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15.5's wow what a difference W/10" rim build

rdixiemiller

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I'm preparing to do a 11" wheel next week. I am not planning on drilling out the rivets and removing the extra center from the weld on portion of the donor wheel. I am planning on using a parting tool on the lathe to cut the center out about 1/2" from the rivets. I will leave the rivets and the ring that remains in place. Since I am not mounting tubeless, it should be no problem. It will save a bunch of rivet busting and hole filling. I have access to a dynamic balance machine that is used for fans and other rotating assemblies. I will balance the wheels for about 450-500 RPM, as that is the deuce speed range. Hopefully, I will be able to build a wheel in about 2 hours, including balancing. I am going to chuck the wheels on a welding lathe and use a big grinder to reduce the bead surface to the 1" required by the MPT tires. That will be easy on the wheel side, it will take a clamp to keep the ring tight so I can work on it. I am using Gerhards (Gringletaube) drawings that he posted some months back to get the proper profile on the bead surface.
 

sermis

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The riveted would work good forthe outside 3" added to the wheel. Heat and punch the rivets to make it clean. Weld up the holes and grind. With a lathe you could turn a welded rim and remove the dish and be done with no holes to fill. Leaving the riveted band will do the same. I spent more time on the riveted rim I did than on 2 or 3 of the others combined. It was a PITA to get the dish back in and still not sure if it will be right.
 

houdel

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Wow! Looks great. I just wish I had the buck$ to but a set of 15:50s and convert my wheels. Looks like it would make for a great set of super singles!
 

Recovry4x4

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The goodyears are very cool tires. I had access to 6 of them but they sat flat for a number if years and had serious cracks. Pity, the tread was perfect. Andy, far as I know the only disadvantage would be reduced power and reduced braking.
 

Blythewoodjoe

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Well I wasn't going to post much about the rim I just fabbed up but after reading about everybody else's, I figure it can't hurt to share.

I have made one rim so far, 11" wide, for my 14.5 tires. I did it differently so I figure I should post what I did. I cut a civilian Dayton wheel 4.5" wide. I ground down the lip that holds the ring on a military deuce wheel and slid the Dayton wheel part over that. This took about 4 hours including the two welds, one on the inside and one on the out side. I think the two rims overlapped about 1.24" This helped keep it true too.

The pictures I will post below will show the almost smooth inside as well as the small lip of the civilian rim. I might take some riveted rims and remove the center for the next one so I have that large lip on the ring.

I think it is worth noting I was a pipe welder for many years and consider my self pretty good at welding and fitting pipe. I didn't post anything here earlier because I didn't want to encourage anyone that isn't a good welder to try this. Be careful.

Joe Trapp
 

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yorkgulch2

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Idaho Springs, CO
goodyear mvt

I got 7 very good 395/85r20 goodyear mvt's from usa6x6 in December. He had at least 7-10 more.
As I lack the lathe/cutting equipment I ordered wheels from Stazworks. I will post pics when they arrive.
 

rizzo

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Port Huron, MI
Re: goodyear mvt

yorkgulch2 said:
I got 7 very good 395/85r20 goodyear mvt's from usa6x6 in December. He had at least 7-10 more.
As I lack the lathe/cutting equipment I ordered wheels from Stazworks. I will post pics when they arrive.
keep us updated on the wheels from stazworks. I have not heard any feedback on their products
 

sermis

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RE: Re: goodyear mvt

Same idea kind of as I did except for the overlapping. I like the clean insie but with the heavy flap I don't think leving the indention from the old lock ring inside will ever hurt anything. I like the military deep lock ring a lot better.
 

Blythewoodjoe

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RE: Re: goodyear mvt

I mounted up a tire on the rim today and it worked OK but two things have me troubled. First the tube. I would really like to get a tube sized for that tire. Secondly, my flap. The flap I used only over lapped by an inch on each side at most. While getting the stuff assembled the tube and flap move around too much for me to feel confident the flap is still centered all the way around. I might go with the wide military ring on the next one but I'm not sure. The Dayton wheel sure looks good and clean but the added security of the wider seating area would be great. I guess I will be breaking down some more tires soon.

Joe Trapp
 

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sermis

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RE: Re: goodyear mvt

The rims I built have not rubbed in the turns but I have not put it in a hard off road bind. I am running the military flaps for the 16.00 / 20's. There is a tire guy not far that sold them to me for $20 used, I think.
 

Blythewoodjoe

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Blythewood, SC
RE: Re: goodyear mvt

I will have to check it some time. I had 11.00's on the truck before and since I added the space to the out side of the rim I would think it couldn't hit anything, unless you are thinking it might hit something on the out side. I'll check when I get the energy to do it. I have a cold and I'm pooped.

It looks like Sermis's tires are about 3" taller and 1" wider than these 14.5's. I'll have to get to work on another rim and document the development a little better this time.

Question? Why is the 15.5/80r20 wider but is recommended for a 10" rim and the 14.5r20 recommended for a 11" rim. The 11" looks good I think.

Joe Trapp
 

rdixiemiller

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Olive Branch Mississipi
RE: Re: goodyear mvt

Joe
Try to find someone who has a bunch of 1600R20 flaps surplus. I paid $10 each for 6 of them when I got my 14.50R20's. The 14.50 R20 is the same height as the 1100R20's I currently run on my truck. As long as you are adding to the outside of the wheel, you shouldn't hit anything under the truck. I guess if you had an extremely wide tire, say 20", you could hit the front bumper or rear of the front fender in a hard turn. I haven't heard of any issues running the 14.50R20's. I may try to find some 1400R20 tubes for mine when I convert them.
Joe
How about a close up of the bead with the tire mounted and inflated? The MPT tires are set up for a lower bead flange height, just want to see what they look like on a stock rim/ring.
 
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