lo-buck 18" x 15" rims ??
 

I've got a pair of the M/T Sportsman S/R radials , 29" x 18" x 18" . I need 18" x 15" wheels to fit them. I've been looking for wheels and everything I can find is about $1000 per wheel. Matching wheels for the front have been in the $750 range. Does anyone know of something a bit more affordable ?

I think its gonna be really hard to find a wheel that size and not pay less then a G. You'll be essentially buying two hoops and having them welded together. Thats where the cost come from. Check with our sponsers

Buy used rims and have them widened by weldcraft or someone......backspacing will have to be figured out according the your housing/brakes

Just so you know you can run that tire on a 12" wide wheel with no problem! I put the 29x18x20s on my Vette on a 12" wheel and it looked great and worked well.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...hnewwheels.jpg

have any close ups of how the tires fit the 12" rims ?

how about a link for weldcraft ?

:thumbsup:

Here you go http://www.weldcraftwheels.com/Wide.htm

Thanks. If i really can go with a 12" rims, that would be good. I found some wheels that would be about $2400 for a set vs. $3500 if i went for the 18 x 15.

I haven't finished the first wheel I attempted yet and right now that wheel is holding up the nose of my '41 truck to prevent crushing the lower grille , which is tender from rust.

Since I can't afford $1K+ each for aluminum wheels to fit the M/T 29x18x18 tires I have, I'm making my own 18x15 wheels. I am starting out with these steel 18x7.5 wheels with a 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern from an '06 or newer Ford Explorer. part #STL03654U45 in case anyone is interested.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/wheels001.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/wheels002.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/wheels003.jpg

I managed to knock the center out of the wheel. It took a bit more effort than I had anticipated. First I cut the four 4" long welds with a cut off wheel. Then i heated the joint and started smacking near the joint with a piece of 1/2" round bar and a BFH. It took a while but the weld seams finally split and the center popped out. I wanted to make sure not to over grind and cut into the rim.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/wheels005.jpg



http://www.bigblockdakota.com/wheels006.jpg


The rims will end up right about 15" wide , which is what M/T specs for the tires. The aluminum wheels M/T offers have 5" of backspace, so I am going get as close to that as I can. Ironically, the center will end up almost exactly where it was in stock configuration. It needed to come out because where I am adding to the width starts right under the edge of the front surface of the center

This is just mock up. Nothing is welded together yet.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/sliced-002.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/sliced-003.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/sliced-004.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/sliced-005.jpg

I cut up the 2nd rim, but took a different approach. I left the center in place when I cut it. This will make things a bit easier when adding the ring to widen it, less to line up and less chance of runout. Once I finish this one, I'll put the center in the 1st one and match the offset. I just wish I thought of this to begin with, but I wasn't sure how much offset I wanted.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/2ndwheel03.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/2ndwheel02.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/2ndwheel01.jpg

I finished welding both rims and drilled new valve stem holes.
My idea of leaving the center in the second one cut the fab time WAY down. Much much easier and quicker. Just for giggles, I weighed a widened rim and one of the untouched ones for the front. Before: 31 lbs After: 45 lbs.

I need to clean the wheels and then rattle can them before I mount the tires. I might put some urethane sealer on the welds on the inside of wheels just as a precaution.

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/18wheel01.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/18wheel02.jpg

http://www.bigblockdakota.com/18wheel03.jpg

Aside from those being a bit heavy, those actually look really cool. What do they look like on the truck?

I don't know what they look like on the truck, it's still in the build stage and I have not yet painted the wheels or mounted tires. Here's a link to the build: Truck Build, with a big change