New wheels for $13

[1971BB427]

Started out this morning to fix a horrible rear brake squeal. I've been meaning to do it for weeks, and lately I've been getting some pretty dirty looks from pedestrians who obviously think the truck is down to are metal from their expressions.
Pulled the rear wheels and drums and as I thought the shoes were near new, so I beveled the ends to stop the squeal. When I went to put the wheels back on I noticed another irritating reminder. The chrome wheels were getting some pretty heavy rust around the middle, and in a few other places. I've been checking the local listings for some "new" used wheels, but the 5x5 pattern doesn't show up often.
I finally decided I was done polishing and trying to keep the rust under control. I got out the angle head grinder and a flapper disc and went at the wheels to totally scuff up all the chrome, and remove the rust. When I finished I got a couple cans of Rustoleum graphite color wheel paint and masked off the wheels and gave them 3-4 good coats. I think they came out great, and I don't miss the rusty chrome wheels at all!
Best part is the cost was $13 for the Rustoleum graphite wheel paint!

[71swb4x4]

I agree, they do look great!!

[cris well]

Looking good man!

[1971BB427]

Thanks! The chrome spokes were not just rusty, they were a bit dated, so I figured either way this was an improvement.

[vectorit]

Very nice, I love cheap upgrades!

[Southcity]

wheels look great - really nice burb, love the stock height and color, any interior pics?

[1971BB427]

Originally Posted by Southcity

wheels look great - really nice burb, love the stock height and color, any interior pics?

Interior is a combination of 2001 Durango electric leather buckets and folding bench rear, and a Blazer console. The rest is mostly stock except the rear side panels I built from scratch.
I found a wrecked Durango and bought the seats, then found the console at a local wrecking yard. The side panels are masonite and black naugahyde from the local fabric store on sale for $4.70 a yd. Carpets were medium blue, but stained, so I pulled them out and dyed them black.

[cris well]

Man that's a nice Burb.

What did you use on the carpet? I have some light gray that has some stains that I'd like to dye black.

[1971BB427]

Originally Posted by cris well

Man that's a nice Burb.

What did you use on the carpet? I have some light gray that has some stains that I'd like to dye black.

Thanks! I used Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric Dye. It's been a year now, and it's holding up perfect. It took about 5 cans to do the entire Burb. I also pulled the rear door panels later and dyed them to match the front.

[cris well]

I tried some of that on some velour seats and it didn't work out so well--it made them hard.

Maybe I put it on too heavy?

Did it make your carpet hard?

[1971BB427]

The carpet is slightly stiffer, but I don't get to feel the carpet much, so I didn't mind. I wouldn't use it on fabric covered seats. Door panels, dash, or carpet would be fine. I tried vinyl dye on the seats in my '71 Camaro back in the late 70's, and didn't like the way it wore off from normal use. I ended up just pulling the seats and having them recovered.

[cris well]

Yea good point. I guess I'd never touch the carpet very much either.

I'm gonna take it out and clean it good first and see how it turns out.