Plywood's Pretty New Red Shoes

[Charlie Olson]

Today, I retrieved PLYWOOD from Greenway Auto Repair in Phoenix where I had taken it to evaulate and possibly repair the rusty, pitted, rough and air leaking rims. The wheels were removed and then submerged in a big tub of water to check for any air leak areas. There were air leaks along the bead on two wheels and air leaks at the valve stem holes on the other two wheels. The tires were dismounted, the rims media blasted, acid dipped, neutralized and then wire brushed with a rotary power tool. Next the bead seal areas were smooth ground and sanded followed by primer coats and more sanding. Upon further inspection it was decided to bead weld each valve stem hole, redrilled it to a smooth round opening and sanding to complete a smooth surface. The rims were painted blood red and the result was unsatisfactory to the shop owner Bill, who owns several award winning street rods. He had the rims redipped and media blasted again and hand sanded smooth. The wheels were then sent out for powder coating in the blood red color. Bill took a special liking to PLYWOOD because she is so unusual and driven on a fairly regular basis. The tires themselves have some pitting in the seal area due to the time they were pressed against the rough rust surfaces. The tires are in good shape and we are waiting to see if the roughness will allow more air leaking. So far, there is no leakage and we think the tire pitting will dissipate with time. The rims look show quality and are as new and there is no longer any rough surfaces anywhere on the rims. The rims had also been inspected by a wheel guy at an alignment shop. If there is any leaks, I'll just get new tires. For now, my rims are safe, rust free and very nice looking. The total for all of this work was $650, I can keep my original wheel covers and I was given complimentary transportation to and from the facility which is 22 miles from my auto storage facility where I keep PLYWOOD and RED RYDER, a total of 88 miles. I was very pleased with the service and the results.

[Dennis Hemingway]

Sounds like the rims turned out nice. Where are the photos? We would like to see them on Plywood.

Dennis:cool:

[Charlie Olson]

Good idea. I have a new digital camera. Let me learn how to use it and I'll also photo document my annual trip to Wavecrest in Encinitas in September. I must say, I feel more condident having safer rims on the PLYWOOD. Stay cool Dennis, up in Barstow.

[BobT-47P15]

bet it does look good, Charlie.

I noticed you said something about keeping the original hubcaps.....what does that mean? Did you get some new ones?

[Charlie Olson]

Hi Bob, PLYWOOD has original wheel covers that require the keeper pins attached to the rim. Since I was able to restore the oriignal rims with the keeper pins, I can still use my original hubcaps.

[BobT-47P15]

Oh,,,OK,,,gotcha! :)