New Shoes For The GMC

I have been wanting to replace the wheels and tires on my truck for a couple of years now. They've been on there since '01 and I am pretty tired of the look.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/
American Racing has come out with a Rallye style wheel which is what I have been looking for. A few companies have been making them in billet aluminum but the prices were much more then what I want to pay. The Americans are affordable and they will build them to my specs. I stopped at Discount Tire tonight and got prices. I'll swing by again Friday and order the rims. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to build them but that is a non-issue as the truck is in storage for the winter anyway.
Sizes are 18x8 w/5 1/2" BS in front and 18x10 w/6" BS in the rear. 255/45 and 295/25 Nitto 555's will be the tires.
Here are a few pics of the rims. I think these will great on the truck!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Nice looking wheel, then and now! Should complete the look for the pickup....

Real similar to the old slot wheels

I finally got the rims ordered on the 13th of January. Spent some time over xmas break pulling off the old rims and verifying back spacing. I also decided to go with a bit of a wheel/tire rake. Went with 17 x 8's in front with a bit smaller tire. 245/45. Will drop the front a bit AND allow me to remove the 1" spacers I've been running to drop it that much more. The 255's were right on the edge of the wheel well so the 245's will tuck a bit to allow the drop. The rears ended up with a 6.25" BS and the 295's will stuff in there great!

Should look great! Waiting for pictures!! :D

I like the look of those wheels too! I bet you're excited to see the new look!

Picked up the new shoes Tuesday afternoon on the way home from work. Had to do a test fit on the rears to make sure they fit. Like a glove! They fit great! I only fit one side because it was too dang cold to work on the concrete in the unheated storage barn. They will look real good though, will definitely change the character of the truck. The 295 isn't that much wider then the 275 that was on there but it's a bit taller and the 18" wheel really fills up the wheel well.
I'll try to get pics but I can't pull the truck outside anyway so it'll probably be a while before I do.

I bet you're pretty excited! They sound cool to me already!! :LOL:

Got some pics of the new wheels (well, wheel..) on the truck today. The day I picked them up I test fit the left rear just to make sure my measurements were right.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Can't wait for this weather to let up!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/

Very nice!

I looked the new rims over when I picked them up. One was kinda rough but I couldn't see sending it back and waiting another 4 to 6 weeks for a new one to be made with no guarantee it would be any better then this one...
This is the wheel.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Here are some of the issues. This is scratched up with a nice gouge.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
The edges of all of the slots were ugly. To heavy handed with the polisher. ate right into the edges of the slots.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I cobbled together this roller that clamps to the fab table, lets the tire roll nice and easy. Makes quick work out of sweetening up this rim.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
In order to fix the slots I made a template to mark the radius needed to remove the rough stuff.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
laying it in and lining it up with the existing slot made marking the trim lines easy.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Lined up and ready to mark.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I used a black Sharpie to mark the "new" edge of the slot.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Then I busted out the high tech alloy displacement device....
Mainly a big half-round file... Took about a half hour to get all of the edges cleaned up. Some were worse then others but they all need to be cleaned up.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
This is the surface finish left by the file.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/

A little disappointing on the quality of the polishing job. The other three are okay, just this one is a sad job.
I broke out a sanding drum on a drill motor with 180 grit emery paper to start cleaning up the file cuts on the new openings.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
after a few minutes of work this is how they turned out.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I ran the drum on the openings going from the 180 to 400 then 600, 1000 and finished up with 1200. Smoothed the edges good enough that some heavy polishing will bring the shine back.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Once I had that done I got busy taking out the scratches and gouges. I started with 400 grit on a rubber Dura-Block and started feathering them out.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Once I started sanding I ended up going over the whole face of the wheel. There were so many heavy cut lines and deep grooves from the half-assed factory polishing this was the only way to get a smooth surface... You can see the waves in the pic to the right of where I started sanding.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
here is another pic after I had most of the scratches and gouge worked out. This also shows the waves better.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I used WD40 as a lube to "wet sand" all of the waviness out. I spent about an hour and a half doing this. Cleaning and re-sanding until all of the low spots were gone.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
The hard part was getting the surface flat again. Once that was done it only took a couple of hours to step up through the grits. Going to 600, 1000, 1200 and then 1500. You can see the shine is already starting to develop at 1500.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I stopped a O'Rielly's tonight on my way home and picked up one pack each of 2000 and 3000 grit. I'll work at getting this ready for final polishing this week.
I ordered a nice polishing kit from Eastwood so I'll get all of the rims sanded out to 3000 grit before I use that.
The wheel looks a ton better with all of the openings repaired!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
These will be beautiful once they are polished correctly.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/

Nice job refinishing the wheel, Mark! Dang shame that a guy has to rework brand new parts, some companies have gotten really lax on quality control over the years....I suppose with all the import crap on the market they have to cut corners wherever they can to stay competitive on the price point.

A great step by step post, Mark! Thanks for taking time to document & post!

Mark, you are a far more patient man than I am!! I'll have to go back through this thread to find out who made those.. I know I won't be ordering from them!

under edit, Hmmm american racing turned out that? That's just depressing!

Man, that is pretty crap of them to send those out like that! Your repair sure is nice though! Great work!

Thanks guys! I posted this stuff on ARW's FB page... I got a bit of a response. They put me in touch with their PR people... We'll see what happens. I'm not holding my breath.

