Wheels for my 36 English Coach

Browniepetersen

The goal this weekend is to redo the six wheels on my 36. This should not be a tough project because they are in great condition and only need some light sanding and new paint (ya, Right!). So, got them off the car, tires removed and started cleaning them up. There was only minor rust because they had been painted about five or so years ago. Now comes the test question. On the inside of the wheel is the identification of the wheel that reads like this:



16 E

400

539



MFGD BY

MOTORWHEEL CORPORATION

LANSING, MICH USA



OK, I am good with that--considering they are arterly (I am not going to look up the spelling on that, you know what I mean?) wheels, they are the right wheels for the car. But, I thought all wheels have the year of manufacture on them. I would have expected that the "39" is a code for 1939. Would someone please explain this code to me... Thanks, Brownie

Park_W

Brownie, the '36 wheels are a one-year item, so if they've got twelve holes around the rim and five lug bolt holes, you've got the right ones. Earlier Hudson artillery wheels had only four lug bolts, later Hudson wheels were not artillery style. Mopar artillery wheels of the era look very similar but had ten holes, and as I recall have a different hub cap clip location, so you can't just pop Hudson hub caps on them.

Richard E.

Park, I never knew this little fact. Another unique item about the '36, thank you. I am heading out to the garage to count the holes in my artillery wheels and the 2 extras that I have. Is there a way have these wheels "trued" if they are slightly bent. All of mine have lots of weights put on them to balance them, due to the condition that they are in. Some are worse than others?

Park_W

Richard, back in the fifties there were still alignment shops around that did wheel straightening (truing). Much later I came across a community college that still had one of the old truing machines, though they hadn't used it for a while. Maybe there's a shop around that hasn't trashed their machine decades ago. Might be interesting to do a google search.

Richard E.

Thanks Park, I checked all of my wheels and they are indeed '36's. I will check around and see if any of the old shops around here have that equipment.

Park_W

Richard, you might check with these folks ... their advertising looks interesting: http://www.wheelcollision.com/

Browniepetersen

Yep, all six of mine are 36 wheels. One is bent, but will look just great in the fender well. Put a new set of wide white Coker tires on the freshly painted rims with no major chips and they look great. Today I finished the last section of wood that needed to be replaced below the trunk. Have most of it back togeather and now it is time to start the body work...

Richard E.

Thanks Park, I also have a line on a shop here in Escondido that may be able to "true" wheels. I am going to check with them tomorrow.