custom backspace rims (wheel vintiques says nope)

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called weld wheels today.....they have a work stoppage at the moment so he isn't accepting anything new at this time...but he can and will do it....said to call back in a bout a month.

he was very helpful in trying to find someone else to help me. He confirmed Stockton is out of business and Eric Vaughn is as well. he also said Wheels America doesn't have a good track record for doing this type of work and may have stopped doing it because of that.
 
Art Bair is gonna hook me up. really really nice guy and pretty much only does steel material. i'm gonna try to remove the centers from my spare rims to save on shipping and he has a donor ring for me already. SUUWEEETT!!
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Just had a set made last month 12 inch 7 1/2 BS. $100 a wheel. Local to me . Where is DFW? usually a close location listed gets you more replies. here are pictures of what we picked up. We provided the centers from standard Mopar wheels. They are a company that makes modified Nascar wheels. They also make bead locks

View attachment 1716114188

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you sir....get a gold star! :)
 
cli55er said:
i also called the wheel smith... was on hold up to being sent to VM.....waiting for a call back. but anyone else wanna take my money???

i do have a set of fronts that i had to replace cause the wilwood bolt pattern is 5x4.5.....wonder how hard it would be to just make these myself. probably would turn out all kinds of fudged up though i bet.
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I called Wheel Smith a few months ago when I was looking for custom back spaced SBP rallyes for by 67 Barracuda and they told me they don't do them. Not sure if it was just the mopar rallyes they didn't make with custom back set. Good luck though and let us know if you find someone to make you up a set. I'm still considering some SBP rallyes 14x8 with 4 to 4.25" BS for my car.
 
cli55er said:
i'm gonna try to remove the centers from my spare rims to save on shipping
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Know anyone with a Plasma Cutter? Just cut the barrel on either side of the center... Let him remove the center from what remains of the barrel... He knows the tricks, not worth risking damaging the center trying to remove it....
 
cli55er said:
well....rimspec says he don't like doing steel, but he will do it....didn't sound super confident....sounds like he wants aluminum.....and then he quoted me 450 a rim. i said ....no. not sure why i would pay 450 a rim when you are hesitant to take the work. and he was worried i would be drag racing on them. sigh....yeah...i'll pass man.
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$450 per wheel was their way of telling you that they didn’t want to do them without them actually coming out and saying that they didn’t want to do them.
 
Here is the problem with doing small bolt steel wheels or rally wheel. The centers are smaller diameter that you need from the original 14 inch wheels. The man that made my wheels pictured above. Had me bring both 14 and 15 inch wheels. We used the 15 inch centers. But he told me he could have used the 14 inch if we needed to. He would have needed to get different hoops or use spacers. This is an older guy that has been doing wheels fo a long time. That is all he does , Wheels for Modified Nascar , Sand rails, and muscle car wheels.

If you Google the location. Its an Old Theater/Hotel with a three car garage/barn.

I pulled in and there was a Square body Chevy C10 parked in front of an old building . Didn't look like a Normal shop. No junk laying around just a couple big Trailers, If it wouldn't have been for the C10 I would have thought the place was Vacant. Knocked on the Garage door and when he opened up I couldn't believe All the wheels. The guy works by himself and enjoys what he is doing. The wheels are manual machine welded one at a time. He'll make any steel wheel you want. You just need the center. Some centers he does have in stock.

He basically makes all the wheels you all see on these Modifies. Takes and ships them all over to different tracks.

We were sent there by a Racer who knows him. I'll never worry about getting the correct Back spaced wheel again. It was $100 a wheel . dropped two 6's off for centers. and picked two up 12's like new. I glass beaded the centers of all the wheels before I dropped them off.

https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Bair-Wheel-Repair-570-943-2049
 
1WildRT said:
Know anyone with a Plasma Cutter? Just cut the barrel on either side of the center... Let him remove the center from what remains of the barrel... He knows the tricks, not worth risking damaging the center trying to remove it....
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i had zero problems getting the centers out. a 4.5' grinder to take off the welds and then a 12 ton press centered in the middle with a wood block pushed them out like butter. no...i did not bend them.
 
mcodecuda said:
$450 per wheel was their way of telling you that they didn’t want to do them without them actually coming out and saying that they didn’t want to do them.
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his lack of confidence also did that.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Here is the problem with doing small bolt steel wheels or rally wheel. The centers are smaller diameter that you need from the original 14 inch wheels. The man that made my wheels pictured above. Had me bring both 14 and 15 inch wheels. We used the 15 inch centers. But he told me he could have used the 14 inch if we needed to. He would have needed to get different hoops or use spacers. This is an older guy that has been doing wheels fo a long time. That is all he does , Wheels for Modified Nascar , Sand rails, and muscle car wheels.

