Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Joe Santana On 2013/1/7 14:02:02

OD, just to clarify the welding, we simply cut studs that screw into the hub, same thread as an original lug bolt, and welded them to the back side of the hub.

Then we used large lug nuts to hold the rim. The reason we did this on all wheels was because over decades of driving the Duchess, air-tool tightening kept making the holes in the wheels bigger and the lug bolts worn until 1 wheel when twisted against the curb on a hill pulled out part way. We solved this by going heavy-duty. The threads in all my hubs are just fine, we just could not find lug bolts with as big a head as the lug nuts we found.

We didn't weld the face of the drum back on to the bell rim of the drum. I agree, many issues in doing something like that.

JW, Max Merritt is looking for a used drum with the correct hub for me. One that's not too worn. In the meantime, I'll cut some new studs for it. I would have thought that reaming this small hub out would be straight forward, but I guess you need a special fixture to taper it correctly.