Remanufactured Y-Block for my car

[ROKuberski]

Dave,

I've always wondered if the center section of the wheel could be welded in place and the rivets removed.  Good workmanship and rebalancing of the wheel and that could solve the problem.  I had a bad day with the brakes coming down from about 7,500' to about 6,000' on a day that was not all that hot.  That really put me on track for the disk brake project.

By the way, I really like the color of your car.

Rich

[terry_208]

Rich, I attempted to send you a pm yesterday.  Did you get it?  I do have a 292 short block from a 58..

[KULTULZ]

I've always wondered if the center section of the wheel could be welded in place and the rivets removed.  Good workmanship and rebalancing of the wheel and that could solve the problem. 

Here is one source - http://thewheelsmith.net/

[ROKuberski]

Rich, I attempted to send you a pm yesterday.  Did you get it?  I do have a 292 short block from a 58..

Terry,

No, I did not get your message.  Unfortunately, I don't think a block is of any use to me in this transaction.  I have to return my long block to them and the deal is that they will provide me with a rebuild long block.  If anything changes, I'll let you know.

Rich

[ROKuberski]

Here is one source - http://thewheelsmith.net/

Looks like these guys can make anything you want.  I could not find pricing in their online information. 

I went to the tri-state swap meet a few years ago and found a set of 4-wheels that were just what I needed for only $100.  Turns out that a friend had a 5th wheel that he gave me, gotta have a spare.  I also sold my old wheels to a guy in Pennsylvania for about $100, so I came out even.

Rich

[oldave57]

Rich & Kultulz

Thanks for the info on the custom wheel source.  I checked on the custom wheels on their website and it looks like they start out with 15" wheels and go up from there (unless I read the site wrong).  I have looked this afternoon on Ebay and found some wheels for 64-65 Mustangs that indicate they are the correct size (14" with 4.5" bolt circle, 5 holes) and some that are for an 83-91 Crown Vic that appear to also be the right size.  They are pretty proud of the rims (want $175 plus $45 shipping for a pair of the Crown Vic rims)

Changing to front disks has been on my wish list for a while, even though the car seems to stop pretty good with the stock drums.  You do have to get on the brakes pretty hard if you're trying to stop from speed but so far it has been okay.

I have also thought about welding the inside member to the rim.  I have an extra spare wheel that came with a Continental Kit on the car when I bought it (removed the kit because I like the look better without it).  I might try welding (carefully) and then grinding down the rivet heads somewhat depending on how much extra clearance is needed.  You would need to leave the rivets in place to still have a good seal on the inside of the rim.  Probably not something that safety people would recommend.

The car is in "cold storage" for the winter, so not a big hurry to get wheels at this point.  I think I'll try to locate some in some junk yards that have older cars in the spring (might get lucky) before I pull the trigger on the project.  I found dimensions on the Wilwood website that indicate how much internal clearance is needed on the rim and I can make a wood gage block that fits into the center mounting hole to simulate that clearance.  I think I would like to check out rims in person to make sure they have clearance.

Thanks a lot for the information (and I really like the color of your car as well, and it looks like I have hijacked your original engine thread but really appreciate the info)

Dave

[ROKuberski]

Dave,

I'm not sure that any of the '60's wheels will work.  I think you have to have wheels from a car that had front disk brakes.  I am pretty sure I am using Granada wheels.

I'm not sure where you live, but I run my car throughout the winter as long as the roads are dry.  The heater works just fine now that I put a rebuilt core in it.

Back to my engine, I've confirmed that they do have either a '57 or '58 core to rebuild.  That should be fine.  I do want the most powerful engine I can find because at my altitude we derate engines about 18 - 20%.

Rich

[oldave57]

Rich,

I am pretty sure that Mustangs had optional front disks from 64 on.  I have a friend who has a 65 Mustang with front disks that were original equipment (yep, he bought that car new, sold it and then later re-purchased his same original Mustang).  Ford full size also had optional disks from about 65 or 66 according to Rockauto website that offers calipers for those models.  The Granadas are the wheels of choice because they had front disks as standard (as far as I know).  But I would like to personally inspect the wheels rather than buy something that may not work and then not be able to return them.  What I need is to find a deal like you did getting all 4 wheels for $100, but I think that deal might be one of a kind.

I live in southeast Iowa so from about November to end of March, I store my car in a local U-Store facility.  Unfortunately I have just a 2-car garage and in the winter I like to keep my F150 in the garage (hate scraping windows) and so the Skyliner has to go (but I visit it now and then).   My wife's minivan takes the first spot (of course). 

Glad to hear your engine project is looking up and the Seattle shop has cores that will work.  Looking forward to some more videos of your engine replacement.

Dave

[lalessi1]

I have a 14" spare wheel/tire. My wheel is 14 x 6.5 from an 70's LTD. It fit my Wilwood front brakes. I saw several on eBay the other day. A stock '57 wheel will not work.

[ROKuberski]

Rich,

I live in southeast Iowa so from about November to end of March, I store my car in a local U-Store facility.  Unfortunately I have just a 2-car garage and in the winter I like to keep my F150 in the garage (hate scraping windows) and so the Skyliner has to go (but I visit it now and then).   My wife's minivan takes the first spot (of course). 

Dave

Dave,
If you can borrow a wheel to try, or make your test piece to confirm fit, that would confirm that you are okay.  On the stock wheel, I think the size is okay except for the rivets, it's that close to working.

My previous house had a single car garage, when we moved to our current house (1994) we opted for the three car garage, figured that would be plenty.  Well of course what ever you have is never enough.  Check the mods I made so I could park 4-cars in my 3-car garage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1PKWeScQo&list=PLpOcKSzessf5SqJFFHV3x6DDX1Ra9kFLf&index=6

[RICH MUISE]

Very cool video, Rich. Great planning on the in-construction use of the lift!! Didn't listen to the audio, but I was wondering what all those loose wires were at ceiling level.

[ROKuberski]

I added the extra length to the romex wires prior to lifting the roof.  After lifting the roof, I completed the rewiring project.  I decked the lift so I would have a work platform.  Without a car on the lift it took about 10 minutes for the platform to get back to ground level.

It took me about a week of part time work to prepare to lift the roof.  Using the lift, it only took 30 seconds to lift it into place.  We installed the pre built walls and got the sheeting and siding all done in one day.  The trim and painting took just another day and one more day to do the mods on the high lift garage door.  This was not a hard project.  It did attract the attention of my neighbors during the project, but no one else had done this.

Rich

[oldave57]

Rich,

Not gonna lie, I have a serious case of "garage envy" after watching your last video.  The construction work was well planned and it shows (also kinda like the Corvette).  Having a lift is every car buff's dream but very few can pull it off, especially in what appears to be a residential 3-car garage from the street view.  Great job!!!!

Dave

[ROKuberski]

You are right, that's my 2002 C5 Corvette.  I bought it 10 years ago and it's still worth what I paid for it.  The Fairlane gets more winter miles than the Corvette does.

I would have liked to build a 2-Car garage in the back yard but since I have a corner lot the set back requirements severely restrict what I could have done.  For one thing, no driveway's allowed on the street along side of my property.  I'm okay with what I have.

[lalessi1]

Rich, VERY NICE job. I really thought installing the lift prior to the roof lift was genius. I don't even have a garage, I have a carport!