this isn't a for sale ad! The cleaned up version

[72 longhorn BB]

.........getting back to the point of helping members of this community with shared information - Has anyone got a picture of what a split rim looks like so someone can make a safe decision?

[72 longhorn BB]

I could care about the WIW aspect of this thread, unless there is a rule that you can't talk about anything but the thread topic. Someone brought up a great 2nd point in this thread regarding the safety of these rims.

I had never heard about that before and wanted to find out for myself and the possible benefit of others what they looked like so we could avboid them and the possibility of getting hurt.

I am asking this as a public service to our community.

I have never made any comment about the worth of the rims, so I do not think there is anything wrong.

[Chris H]

I stole this information from here: http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/pr...rim-safety.htm

I think it is appropriate to copy here. Read and understand, or as I heard growing up "Knowledge is Power". Split rims can be serviced, and tires can be changed. Chains can and do work, but most pros will only inflate these in an anchored inflation cage.
I see no reason why split rims cant be sold as used parts, but cant see a real good market for them either. I would not install splits on a daily driver when single piece drop-center rims are safer and easier to deal with (read as every tire store on the planet can work on them).

How many split rims (or parts of) have you seen on the side of the highway?

Now, on with our story:

Please be careful when deflating, inflating, or changing a tire on a split rim wheel. Always use a cage designed for this purpose. Failure to use the correct safety procedures and equipment may result in injury. For those who do not have experience working with the split rim wheel, or do not have the safety equipment, we recommend that you take the wheels to a professional. Take the entire wheel, with the tire still attached. Do not deflate the tire yourself -- have them do it at the shop. Deflating a tire has the potential for causing a badly worn ring to pop off the rim.
Please note that a regular car or light truck service shop will probably not be able to work on your wheel(s). They usually do not have the equipment or experience to work on the split rim wheels. You will need to take the wheel(s) to a large truck shop (e.g. where semi's are serviced), or to a farm implement equipment shop (where large tractors, & etc. are sold and serviced).

1. Have the shop disassemble the wheel(s) for you, removing the tire, and taking the rim off the wheel.

2. Take the rim(s) and wheel(s) home, and do a thorough cleaning, inspection and painting of the wheel & rim


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Check all metal surfaces for rust.


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Carefully check the area where the wheel center is riveted to the.wheel. Make sure that there isn't a significant amount of rust. If there.is swelling between the two surfaces, or if it is rusted through, then.don't use that wheel.


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Check that there are no cracks between the holes for the wheel studs and the inner hub hole. If cracks are found, then.replace the wheel.


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Check to make sure that the split rim is not warped or bent incorrectly. The rim should be round (not egg-shaped, for example), and the ends should be even with each other when layed out on the floor before installation. If not, then the ring will not fit properly around the the rim of the wheel, and should not be used.

-- A good practice is to ensure that the removable rim flange part number matches the wheel part number. This way, you can know you have the correct pairing of rim and wheel. (Tip submitted by our VPW customer Mike Stone)

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Rust and corrosion can be removed by sandblasting. Especially pay attention to rust around the split rim area.


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After sandblasting, check all surfaces again. Some problems are uncovered or more easily seen when heavy rust has been removed. Check for weak spots, or holes that were created or uncovered by the sandblasting. (Sandblasting would usually only create a hole if that area was already thin from rust.)


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If the wheel and rim appear solid, straight, and useable, then proceed to the next step.


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Prime and paint wheel. Powder coating is great way to treat.the rims, and provides excellent durability.


3. Once you've done the necessary cleaning, inspection and painting of the wheel, take it back to the service shop that did the disassembly for you, and have them reassemble the wheel, put on the tire, and inflate it to the proper pressure for you. Do not over-inflate the tire.

Imoportant: Explain carefully to your tire shop that care needs to be taken in the installation of the split rims. Often this is done with a hammer, but the hammer can cause damage. A heavy rubber mallet works better for installing the rings, and prevents the rings from getting banged up as well as having to be repainted. Now you're ready to go!.

[Chris H]

And pictures:

[sleepyboy]

I watched a soldier get killed in Alaska by a split rim off a deuce and a 1/2 truck. He was standing on it when the rim flew off as he was airing it up. Sad thing, the safety cage used for that particular purpose was not more than 25 yards away. He was just in a hurry..Funny thing, the safety cage was bowed out also from another flying metal incident.

