Popular Hot Rodding - Vintage Wheel Works

PHR PROJECT CAR
REI
THE
TI HEEL All cars gotta have 'em, but
do they all have to look the
curved like a Torq Thrust), and have a peak in the cen­
ter. It's a subtle difference, but it really looks good. The
centers of these two-piece wheels have a rough, as-cast
texture, and the outer hoops are highly polished. We
same? Here are four ideas
also loaded up on a set of Nitto's premier sticky street
for making your wheels
works great on our '68 Chevelle project car. Now that
stand out in a crowd.
By Johnny Hunkins
Photography by the author
W
tires, some NTOI R-compounds. The combo looks and
you know that, we can talk about something you might
also be interested in: making your new (or existing)
wheels look way better without spending a fortune.
We wanted the wheels to be integrated into the
overall look of the car, so we decided early on that we'd
paint the V40's wheel centers in a color that would
hen most magazines get a new project car, the
complement the SS stripes we planned on laying down.
first thing they do is throw on some new
We found the right graphite color in Dupli-Color's line
rolling stock and say: "Look how clever we are!
of High Performance Wheel Coatings. One can of this
We know how to buy wheels and tires." (Yawn.) It's a
stuff is all it takes. And, it's just $5.99. The change was
necessary evil, but that doesn't mean we have to go
immediate and dramatic. We apologize ahead of time
down the same path. Yes, we did score new wheels­
to the super guys at Vintage Wheel Works for all the
the same killer-looking Vintage Wheel Works V40s you
pesky phone calls they're going to get about a wheel
saw last month on Brian English's '69 Chevelle. These
color they don't even offer, but so be it, we gotta be dif­
wheels flat-out rock; the spokes are straight (not
ferent.
54
www.popularhotrodding.com
These are the kr
Chevelle with. V\
dumpster. No tel
Rather than
come with the
aluminum blo(
$l30,000 watel
$37 for the s t.
Polishin' Pad,
shine to match
you've got a tir,
Polishin' Pad is
short order. Th
new tire-paint­
that one. (GoO(
suggest they reI
us make a cardl
lhe cen­
od. The
as-cast
[I. We
street
oks and
w that
u might
ing)
une.
the
:hat we' d
uld
19 down.
lor's line
of this
nge was
of time
all the
heel
. a be dif-
These are the knock-off 14-inch slot mags we bought the
Chevelle with. We ended up throwing them in the office
dumpster. No telling what magazine they'll show up in next.
Before ordering wheels and tires, we used our Percy's Wheelrite
Rather than use the plastic chrome wheel caps that
come with the V40s, we decided to make our own billet
aluminum block-off covers. We had 'em made on a
$130,000 waterjet cutting machine, and they only cost
$37 for the set. Another $10 bought a can of Mothers
Polishin' Pad, which brought them to a spectacular
shine to match the outer hoops. Speaking of which, if
you've got a tired set of oxidized rims, a Mothers
Polishin' Pad is a good way to get them looking cool in
short order. The next thing we tried was Dupli-Color's
new tire-paint-in-a-pen, but the verdict is still out on
that one. (Good thing we tried it on old tire first.) We
suggest they repackage the paint in a spray can and let
us make a cardboard template for spraying the letters
tool (about
$90
from Summit) to measure the available space.
Set the tool at the desired wheel diameter and offset, then bend
the thick wire to the desired tire profile. If anything rubs, then
change the diameter, offset, or tire size. Make sure to check the
front clearance with the car's weight fully on the suspension, and
check with the steering at full lock. The rear is much easier-all
you have to do is put the jack under the differential when check­
ing clearance.
on the sidewall. The oversprayed "race tire" look would
be cool.
In spite of our wheels starting out looking like
almost every five-spoke on the planet, we've now got
wheels that stand out from the crowd. But you can't buy
'em like this-you' ll have to do it yourself. Fortunately,
it won't cost a lot. Here's how we did it. @
APRIL 2007
POPULAR HOT RODDING
55
PHR PROJECT CAR
REINVENTING THE WHEEL
"You want to do a cheap build?
Show tech on how to make your
own parts. I'll climb down off my
soapbox now. Sorry to vent on
you guys ..." -earthquake68, Team
Cheve//e message forum - - - - -
-
The wheels were masked
off using fine-line mask­
ing tape and some 2-inch
masking tape. Note how I
cut a "donut" out of card­
The V40 wheels from Vintage Wheel Works have classic looks,
with a modern flare. They're cool as delivered, but we wanted
to make them nicer. Our rear wheels (shown) measure 17 x 9.5,
with a 5.5-inch back spacing and have a GM 5 x 4-3/4-inch bolt
circle. The fronts are 17 x 8 with a 4-3/4-inch back space. These
two-piece hoops have media blasted centers, machined and
polished outer hoops, and are cast aluminum from virgin 356
and heat treated to a T6 factor. Center cap and lug nuts are
included. For tires, we went with our favorite rollers: Nitto NT01
R compounds (245/45ZR17, front, and 27 5/40ZR17 rear). You can
The foliOl
one of thf
in Anahei
board and taped it to the
back. The idea is to get
the Dupli-Color graphite
to my mal
minum hu
pressure \
wheel coating only on
the rough-cast center section of the wheel. It tom stuff I
pays to take your time they're th f
call up Mil
masking off unpainted areas-the wheels will
on file. Th
look so much better.
buy stickier tires, but they aren't street legal.
It looks like I'm
having way too much
fun with this spray
can. The Dupli-Color
High-Performance
Wheel Coating went
on smooth and easy
with no drips or
spurts. A light coat
was followed by two
heavier coats at
about 30-minute
intervals. I'm lazy,
so making the wheel
centers the color of
brake dust will save
me loads of time
Before mounting the tires, I wanted to check the fender-to-rim
down the road.
