steel wheel

bukweet

Top Fueler
Mar 22, 2005
2,803
0
0
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Sorry if this posts twice. Computer glitch I think. Anyway, is there a stock type 15x8 wheel that will bolt up? Not a rally but an old school regular type wheel that I could run the small type cap on. Junkyards are my required speciality.
Thanks
bukweet
 

79wagonator

Dragway Regular
Jan 3, 2006
1,107
0
0
Long Island, NY
www.cardomain.com
15x8 would have to be custom made. Nothing ever came w/ 15 x 8 stock steelies I bought 15x7s steelies from a wheel shop they were $45 ea brand new. You have to watch the back spacing & tire size though. They have 4 1/4 BS and w/ 255/60/15s BFGs they were just touching the frame rail in the rear so I had to use adapters. So much for saving money and using the dog dish bowtie caps I had :?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
the only thing in the junkyard that will work are 15x7's. you technically could get some 15x8 truck rallys off of a 1/2 ton and they have some snazzy center caps and trim rings, but then youd need to buy adpters to go from the 5x5 bolt pattern that those wheels have
 

bukweet

Top Fueler
Thread starter
Mar 22, 2005
2,803
0
0
Mississippi Gulf Coast
I thank you. I'm always lookin' for a junkyard deal. Lot's of stuff out there if you know where to look.
A guy I know works at a machine shop and said they do wheels for the dirt track guys all the time. Maybe take a center from one wheel and put it in the rim of another to get what I want. I remember a guy "back in the day" that used to weld chevy rally centers into VW outer rims for the front wheels of his drag car.
Thanks again.
bukweet
 

Scoti

Amateur Racer
Jan 15, 2005
264
0
0
Dallas Tx
bukweet said:
I thank you. I'm always lookin' for a junkyard deal. Lot's of stuff out there if you know where to look.
A guy I know works at a machine shop and said they do wheels for the dirt track guys all the time. Maybe take a center from one wheel and put it in the rim of another to get what I want. I remember a guy "back in the day" that used to weld chevy rally centers into VW outer rims for the front wheels of his drag car.
Thanks again.
bukweet
If you know someone that can help you swap the centers, the sky's the limit.

You can take a stock 15x7 73-77 MonteCarlo or Malibu plain steelie & swap the 'center/hub' into a 15x8 Vette or truck Ralley 'barrel/rim'. You could set it up w/4" BS & a 255/60 would look just about perfect.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
if you got the machine shop guy, you might as well grab some 15x8 truck wheels and a set of 15x6 or 7 car wheels and swap the centers.
 

79wagonator

Dragway Regular
Jan 3, 2006
1,107
0
0
Long Island, NY
www.cardomain.com
Hey Bukweet,
Do you have any pics of your pontiac wagon?? Id like to see it :D

Dave 8)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hey Bukweet, The stock steelies 15"x7"with 4 1/4"backspace with 235/78 on a'79 Malibu wagon have about 1/2" clearance to the frame and about 2" to the wheel opening. The code by the valve stem is 'TJ' but, you sound like a junk yard regular also and probaly knew the already. Also 15"x6" 'TF' have 4 1/8" back space
Ther is no cheap way to get 15"x8" steelies that I know of. Fabricatin' or buyin' are your only choices but, it would be way cool lookin'
As you can tell. I like steel wheels. What center caps are you using?
Have fun,Smokey
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
You can buy the 15x8 rally rims from Summit for about $50 a peice. It will end up being about $125 for two of them by the time you get it to your door. I don't know how easily most of us would be able to beat that price getting someone to cut and reweld wheels. By the time you buy the rims and pay to get them resized you could be getting close to that price.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hey Bukweet, I could be wrong but,I'm not to sure that a rally center is the same diameter as a stock steel wheel.(Thanks, you gave me somethin' to think about while I was cuttin' my lawn)
If they are not the same you could use four stock wheels. Leave the centers alone and cut the ones to widen at the widest straight section outside the center (Lookin' at the front of the wheel just before it rolls bigger towards the valve stem hole)
Cut the donor wheels back farter on that straight section (just before the area wher the center is welded in)
Weld that wide band onto the the wider cut first wheels.
Here in PA we have a few dirt oval tracks that use steel wheels and there are a couple guys doin' this stuff. If you can't find anybody locally try Pete Paulson or Wheel Smith. look in the back of a street rod magazine. Dah, Do a http://www.dogpile .com search.
Take care,Smokey
 

MalibuRacing.com Gear

Stickers & Shirts!!