed centers. Then he buffs it. He says he has yet to encounter a center he could not restore to like new condition.
If your outer rim shell is shot, he cuts that off, and installs a new one which he sends out to be re-chromed. He can use your centers to make any size you want. To have the centers restored and the outer rims shells re-chromed and replaced is about $90 per wheel. He says this process makes the wheel indecipherable from new. Still pretty cheap in my book. He has been restoring wheels for 35 years.
I will let everyone know how my wheels turn out. I am handing them over to him in a few weeks.
Rob
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:thumbsup:This is just what I need to have done to this set of original'65 wheels
Thanks Rob, how about before and then after pics.
Loren
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I'd like to see before and after pictures also. Tom
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I am meeting "McWheels" near a swap meet in MN on Saturday. Here are some "before" photos. Three of them will probably be both centers and outer rims. They are pretty rusty, especially on the back side. Rob K
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We are all watching so keep us up to date. Tom
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Can't wait to see the after...
I have about three sets that need restored.
Chris
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Mcwheels tells me my wheels are done. I expect to pick them up this weekend. I'll post some photos as soon as I get them. By the way, he lives right near Ames Iowa, in case anyone wants him to do some wheels and is planning on going to Ames in July.
Rob Keena
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Here are the wheels. They look very good. Any appearance of imperfection is merely a reflection. They really look Mc-perfect in Mc-person.
I went with black but he says he can do gray.
Rob
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Rob,
They look great!
So ..... bottom line. What was all done and how much $$$$?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Loren
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Rob,the wheels and workmanship look great but those are not correct for a 65 Gran Sport.
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It's my understanding that the black centers are not correct for the 65 however mine were black when i got them. I liked it so i kept them that way. He said he could do gray if requested. I think everything else about the wheel is correct. The two with the original outer shells were 65 date coded (Mark Ascher showed me how to confirm this) so they were either painted or Buick made some black 65's for one of their models. Pricing is (what i consider) very reasonable. He will restore and bring a rim back to new looking for $40 per rim. That includes acid washing out any rust, and painting the centers. He can explain what he does better than me.
He is very friendly and i would encourage anyone to call him Obviously his prices could change. My centers literally look like new.
I also had new outer rims installed to my original centers. He can go any size but i stayed stock. He welds the new rim on with real attention. He takes all of the rust off with acid and paints the centers for $110 per wheel. He lives near Ames Iowa and intends to have a bunch of wheels for sale in July.
Rob
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Rob,all 65 and early 66's had argent centers.It was around March 66 when the black centers first appeared on the wheels.And again your wheels look great and I'm not trying to be critical here but your centers look chrome like the rest of the wheel. If this is the case then they are wrong also.The 65' had a dull or shot peened finish to them. Tom
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The'65 wheel had a bright center . The center was changed for '66 wheels . The '65 wheels were found to be cracking in the lug nut area . The cracks werea result from hydrogen-embrittlement caused by the plating process. The remedy was to shot peen the steel prior to plating, which caused the satin finish of the '66 wheel.
Loren
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I think I have two odd balls (I have seven wheels and one is still with Mcwheels). My goal when the money is available is to have a black set and a correct 65 set. I have four from the Gs convert, two from the gs hardtop parts car, and one from the skylark. I did not look close enough to see that two were different. I am a little confused by the last two posts. Are the 65's and 66's the same? Is the brightness in my centers incorrect for a 65?
Maybe ultimately I can put some redlines on the black centers and get correct tires with a gray center set for certain venues.
Rob
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Rob,
The wheels are different between '65 & '66.
The '65 wheel has a smooth and shiny chrome center. The '66 wheel has a textured and satin look to the chrome center.
Loren
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Loren,
Thanks for posting the backround behind the changes in the rims. We've always speculated about the differences between these model years and what brought them on at Buick. This makes a lot a sense and will be the basis of a future section on the website to help others (anyone out there want to send me pictures of the differences?)
Rob,
You've got some beautiful rims there that although they may not be 100% correct, they preserve both the history and look that most people admiring your car will never know about. Like you said, there's always time in the future to go back and make these things right as you get the money.
Original or not original.. my rims are going to Mc Wheels for refinishing and thank you for sharing! :icon_thumright:
Chris
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Rob, I'm curious what the date codes are on your wheels. The rest of us should check our wheels too. Then we can determine when the changes did take place.
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Walt,
I'll go back to them and write them down. Mark Ascher showed me his code for the 65 last week and i checked it against my two un-restored wheels which are at the shop. I thought that they were all the same when i brought them in. Now i have 4 new outer rims (with an additional new outer still with McWheels) which i don't show he code anymore.
Maybe Mark can help. He has a 65 rim, gray centers and all with the code still on it. My notes are from his rim.
Sorry to keep belaboring the point, but is it correct that my rims are correct with the exception of the black?
thanks guys.
Rob
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Guys,
I will clean up one of my wheels and post some pictures.
I have one question as well - did the cars that had the chrome wheel option
also have a chrome spare rim, or a standard steel wheel?
Mark
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Mark,
My white hardtop that I bought from the original owner came with a chrome ralley wheel spare tire. The silver convertible also came with the spare tire on a ralley wheel. I assume this because you'd need to rotate the spare tire with the other four per Buick's recommended proper tire maintenance.
John
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If you guys want to be correct on these wheels,turn them over.Original 65 wheels are welded to the center in only four places.Now compair it to a original 66 wheel. Welded all the way around the center. This is one of the upgrades as to the strength of the wheel. Tom
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pics for reference , stamped 14 x 6 unistyle with the motor wheel logo, 813 c made in USA D5 dated, later set!, early rims were stamped 810!, note! wide rear flange in the second pic!
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More pics first: polished center no off set, second: weld on rear of hub only 4! there are 2 showing in pic!
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Anybody have 2 extra ones laying around?
I've got 3, would like the option of original wheels vs the torque thrusts.
(http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f376/Wildcat65/DSC00317.jpg)