A few pictures of the wheel restoration.

Here are two wheels; the one on the right has been stripped, the hub and rim glassbeaded, and Quik-poly has been applied to all the joints to help seal them. Before applying the Quik-poly, the wheels were spun on a fixture to find any wobbles. Shims were applied at the hub, and new rivets on the felloe to the rim to correct any found. The rim was also inspected for dents, rust pits, sharp edges and anything else that looked like a problem. The wheel on the right has had a coat of PPG's epoxy primer applied (DP-90) . It will then be inspected for finish flaws. If many are found it will be coated with PPG's High-Build Surfacer (K-36), sanded, inspected and then re-sealed with more DP-90.

The picture below is a wheel freshly painted with PPG's Concept Black. It is hanging from my wheel painting fixture which allows me to turn the wheel to get to all surfaces, and to sometimes stop a sag by rotating the wheel. The fixture is very elaborate, consisting of wires from the ceiling and a short piece of conduit. The hub is taped to keep the threads from filling with paint AND the tape extends beyond the hub to catch any paint that tries to peel off the conduit and fall on the wheel, spoiling the finish. This is a trick I learned the hard way!

Here's a picture of the chassis when it was in storage at my Pastor's garage. It now resides in my garage buried under moving boxes and train boxes! Unfortunately there hasn't been any major progress since we closed down the restoration shop I had worked in for 20 years. Some body sheetmetal has been repaired, and a few parts acquired though!

Updated 03-23-02