14" Mesh Western Wheels Suggestions for tires and caps?

[garth]

My parts car came with a set of 14 x 5.5 mesh style Western Wheels, +12 offset. After media blasting 20 years of scale and oxide off I was surprised to find they only had a few small nicks and no curb rash so decided they were worth polishing. They did not turn out too bad.

Any suggestions for tire size & manf for moderate driving during the drier six months on the wet coast?

I am also looking for center caps too. Dia. is 3.125"





Thanks for any suggestions.

[fj20spl311]

185/60 for the tire size

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... iameter=14

[spl310]

Personally, I think a taller profile tire looks better on the Roadster.

[Garm]

^ Smaller profile gives better performance. Owner's choice! (you all know which way I lean, lol)

185/60 Sumitomos for best performance on a budget. I love mine.

[fj20spl311]

Personally, I think a taller profile tire looks better on the Roadster.

I agree with a stock height......I think........it's been a long time since I have seen a stock height roadster.....LOL......

185/70 are mostly all season tires

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... iameter=14

[Dave_Pa]

Garth,
They turned out beautiful! Can you let me know what media you used to clean them up like that?

Also even thought they are twice as much, the star specs are amazing tires.

Thanks
Dave

[garth]

Thanks all for your comments. I too, like the taller profile look. Probably going to go with 185/60

Dave,

My attempts at Wheel Restoration/Polishing treatment. This was my first experience polishing wheels so I got some advice and help from a pro, a metal and paint surface finisher who also specializes in chrome and stainless trim.

Before condition:



Resurfacing treatment

After taking the tires off, I pressure washed to see if the scale would come off. No much did. Cleaning with aluminum polishing compound moved a little more but the surfaces were still pretty rough and pitted. My pal suggested a very light blast to clean and condition all surfaces to a consistent profile. So a cautious blast with very fine grit seemed to work.

The resurfacing process was pretty straightforward but tedious. Just successive polishing with 200 grit Scotchbrite pads followed by 400 and 800 grit paper. My finish pal completed with aluminum polishing compound.

After blast treatment I basically followed this process: http://www.wikihow.com/Polish-Aluminum-Wheels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

I was surprised at how well they turned out. Each wheel took about 6 hours to finish. A local wheel restore shop quoted me $275 ea to turn in a lathe and polish. Too much and more than half the cost of the Work Equip 01 rims I really want.

[Dave_Pa]

Garth
my wheels currently look almost the same as your wheels did. Thank you very much for letting us what you did as well as the wiki link.

I'm w/you. at 275/per tire. I'd really like the work equip's as well.

I think that this is going to be my winter project (that way i don't drive around with 1-2 great looking wheels and 1-2 not so good looking wheels.

Thanks again,
Dave

[garth]

Dave,

Glad you liked the share.

Are your wheels the same Western Wheel type as mine? If so do yours have center caps and do you know a source?

Thanks

[Dave_Pa]

Here is what i have. I believe they are the appliance wheels?
They don't have the real caps. I would like to get the real ones OR maybe see if the bullet types that were on the mag wheels would work...

[FergO2k]

Man, those look great.
I have a set of 3 spoke centers, with a datsun logo, let me know if you are interested in going in that direction. They were too large for my meshies (which I believe are American wheel cheapo copies, on mine the bolt facing and the mesh are not parallel, the mesh sticks out proud like 1/2", I forget the brand. They are +10 so must have been a dealer option originally)
I can measure the critical bits so you can check clearance and fit.

[garth]

Are your caps similar to the two spoke style in my before picture? I am really looking for a small cup style center to fill in the center bore. Bright finish, possibly with Datsun logo or emblem. There a a few online but most are butt ugly and take away from the wheel aesthetics.

The center bore is 3.125" ID on the outside face and 3.625" on the inside face. Depth is 0.75" and has a 0.25' deep lip that I suppose would retain the center.

If your caps look like they might fit, pm me for my email address we can exchange some photos.

Thanks

[Thomcraft]

I too have the mesh style wheels, have no idea what brand they are. The difference with mine are they are aluminum mesh/spoke with chromed steel rims that have some pitting and rust. Haven't figured out how to deal with them. Don't know if it is possible too have the rims rechromed separate of the centers.

[garth]

I too have the mesh style wheels, have no idea what brand they are. The difference with mine are they are aluminum mesh/spoke with chromed steel rims that have some pitting and rust. Haven't figured out how to deal with them. Don't know if it is possible too have the rims rechromed separate of the centers.

Thomcraft

Depending on which plating process is being used, the steel components may require separation from the aluminum. I would confirm best method and costs with a few plating businesses first. Based on the recent cost to re-chrome the shiny bits on my car, purchasing new rims, ie Panasports or similar, might be a more cost effective alternative.

I only polished my rims because I liked the "vintage" look of the mesh.

[Thomcraft]

I really like the Rota wheels if I can't restore these. Thanks