lock rings

[odat]

Does anyone have a good sorce for 19" lock rings "Chromed"?

Plus what is the best way to fill the outside ring of the rim? the lip just inside the lock ring that gets beat up over the years by all the wrong tools use to remove the ring. Can I fill them with weld or will the heat hurt the rim? JB weld? body filler? If I use the filler how do I mount the wheel without damage the new paint?

[Guest mccarthymf]

Hi Odat,

I replaced all 6 lock rings on my '28 Roadster because the old ones were destroyed by the plater! Painful lesson in ensuring that you know what the base metal of the item going in for plating is! My invoice is from Coker Tire: (423) 265-6368 dated 30 Jul 2010: 6 19" lock rings @ $195 ea. came to $1170!

Staggering I know, however; was told that a guy in New Zealand is Coker's source, thus: very expensive! I hope you hear of a closer/cheaper place to get your rings as you have to have them! When I put them on with the help of a very generous Franklen-ite from East TX, he gave me sound advice on lots of soapy solution combined with taping the ends of the tire iron spoons so as to not mar the split rings "split ends."

Two BTWs: (1) I chose to Nickel Plate vs. chrome as I believe that's the way they came with the car - however; now I have to polish more often! (2) My grand-dad had a '28 Jordan Blueboy which also had split rings which were painted to match the rim and were mounted facing in-board, i.e. not visible to the casual observer. I thought that was a great design which, though it didn't allow for the flash of nickel, it did allow for marred split ring ends.

Good luck, Semper Fidelis, Mike Mc

Edited May 31, 2013 by mccarthymf (see edit history)

[odat]

thanks,

I am looking at Coker tires (radials) tubes and flaps. When I add the rings they should send me gold ones.

Mabye they will give me a discount when I hit the price of a new car!!!

[Franklin31]

option? get 7:00 x 19 Firestone WW at Universal. 1"+ wider tread; 3" larger diameter, 1.5" taller, higher speed, better classical tread pattern, fill up wheel wells better. basically same price????

[ak]

Better be very careful! Hydrogen embrittlement! Don't do it unless you know what you are doing. The Brits know how to plate without destroying the structural integrity of the base metal. Danger to the unwary.

John

[Steve Braverman]

option? get 7:00 x 19 Firestone WW at Universal. 1"+ wider tread; 3" larger diameter, 1.5" taller, higher speed, better classical tread pattern, fill up wheel wells better. basically same price????

I have these on my '32 sedan and think they look great. However I don't think they would look good, or even fit on an earlier car other than a 153 delux with the larger fenders.

[odyssey]

Does anyone have a good sorce for 19" lock rings "Chromed"?

Plus what is the best way to fill the outside ring of the rim? the lip just inside the lock ring that gets beat up over the years by all the wrong tools use to remove the ring. Can I fill them with weld or will the heat hurt the rim? JB weld? body filler? If I use the filler how do I mount the wheel without damage the new paint?

Whesls and lock rings are not a lot of fun...

we've used lead, all-metal, Devcon metal-filled epoxy and other on the lip. Grind & file out what is easy to do being careful not to take much base metal and weaken the lip. Then fill remaining nicks with whatever you please, but something harder than plain filler is best. The goal is to install the ring without scraping at all, in which case it does not matter too much what you use. You could weld each nick, but if you scrape all the paint off anyway, what does it matter? If you want to powder coat wheels, you have to use a filler that your powdercoater can cover over. Seem say all-metal works. Use whatbyournpowder coater recommends (you can powdercoat over primer surfaces if it is not too heavy).

If the rings fit well, then the trick is to clamp the tire down, way from the lock ring groove, so that you don't have to fight the tire when installing the ring. In this way, the rings really walk on rather easily with no scraping. Practice before you paint the wheels to be sure the rings fit properly. It's really no problem when doing it this way.

I've never tried the new rings. Old rings are fine if they are not badly thinned out from deep rust or over zealous metal removal during a previous restoration. If they are sound, they can be saved. Yes, it's a very good idea to use a plater that agrees to bake them after plating to eliminate hydrogen embrittlement. Most shops will do this and have the ovens for production work. The original rings seem to have some temper to them (but not all do). You do not need to bake if the rings are not tempered steel.

Have fun!

Tom