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Banded wheels.


hurnleft

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Hi All, I'm planning on having the factory 15" wheels on my 1948 SP15 banded a little and wonder if anyone knows how much extra width I can put on the outside with any rubbing issues. I'm banding rather than getting new wheels so that the hub caps still fit.Thanks, Bob.

 

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get a tape...measure what room you have inside the wheel well and what room you have between the wheel and the fender lip....the results will be the afforded distance to widen plus will give your wheel build the appropriate offset....with needing to provide an offset and extending the outer lip perhaps a modern wheel of proper width would be the better candidate for the placement of your wheel hub to be inserted, trued, welded and balanced....the band will account for two concentric welds along with the inserting and welding of your original hub...modern steel...just the welding of the mounting hub

Edited by Plymouthy Adams
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Hi Bob

 

I am sure you know of banded wheels in essex. If you drive it to them they will be able to tell you what width/offset you can use and then make them for you.

 

Pete ;);)

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Back in the old days we use to band wheels by cutting section of old gas bottles and what fun that was trying to balance them after welding back together 

Edited by Flatheadgasser
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My neighbor and his family used to race dirt track back in the 50's. He said you couldn't just go buy wider wheels then.  He said we would split and widen our own.  I said that's cool was it hard to do?  He said it was hard to get one true enough to run, usually took 2 or 3 tries to make one that wouldn't wobble too bad. Lol He is 83,  his family did pretty well locally.  There were certain wheels he said were the ones he looked for that worked well for this  but I cant remember which ones. 

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32 minutes ago, Flatie46 said:

My neighbor and his family used to race dirt track back in the 50's. He said you couldn't just go buy wider wheels then.  He said we would split and widen our own.  I said that's cool was it hard to do?  He said it was hard to get one true enough to run, usually took 2 or 3 tries to make one that wouldn't wobble too bad. Lol He is 83,  his family did pretty well locally.  There were certain wheels he said were the ones he looked for that worked well for this  but I cant remember which ones. 

that was then, this is now....there is really no sense to band with the many wider rims that you can cut the centers out of and insert your center ...I understand the need back in the day when a 5" wide rim would be to die for....no need to re-invent the wheel, just make a quick mod...bad enough you have the run out issues with a single weld procedure...cannot see a need to make it more so..but then maybe I see things different

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In the UK we have several companies that specialise in banding wheels and have the right lathe and other tools to make sure they are 'true'. I had some wobbly banded wheels in the 1970's so am aware that they were a problem.

 

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I did a bit of reading..seems this is very common in Europe and I would venture to say that the very reason is lack of wider wheels to source from in the first place thus the need to band.  However I found it interesting that while there is no formal word banning this practice, there is general acceptance unless MOT inspector cries foul for shoddy workmanship...there seems to be a bit of concern with the banding issue from insurance companies and disclosure being a main issue.  Could well be you would be totally liable out of your pocket should a wheel fail and damage/death claim is the results of an investigation.  Don't ask don't tell could be your insurance reply as to 'we don't pay'  

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All I can say we were young and foolish and broke and we knew it was wrong, but a cool looking car is still a cool looking and sometimes you have to stand out in the crowd.

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I have access to a lathe big enough to do the job at work. I have thought about giving it a try,  had some ideas on how to true it and keep it true through the process. Tim's right, it would probably be better to buy them. I like doing things like that even if I don't do anything but waste a few wheels and learn from it. I do understand in this day and age I guess you could be liable if things in some way went terribly wrong, like a wheel come apart causing a wreck. I guess the same thing could happen if you did a brake job and they failed.  I've got several welding certifications, if I'm good enough to weld a boiler, I'm good for a wheel I guess. But I'm speaking for myself. I was thinking the wheels on the P-15 are actually riveted to the band. I would thing a quality weld would be safer than 70 year old rivits. 

  Speaking of trueness, I have planned on sorting through my wheels and making a jig to go in the lathe and check to see how true they are. I bet from the factory or after a hard life some are better than others. May be this way with any wheel you buy.

 

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  • 3 months later...

The project continues in the very able hands of Mike at Mustard City Speed in Norwich, Norfolk, England.

 The wheels have been banded 1 1/2" front and 2 1/2" rear, the Peugeot 2.5 TD engine has been replaced by another that doesn't smoke, the brakes have all been gone through, the front has been lowered a little and a heater/demister is nearly fitted.

 

I keep appearing with more bits to be added either now or later in the year, depending on how time goes. A silencer is going in as it had a straight through plain pipe up until now. Wiring is being tidied, modern additions are being replaced with or disguised as older looking items and seat belts are going in, as are orange indicators on the rear.

 

The plan is to be all sorted for the NSRA Supernats in August and the P15 picnic in September.

 

More photos to follow later.

 

Cheers, Bob.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Well here it is fully roadworthy now. I've got to get used to drum brakes and the steering is quite worn but it is a lovely old thing. 

The Peugeot turbo diesel sounds like a taxi but I can put up with that for the improved fuel consumption.

 

Mike has done a great job as always.

 

 

04 08 18 b.jpg

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Looks great.  Nice color.   With the trim rings, the wheels appear like original..     Are  you using radial tires?   They help to

take up play in the front end and do not follow ruts and grooves in the road......make steering better.  However, they are

harder to turn at stop or very slow speeds.  I have 2.15x75R-15 wide white radials on mine.   

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13 hours ago, BobT-47P15 said:

Looks great.  Nice color.   With the trim rings, the wheels appear like original..     Are  you using radial tires?   They help to

take up play in the front end and do not follow ruts and grooves in the road......make steering better.  However, they are

harder to turn at stop or very slow speeds.  I have 2.15x75R-15 wide white radials on mine.   

Hi, thanks for your message, yes I'm using radials and yes, it's harder to turn at slow speed.

I'm on 215/65 15 and 185/70 15.

04_08_18_d.jpg

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