WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

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Duckwing
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WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Thu May 13, 2021 6:03 pm

I am looking for a set (full or partial) of 26/27 stainless steel wire wheel lug nuts.


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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Kirby » Fri May 14, 2021 5:29 am

See Steve Lang.

Lang's has these in stock.

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Fri May 14, 2021 1:25 pm

Can you direct me to where in their catalog you found them. I looked online and found only chrome ones. I bought a set of the chrome lugs several years ago and they have been a disappointment. Don’t remember who I bought them from. At least half of them the chrome is shedding and I’m left with rusty lugs. They weren’t cheap. I thought about the stainless ones at the time but gave in to shinny chrome. Thanks.


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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by ModelTWoods » Sat May 15, 2021 11:52 am

Jim, I don't think that they are currently available in polished stainless steel. (If they are, and I'm wrong, will someone please say where they're available from ?) The one's Lang list are chrome plated steel. I'm sure Snyder's has the same nuts from the same manufacturer, but I couldn't find them with a quick look in their catalog. There are only two solutions: 1. send a set to a quality plater and have him do a thick plate of copper, nickle, and chrome on them, (I'm sure the new ones from the vendors get only a quick "flash" chrome job.) That means they may or may not get a layer of copper and quick only a quick, thin layer of nickle and chrome. That's why they don't hold up. OR 2. substitute polished stainless steel Model A lug nuts for all occasions except show and judging. then if you enter your car in judging or a show, you can swap them out. If you use chrome nuts, regardless of whether they have cheap manufacturer's plating or more expensive custom plating, Apply a coat of paste wax to them for weather protection. If the wax collects dirt or dust while driving, wipe off the old and apply new wax.

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Sat May 15, 2021 12:27 pm

Thanks. I noticed Snyder's says they are temporarily unavailable. I will check around for a plater but the Model A lug nuts may be a good option. No showing for me but what I have now are pretty ugly.


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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by ModelTWoods » Sat May 15, 2021 3:12 pm

Duckwing wrote:
Sat May 15, 2021 12:27 pm
Thanks. I noticed Snyder's says they are temporarily unavailable. I will check around for a plater but the Model A lug nuts may be a good option. No showing for me but what I have now are pretty ugly.
I bought a set of stainless Model A lug nuts from Battleground Model A Parts in Battleground, MO. when they had them on sale. Cheaper price than all other vendors I could find. I'll use them on my 27 coupe for everyday driving. If not caring about original condition, all but the most informed old car nut would not know the difference. If they did, and said something, I'd just tell the truth; I (or you), don't like the way chrome doesn't hold up and stainless steel is maintenance free.


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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Kirby » Sun May 16, 2021 6:27 pm

OK; I bought a set from Steve Lang. They are not in the catalog. You have to call and ask for them. It is really quite simple. They are stainless steel with a funky plating, but they are stainless steel.

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Sun May 16, 2021 10:28 pm

The Model A lug nuts from Battleground are currently 20 for $85. That’s $4.25 each so $1.25 each less than other places I found them. Were they on sale cheaper than that?


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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by ModelTWoods » Mon May 17, 2021 12:34 pm

Jim, I don't remember what I paid for them, and I can't locate the invoice. I don't know where you got their price, but Battleground advertises on EBAY. Presently, they have an ad for 20 at the $84.95 price, but the picture in the ad shows 23 nuts. If you haven't, I'd check with them to see if the quantity deal is for 20 or 23 nuts. The 2020-2021 catalog that they sent, shows $3.95 each, or 23 for $84.95, but I know vendors reserve the right to adjust retail prices according to their price to acquire them. If you are wanting them right away, i wouldn't wait on a lower price. I'll say that I am very pleased with mine. They shine like a newly minted silver coin. As for Lang's having the Model T nuts in stainless, I haven't checked with Steve Lang, and I'm not doubting the above post by Kirby Gilmore, but I have to wonder; If they are stainless steel, why didn't they come to Lang's polished to a shiny luster, instead of having a "funky plating"? If they were machined out of 304 stainless and polished, i don't know why they were plated. Maybe they were machined out of 409 stainless.

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by david_dewey » Mon May 17, 2021 1:35 pm

It has been years since I bought new lug nuts, model A in particular. Back then there was a problem with them that was not well-understood. People were having problems getting their wheels tight when the lug nuts were tight on the lugs. So then the vendors started selling beveled washers to fit between the lug nuts and the wheel, which must (obviously, thought by some) have worn lug holes. Well, the real problem, when one looked into it carefully, was that the Model A wheel lugs themselves are preened into the drums, holding them tight to the hubs, and the threaded portion is not fully threaded to the bottom of the lug itself (due to manufacturing limitations, and to prevent creating a stress riser at that point). To accommodate that, the original lug nuts are counter-bored for about 1/4" in, with the threads then starting at that point. The solution, at the time, was to take the new lug nuts, put them in a lathe and turn out the counter-bore. Simple, but a bit time consuming, making a new part fit correctly.
So, be careful of what you use, and inspect AND understand the design criteria!!! Since the Model T lugs are also preened in, and I suspect (although I haven't looked closely) are probably made the same way as the model A ones. And maybe the reproduction folks have corrected their error, if they had one (I don't know who made the "bad" model A lug nuts).
T'ake care,
David Dewey

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Thu May 20, 2021 9:20 am

David - that is a really interesting bit of information re the issue with reproduction lug nuts. Something to investigate/consider.

ModelTWoods - I had not noticed that there were 23 lugs in the photo. I just said 20for $85 ($84.95) to calculate per lug cost. I sent them a question re actual count per set. Do the lugs you bought exhibit the issue David mentioned?

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Re: WTB STAINLESS STEEL WIRE WHEEL LUG NUTS

Post by Duckwing » Fri May 21, 2021 8:39 pm

Got a message from Battleground. The set is in fact 23 count. Ad on eBay has a typo.

I looked at my Model T lug nuts. They are counter bored as David advised they needed to be. Guess I will ask Battleground if their parts are made that way.

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