Just thinking out loud - what would it take to convert some 26/27 wire wheels so that I could use Hayes demountable rims with them?
I have 21" wood spoked wheels with Hayes demountables, but I'd really like to get some wire wheels. The problem so far seems to be that wire wheels that accept demountable rims are comically expensive. John McLaren is making some (sort of) but they are $725 PER wheel, and from what I am hearing is extremely slow (orders from over a year ago not yet fulfilled) because he just isn't fooling with it very much any more. Which, if I was retired and had family to hang out with and T's to drive I would probably do the same.
So, that means I'm left to try and buy an older, original set. I've seen one set on eBay of original Hayes wire wheels but they went for over $3000 and I just can't play in that big of a pond, not do it and actually win anyway. Also, someone on the forum had a really really nice set but they were in the same or higher price range. Plus, even if I had $3,500 right now, I haven't seen a set for sale in quite a while. Maybe they're at all of these far away swap meets that I haven't gone to.
What if I got a set of 26-27 wheels and basically just had a custom felloe made (probably be cheaper to find original wheels, but I'm just using my imagination) that would accept the Hayes rim but have holes ready to accept the spokes from the wire rim?
Also, if anybody is thinking "Hey, I like my wire wheels and demountable rims but I want to look bit more old school and get wood spokes" I WILL SWAP WITH YOU AND PAY SHIPPING FOR EVERYTHING.
A difficult, if not impossible task to adapt 21" demountable rims to Ford wire wheels !
I believe it simpler to merely procure an original Ford set or Snyder's repros (quite a bit less expensive than McLaren's) and have a 5th wire wheel (original '26 - '27) with the spare tire mounted.
Why would u want to do that??
I already have a nice set of 21" Hayes demountable rims with good tires. I just like the look of the wire wheels with the demountable rims. Like I said, just an idea, something I was wondering about. And if anybody has some they want to part with, let me know!