[Liz]

[QUOTE=lyrikz;2397038]

Originally Posted by Chris H

I stole this information from here: http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/pr...rim-safety.htm

I think it is appropriate to copy here. Read and understand, or as I heard growing up "Knowledge is Power"..

actually its not only because it is copyrighted material.
.E-mail: dodge@vintagepowerwagons.com
..© Copyright 2000 - 2006 Vintage Power Wagons, Inc.... All rights reserved

In the future guys, please only copy a few lines of an article along with the link just to be safe on copyrighted materials. Thank you.

[ChaseDale3and8]

Those split rims are EXTREMELY dangerous!!!! While I was a kid growing up my dad used to own some old Chevrolet trucks that had these rims on them. He had bought his own tire changing equipment at an auction from the sale of an old gas station. He used to mount his own tires on said split rims.

I used to watch him dismount and then remount tires on these rims. When it came time to inflate them, he naturally ran me off. He used to chain the split rim as has been mentioned, and even went as far as to air up the tire with the split part of the rim facing down.

He never stood directly over the tire while airing it up either. He had a locking air chuck on his air hose that he would use to air the tire up with initially, then stand a safe distance away until he felt that it had enough air to pull the air chuck off and check the tire pressure. He really knew what he was doing since he had changed tires on split rims most of his life. He had a lot of respect for these rims and the damage that they could do, and treated them accordingly.

He told me horror stories about people getting killed by these as a result of not knowing what they were doing when mounting them, and that I should never mess with them. The stories that he told me about these rims was enough to get me scared enough of them that when I bought myfirst old '51 Chevy that had them, the first thing I did was pull the tires and wheels off and got rid of them.

Dad finally quit messing with these rims back in the late 80's. No one around here will even touch them anymore, and with good reason. They are a disaster waiting to happen. They changed this design to a one piece rim for a reason...safety. They sure as hell aren't worth setting yourself up for a wrongful death lawsuit in the event that you sell them to someone and they decide to mount them and end up getting killed by them.

These things wouldn't even make a good paper weight. I'd load 'em up and take 'em down to the recycling center to be melted down into something useful. The point of just how dangerous and deadly these rims are just can't be stressed enough. ...Joe

[jfalesi]

Why would anyone want to use them?

[PanelDeland]

Weld a piece of 4 inch pipe into the center and a plate to the top to mount your bench grinder to.That's about the only safe use for them.

[skchevota]

I worked witha guy that was mounting a used tire on a conventional rim, the steel bead in the tire let go at about 20 psi, it blew him across the shop like a rag doll. I dont even want to imagine what would hapen with a metal ring involved. My dad tought me at a young age to throw them away, now 30 years later who in there right mined would want to put anyone in danger with those things.....SCRAP THEM!!!!

[xshadow]

GOOD clean up liz!!!
Thanks for the info guys.
SO if I had a flat tire while driving the truck, and was close enough to get it to a gas station to put air in it could the rim shoot off? or if I were to put fix a flat in it to get to the station to fill the tire with air?...I'm not going to try it, but i may have if I didn't read this thread... Maybe one day after most of them have been melted for scrap they will be worth some money......of corse less people will know the dangers then, and could get hurt. when were all 90 and these rims are rare and pricy we will all be cussing this board for talking us into tossing these out.
(just kidding)

This is the only spare for the c/20 that I had and it was on the truck. It was a good chance that I may have fooled with it one day and really got hurt.

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

I would really hate for someone to get hurt by one, The worst instance I saw was a pailloader that had the split rims on it, and that isn't that old maybe 10 yrs. at the most. If a ring that big blew off it would amputate things, I guess if you handle them with every precaution you should be alright but that is a good question Xshadow

[ChaseDale3and8]

Even if they were worth any significant amount of money I personally couldn't bring myself to sell them to anyone because once they come unglued, they are deadly. I'd sure hate to have the feeling that I was somehow responsible for someone's death because I sold them a set of those rims and one of them came apart and killed somebody. I just couldn't live with that.

I do like the idea of using them for the base of a bench grinder. They'd be really good for that! ...Joe