If you Google the location. Its an Old Theater/Hotel with a three car garage/barn.

I pulled in and there was a Square body Chevy C10 parked in front of an old building . Didn't look like a Normal shop. No junk laying around just a couple big Trailers, If it wouldn't have been for the C10 I would have thought the place was Vacant. Knocked on the Garage door and when he opened up I couldn't believe All the wheels. The guy works by himself and enjoys what he is doing. The wheels are manual machine welded one at a time. He'll make any steel wheel you want. You just need the center. Some centers he does have in stock.

He basically makes all the wheels you all see on these Modifies. Takes and ships them all over to different tracks.

We were sent there by a Racer who knows him. I'll never worry about getting the correct Back spaced wheel again. It was $100 a wheel . dropped two 6's off for centers. and picked two up 12's like new. I glass beaded the centers of all the wheels before I dropped them off.

https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Bair-Wheel-Repair-570-943-2049
Click to expand...
Art Bair is great! we have been texting and talking the last couple of days. He got the centers on Saturday and was already sending me pics and talking to me about the game plan. talked to him again today just to confirm all the front and backspace settings and make sure we were on the same page. This is an old school guy, very easy to talk to. Takes a check mailed out and pretty much just sends you the product back before the check arrives. honor system old school guy....a rarity these days. I have no doubt the job will be done well. I wish he offered powder coating...but there are plenty of place around here for that....and honestly paint is fine.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Here is the problem with doing small bolt steel wheels or rally wheel. The centers are smaller diameter that you need from the original 14 inch wheels. The man that made my wheels pictured above. Had me bring both 14 and 15 inch wheels. We used the 15 inch centers. But he told me he could have used the 14 inch if we needed to. He would have needed to get different hoops or use spacers. This is an older guy that has been doing wheels fo a long time. That is all he does , Wheels for Modified Nascar , Sand rails, and muscle car wheels.

If you Google the location. Its an Old Theater/Hotel with a three car garage/barn.

I pulled in and there was a Square body Chevy C10 parked in front of an old building . Didn't look like a Normal shop. No junk laying around just a couple big Trailers, If it wouldn't have been for the C10 I would have thought the place was Vacant. Knocked on the Garage door and when he opened up I couldn't believe All the wheels. The guy works by himself and enjoys what he is doing. The wheels are manual machine welded one at a time. He'll make any steel wheel you want. You just need the center. Some centers he does have in stock.

He basically makes all the wheels you all see on these Modifies. Takes and ships them all over to different tracks.

We were sent there by a Racer who knows him. I'll never worry about getting the correct Back spaced wheel again. It was $100 a wheel . dropped two 6's off for centers. and picked two up 12's like new. I glass beaded the centers of all the wheels before I dropped them off.

https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Bair-Wheel-Repair-570-943-2049
Click to expand...
looked like a house with a shop out in the country to me....but there was no street view. but i can see what you mean via the satellite view. i have the original 14' rallys from the dart....but i hosed the centers by tightening the lug nuts down too tight once. hosed the beveled part. but i like the black steel wheel look with the poverty cap better anyways and they are 15s....

i put willwood front discs on with the RMS suspension....so that's why i had spare rims to steal the centers from. the willwood is 5x4.5 and stock disc is 5x4. My rears are still 5x4 so it works out perfect for Art and me. :) and i plan to keep my 15x7s that are on the back right now and use them for burnout competitions.....mostly cause the tires are cheaper in that size then the 295 and up size.
 
