-> -> The change from six hole to five was made in '49.  I believe they
-> -> went from 16" to 15" at the same time.  Don't believe a car rim wo
-> -> work. It's odd that you can't find the 15" rim.  My '57 was 2WD an
-> -> had 15".
->
-> I made a ton (short ton) of money back in the 60's cutting the center
-> out of 6 hole 16" chevy wheels and welding them into 15" rims.  I'd
-> make 'em any width and offset you wanted. (Within reason)  All were
-> sold as "Trailer Wheels ONLY" but lots of folks used 'em on pickups
-> and dirt track racecars.  Never had one come back broken.
->
-> Welding the center in the rim without warping the heck out of the
-> whole mess was quite a trip!  We made a gadget to roll 'em back
-> straight if they warped, but it was easier to just MAKE 'em straight
-> to begin with.
-> I'm sure there are still people making up custom wheels somewhere!
Yup.  We used to do a much cruder variant of that when we were kids.
Could actually cut the centers out with a torch, using an axle
(sometimes the car!) as the "lathe" to keep things straight.  Then
just stick welded with 6011 or 6013 rods...  Would *not* do that
again!  Never had one break, though.
Also welded a complete Buick rim inside a 20" Budd wheel for use
on a Dodge truck for offroad stuff.  Raised that ol' half-ton up
a whole bunch.  Didn't do much to help the overall gear ratio,
though...
-c-
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