A little OT....My new wheels for a 107 year old car!

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: A little OT....My new wheels for a 107 year old car!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 08:14 pm:

Some of you may know of my little red 1905 Queen, and some of the many different things I've done to the car to put it into tip top mechanical shape.
A project of 2 and 1/2 years is almost completed. A brand new set of 28 x 3 clincher wheels!
The reason for undertaking this project is due to the design of the wheels originally installed on the car. An oddball arrangement known as Midgely rims. This wheel style utilizes a flat wall tire held in place on a thick cast iron rim with two pressed steel hoops. The hoops lock down into deep grooves in the rim with a threaded turnbuckle. If tires were still available, the system might not be so bad. Clincher tires just won't work safely with this type of rim.
Using my abilities as a millwright and machinist, I designed a rolling jig used in a horizontal mill to roll out .250" diameter rod, that I could mig weld onto the hoops at the inner bead diameter of a clincher tire, effectively changing a flat walled rim into one that will hold a clincher tire. My efforts proved to work very well, however it is extremely difficult to install tires. If you think T tires can be hard to do, these are many times harder to do. My other concern was the integrity of the hoop material. They're hollow and there's no way to check the insides for rust and corrosion. The turnbuckles too, being a concern. If anything was to break, there could be safety concerns if anyone was nearby. A friend of mine has an '06 Cadillac with these same Midgely rims only 30 x 3 1/2 tires. One of his rims came off and almost went orbital, and almost hit a bystander.
So, I started off my new wheel project by having Maclaren Rims make me a set of new 28 x 3 rims. They do excellent work, and are wonderful folks to deal with. I machined all new hubs, and hub plates, and various other parts myself. I filled a 40 gallon drum with metal shavings as all the hubs were made from 6.5" diameter solid steel. I made the front wheels to accept Timken tapered roller bearings, instead of using the original roller and thrust combinations. 4 separate bearings in each wheel hub!
Lang's supplied the felloe plates,bolts,and rivets.
My wheel man, Rick Merklinger, here in Ontario, and close to me has been making wheels (as did his father) for over 30 years. He used hickory that has been curing since 2004. His work is top notch and I would recommend anyone needing a "Canadian connection" for wood wheels to talk to him. His turn-a-round time depends on how busy he is, as this is a side line from his day job. Rick delivered my new wheels last Thursday, so now, all that is left to do is get them painted.

This car has been in our family since 1957...4 generations have looked after this car, and everything I do to it is going to make it easier for my children and hopefully their children to maintain.
Thanks for reading!





Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Watson -Florence,Colorado on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 08:22 pm:

looking Good Darren,
I miss Ontario--Have a Great Summer

-Don


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jay - In Northern California on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 09:27 pm:

Nice new shoes, I am sure your car is enjoying them!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charles Linsenbarth on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 09:54 pm:

That Queen is beautiful!
Charley


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 10:06 pm:

Like!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Thursday, June 06, 2013 - 10:28 pm:

Nice!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Lovejoy, So Cal on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 12:25 am:

very impressive, well done!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison_Rice Minnesota on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 12:48 am:

Beautiful car Sir.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 02:54 am:

Love that car!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker in Sumter SC on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 06:02 am:

Darren,

Great work! They look beautiful and should run for years and years.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 08:55 am:

Great car. The pic looks like it was taken at The Old Car Festival. Will you have it there this year?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 03:52 pm:

Thanks guys for all the nice compliments!

I would love to be at Dearborn this year but we have committed to quite a few old car events/tours prior to September, so we may have to put off the OCF until next year. Something I hate to miss :-(


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 04:05 pm:

Here's some pics I really like:
My grandfather, Wes Wallace 1957 (his '13 T in pic too)

My father, John Wallace in 1957:

My grandparents at Dearborn in 1957:

Grandparents 1992:

My kids and my uncle 2002:

My oldest son Jake, taking the car for the first time June 2013 :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By george house on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 04:42 pm:

Gorgeous car !! Thanks for sharing. . . Good ideas for the wheels. Figuring it out . . Now thats RESTORING. I admire your abilities


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charles Linsenbarth on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 04:55 pm:

The picture with your Uncle where did the extra seat come from?
Charley


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Manuel, Lafayette, La. on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 05:11 pm:

Great car--great story!! Thanks for posting.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Friday, June 07, 2013 - 09:34 pm:

The rear seat section is removable. You can put it on or take it off in less than a few minutes. When the seat section is off, there's a deck panel which goes on making a little trunk area.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Monday, June 17, 2013 - 08:57 pm:

New wheels were painted last Friday. They'll be ready to install in a few days after the paint has had time to harden. According to my original owner's manual, the entire chassis should be red. This car has had the hardest paint to try to match up, but we got it very, very close. The photo does not do justice to what they look like up close. I can't wait to install them!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 - 09:51 pm:

For those who have never seen Midgely rims before, here's some photos of how I changed the flat walled style to a clincher style as described at the top of this thread. They were available at the time as clinchers or flat walled. The turnbuckles have little covers that you install once the tire is in place to hide/protect them.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 - 11:03 pm:

Darren,
Has your car been on the New London to New Brighton run (and/or you, of course)? It's a wonderful event for cars like your Queen.

Great car and history, thank you for sharing,
Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Scott Kramer on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 - 11:19 pm:

Went over to visit my friend Darren tonight.He showed me his newly restored wheels.The pictures don't do them any justice.
He cann't wait until the paint hardens enough to put the tires on them.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Darren J Wallace on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 - 12:25 pm:

Thanks Rob & Scott!
I would love to participate in the New London tour, but unfortunately it's too far away for me. I currently have to rely on good friends to help me with transportation of my Queen and T. Hopefully I win the lottery soon and I can buy a nice truck & trailer :-)
I always enjoy reading about your fabulous K Rob! I understand that Scott's son Christopher got to sit in it a while back. I wish I could see that beauty up close for myself too!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Gumbinger, Kenosha, WI on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 - 01:37 pm:

Darren - Your Queen is beautiful and the new wheels are a great improvement that will help to keep the car on the road for many years to come. We'll miss you at OCF this year.....

Keith


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