I worked on the rim today. Finished the sanding process. I took the whole wheel out to 2000 grit.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Once that was done I cleaned it up with mineral spirits and fired up the electric drill with a buffing cone in it. Loaded the cone with red rouge and gave the whole wheel a once over.
This is starting to look pretty tasty...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I again cleaned the wheel with mineral spirits and changed over to an unsewn buffing pad with the same red rouge to get down into the space between the rim and the center. This is quite deep... I also used the unsewn buff to really clean up the wheel bead.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
Once that was done I re-cleaned the wheel and swapped to a new unsewn buff and white rouge. After about 15 minutes this is what I have.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
This is almost there.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
It is still a bit swirly looking but THERE ARE NO WAVES!!! This is where a couple of deep hand polishing's will finish it off.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I'll use Mother's Billet Polish first and finish up with White Diamond.

Came out really nice Mark! Lots of work but the results are worthwhile.

It looks really nice! It's really too bad you had to repair and polish already polished wheels!

you ever use Mx wheels they work very good. rims look good did alot of that stuff for Ted. we took it to 600 grit after they cnc a rim out of a 450 pound block of 6061t6 them need alot of step sanding and blocking . when your done with them rims . i have the hals off the 50 chevy you can do. i like to do iron myself

Thanks guys, yea, it's a lot of work and I am kicking myself now. I posted the rim pics up American Racings FB Page a couple of weeks ago. They offered to do a warranty return on the rim but I declined as it was already well on it's way to being repaired...
I just got another email from Wheel Pro's PR Dept. (they own American Racing Wheels now) offering me a T-shirt... :) I said thanks but no thanks...
Pat! Did you shine up the block for the '50? I may need to do a road trip to check that out... (and to return your battery terminal crimper!)
Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by astroracer

Thanks guys, yea, it's a lot of work and I am kicking myself now. I posted the rim pics up American Racings FB Page a couple of weeks ago. They offered to do a warranty return on the rim but I declined as it was already well on it's way to being repaired...
I just got another email from Wheel Pro's PR Dept. (they own American Racing Wheels now) offering me a T-shirt... :) I said thanks but no thanks...

Mark

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Maybe you should have accepted their T-shirt to use as a polishing rag! :LOL::LOL:

LOL Randy! I thought of that after I had sent my reply... I should have asked if they were all cotton as cotton is a better polishing rag then polyesther,,,

Call them back and tell them you have reconsidered their generous T-shirt offer.:3dSMILE:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Call them back and tell them you have reconsidered their generous T-shirt offer.:3dSMILE:

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Check out the American Racing FB page. I hinted at needing some new polishing rags...
I got the ratty rim finished up tonight. Looks good now. It is not perfect but it's a far-cry from what I started with. :)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
This is a side by side with one of the other sets. The "refurbished" one is on the left.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I did a quick "let's see" polish with the cone on one of the rears. The outer rim came out great but I will have to run the red and white rouge on the centers to get them up to the shine of the one I just did...
You can see how hazy the center is compared to the fixed one.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
No biggie. I am glad I don't have to do the sanding steps!
The rim part shined up nicely.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
This will take about a half hour a wheel to get them into shape.

Their quality control definitely leaves a lot to be desired.:(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by astroracer

Thanks guys, yea, it's a lot of work and I am kicking myself now. I posted the rim pics up American Racings FB Page a couple of weeks ago. They offered to do a warranty return on the rim but I declined as it was already well on it's way to being repaired...
I just got another email from Wheel Pro's PR Dept. (they own American Racing Wheels now) offering me a T-shirt... :) I said thanks but no thanks...
Pat! Did you shine up the block for the '50? I may need to do a road trip to check that out... (and to return your battery terminal crimper!)
Mark

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no that engine is plan B but not to worry the 548 bow tie block thats in the chevy looks the same :) i do not know the roads need the get some sun on things to warm up the asphalt dry the parking lot up before i fire off that thing . my luck has not been very good with you and tickets ? not to fear Ted had the caddy coup back down to the big D she is pushing over 650hp to the tires so we can find you a ride :)

Nice truck, I use to have a 95 model like that, I loved that truck.
here's a dirty cell phone pic of it.

Godspeed
MrC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrC.

Nice truck, I use to have a 95 model like that, I loved that truck.
here's a dirty cell phone pic of it.

Godspeed
MrC.

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Thanks MrC.!
I like mine too! I haven't done anything to it since I built it in '01 so I figure an update is in order.
I worked on one of the other rims today. I will end up sanding the centers with 2000 grit. I can't get the haziness out with just the red rouge so it is back to the elbow grease...

Got the other three rims sanded out and polished last night and today. Wet sanding with 2000 grit eliminated the haziness. Polishing with red and white rouge and the Meguires cone kit brought the shine back.
Some of the "stuff" I was sanding out of the rims, yea, they were all like this... You can see the gouges and cut lines left after the factory polishing job. This is why the rims are hazy.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
I dry sanded that same spot so you can see what I was dealing with.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
A little WD40, 2000 grit wet/dry and a small foam sanding pad and those cut lines yielded to my will.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/


About an hour later the rims looked like this.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
After 5 hours of work today they ALL look like this.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/

I think you should send the rim company a link to this thread.

Godspeed
MrC.

I have posted most of this stuff on their Face Book Page. They have offered to replace the bad rim twice now (not gonna happen) and also offered me a new T-shirt.... No thanks.
If they were a reputable company the least they could do is offer the pay for the bad rim. I have over 20 hrs of work into these "brand new" wheels just to make them look halfway decent and I think that would be fair...
Mark

That would be admitting guilt

awe the power of the inter-web.

Godspeed
MrC.

Got the rims finished up weekend before last and spent this past weekend cutting up and cleaning trees, limbs and branches out of friends and families yards.
I got out into the shop this afternoon and got the rims changed out on the truck. I think it looks great. I will be making a couple of 1/4" spacers for the rears to get them where I want them and the front needs to come down an inch or so but that will do it for now.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D550/ry%3D400/

They do look nice on there!