The
worked
off
rolled-Ui
ish. When
this, use c
off. It rE
don'
clearance and compare it to the measurement I got from the
original set of rims. Here, a wrench on a string acts like a plumb
bob so I can measure the horizontal distance with a ruler. The
V40s were about 3/8 inch closer to the fender lip, which will
make the Chevelle look considerably better.
REV UP YOUR TIRES!
We've used a lot of Dupli-Color stuff in the past few
months, so you'd think
maybe huffed too
we
m any
had stock in the company, or
paint
fumes. We like the NASCAR-for­
we wanted to
try Dupli-Color's new H ot-Ti res tire
paint (HT-300, yellow; H T-100,
the street look, so
-
white) , which comes in a paint
marker tube and costs about
$8.
The idea is to color inside
the raised letters, filling in the
letters evenly with paint. It's a
time c o ns u m i ng operation-it
-
takes about 20 minutes per tire­
but the results are worth it. It's
not a marker per se, instead of colori n g " the letter
space, you make a series of paint dots. U lti m a tely we
decided not to use it on the project Chevelle, because
yellow or white just d i dn't match
•
the rest of the car as we'd
hoped. We do, however, plan
on using it on our road race
tires for project g/28, our '76
Camaro project (which is now
in an Alabama bodyshop). It
would be great if Dupli-Color
offered its tire paint in a spray
can. We'd love to see what
it looks 'like sprayed over
a template for that ra ce tire
overspray look.
"
,
Yeah baby! W,
buffed out, th,
the Chevelle c
look for the stl
center caps!
56
www.popularhotrodding.com
,
r
y
?om
The following day, I took the plastic wheel cap that came with
one of the V40 wheels down to Advance Waterjet
&
Engraving
in Anaheim, CA. I traced the cap on a sheet of paper, handed it
to my man Mike, who then turned it into 1/8-inch thick billet alu­
minum hub block-off plates. This $130,000 machine uses high­
pressure water to cut through metal, and can make lots of cus­
tom stuff on the cheap. We paid just $37 for four covers, and
they're the only ones on the planet like it. If you want some, just
call up Mike at Advance. The CNC program for the plates will be
on file. The waterjet is great, and we'll be back for sure.
With graphite-painted centers and billet aluminum hub block­
offs, our Vintage Wheel Works V40 wheels will turn heads for
Fresh out of the Omax
years to come. In fairness to Vintage, the stock V40 looks
JetMachining Center Model
absolutely killer, but we wanted more. We got a unique look for
e I'm
too much
is spray
upli-Color
55100, these hub block-off plates
just a few bucks more, but you can do the same things to just
aren't quite ready for the project
about any wheel, including the ones you already have. If you're
Chevelle. I was going to scuff
down on bucks and have a weekend to spare, you can transform
them with 100-grit paper and call
the look of your car for next to nothing.
it a day, when publisher Ed Zinke
Irmance
suggested I polish them to match
lting went
the rims instead. See, sometimes
I and easy
publishers can have good ideas!
The Mothers Polishin' Pad worked like a charm. Just pull off a few inches from the rolled-up cotton wad, and pol­
ish. When it turns dark gray like this, use a clean towel to buff it off. It really is like magic, but road.
don't take our word for it. HOW MUCH DID WE SPEND?
We spent $2,041.98 to get the look you see here
(which also counts the Dupli-Color Hot-Tires tire paint
pen we opted not to use). That's a little higher than a
run-of-the-mill set of five-spokes with new street rub­
ber, but not by much. The thing we want to point out is
that only about three percent of that amount (roughly
$61) went to making this rolling stock look really cool.
Between the graphite Dupli-Color wheel coating
($5.99), the custom hub block-off plates ($37), the
Mothers P oli s h i n Pad ($10), and the Hot-Tires paint
pen ($7.99) , you have the makings of a one-of-a-kind
set of rollers. For a few Jacksons and a leisurely week­
end in the garage, you can make any tired set of five­
spoke wheels look like ours.
'
Vintage Wheel Works V40 wheels
(17 x 8, front, 4-3/4-inch backspace)
er
,we
ause
match
d
plan
..
Vintage Wheel Works V40 wheels
(17 x 9. 5, rear, 5-1/2-inch back space)
.
.
$299.75 each
.
.... ........
$319.7 5 each
Nitto 245/45ZR17 NT01 R-compound tires
(front)
Nitto
ce
................................
.
275/40ZR17 NT01
......
.
.......
..
. ...................
. $174 each
...
R-compound tires
'76
(rear)
now
Performance Wheel Coating
.
..
.
. .
. . $5.99
(graphite, WP102)
) It
. .
...
...................
.
....................
........
.
alar
...
.
..... .
.................
Custom hub block-off plates
pray
Mothers Polishin' Pad
at
.........
Yeah baby! We're rolling now. All
ire
.....
.
. ..
..
..
$197 each
......
Dupli-Color High
buffed out, the block-off plates give
the Chevelle a serious, race car
look for the street. Bye-bye plastic
.
...
......
...........
............. _ ..
.
.......
.........
.
..............
.
..
..
.. .
.......
.........
..
.
..
...........
.
....
.
.
.. ...
.......
.
.
...... ......
. . .
............. ..... ..
..
...
.
... .............
.... ............. ..........
Dupli-Color Hot-Tires tire paint pen
(yellow, HT-300)
. .
. . . .
..
Total:
.
.
.
.
... .....
.......
.
$37
$10
.. ... $7.
99
$2.041.98
... center caps!
APRIL
2007
POPULAR HOT RODDING
57