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Well, i was excited about my new rims from Art Bair Wheel until I went to get them mounted and balanced today and they are warped all to heck. not usable at all. I messaged Art and sent him videos of it wobbling on the balance machine and he made every excuse in the book to not own up to it, including blaming UPS for what would basically require someone over there taking a sledge hammer to them.....so he makes money and gives me back unusable rims. now i get to look for a place to straighten them out....if they even can be. use Art at your own risk.
 
cli55er said:
Well, i was excited about my new rims from Art Bair Wheel until I went to get them mounted and balanced today and they are warped all to heck. not usable at all. I messaged Art and sent him videos of it wobbling on the balance machine and he made every excuse in the book to not own up to it, including blaming UPS for what would basically require someone over there taking a sledge hammer to them.....so he makes money and gives me back unusable rims. now i get to look for a place to straighten them out....if they even can be. use Art at your own risk.
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How did you pay? If there any way you can do a charge back on your credit card?

I'd maybe email them asking what an acceptable amount of runout is. If they're dumb enough to respond, at least you'll have something in writing that validates your claim.
 
he gave me every excuse in the book....form I ran them out and they were .025 or .25 i can't remember what he said...to he has 8 hours of work in them and he got 150 in insurance for each....blah blah blah.

He said they were perfect when they left....they had to be bent by UPS. The boxes they came in were in good condition and I don't believe this has anything to do with UPS. basically there was no way that he did them wrong...period....but he did if you ask me, but i can't prove it either way at this point. but the video is racking up views and its posted here to use him at you're own risk....

the video doesn't lie and i never dropped them. the boxes were fine and to be out of whack that bad....you'd have to really be slamming on them.

i'll either have to find someone that might beable to straighten them.....live with them as is, which i don't want to do cause that can cause bearing damage and the wheel will wear wrong......or junk them.

and I had to pay by check cause he can't take electronic forms of payment. i guess i can do a stop payment somehow.
 
cli55er said:
he gave me every excuse in the book....form I ran them out and they were .025 or .25 i can't remember what he said...to he has 8 hours of work in them and he got 150 in insurance for each....blah blah blah.

He said they were perfect when they left....they had to be bent by UPS. The boxes they came in were in good condition and I don't believe this has anything to do with UPS. basically there was no way that he did them wrong...period....but he did if you ask me, but i can't prove it either way at this point. but the video is racking up views and its posted here to use him at you're own risk....
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It's still their responsibility to get them to you safely. Did you ask about having him file a claim with the shipper if he felt that strongly about it?

Either way, I'd think long and hard into doing a charge back. It won't cost you a dime and it may very well end up in your favor. We can't keep enabling businesses to screw customers over.
 
paid by check and i'm pretty sure he cashed it already.

and wouldn't the shipper want the rims in exchange for the claim? yeah....they aren't getting them cause i still could use the centers or they might beable to straighten them.

he also lives several states away from me and wouldn't offer any kind of solution except returning them at my expense.
 
I bought a used pair if Wheel Vintique rallies. One is out of round. Not bent but radial run out. You can balance it close but you can always feel it. Too bad they weren't checked out before thew were sold.
 
Send him a link to this thread. Not that it'll matter, but it may help your cause.

Either way, thanks for posting your feedback. That's how we find the good players out there.
 
that's the thing...he says he put tires on them and balanced them and ran them out. well idk how he could miss this.
 
update: he has agreed to pay for the repair, if I can find a place willing and if they can be. if they cannot be repair...he will refund my full price.

i don't believe he sent me a bad product on purpose....my only beef was him not wanting to own up to it and blaming everything else, but he is making it right as long as he follows through.

i have a bead on a repair place tomorrow....we shall see. ironically enough...this place says they do custom wheels....and it never showed up on my searches when i was looking for a place at the beginning of this thread.
 
Both rims are 85 thousandths out. Has to be his jig was off. No way UPS got it that precise on both rims at the same time

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Okay guys/gals. Art is just going to refund me and I got a new guy locally making me some from scratch using my current 15x7 rear rims.

These are now for sale… 15x10 with 7-1/4 backspacing. 7-5/8 total to outside lip. $125 each plus shipping. Making then from scratch just cost me 450 a rim so this is a bargain.

Yea they aren’t perfect…but they will mount and roll. good luck getting anything in a steel rim with that backspacing and in a 5x4 bolt pattern this fast. You’ll be waiting months. You might find someone to fix them for you at a later date if you can’t live with it for now.
 
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