DeTomaso Mailing List: April 1997, Message #225
     



From: MikeLDrew@aol.com

Subject: Wheel repairs

Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 13:36:10 -0400 (EDT)



Hi all,



John wrote:



I have a 8" rear campy that has a crack on the outer edge.  Any suggestions

on the repair of this problem.  I'm not sure if it happened when the tires

were changed or just my erratic driving.

Thanks,

J.D.

'72 pantera #3901



>>>When you say 'crack' do you actually mean, 'great bloody hunk of the rim

broken off?'



It's not uncommon to see Pantera wheels with noticeable sections of the bead

missing.  This is often caused by tire-changing monkeys, who use hammers to

knock clamp-on wheels weights off the wheels when they're changing tires.

Works fine with steel and aluminum wheels, but when the monkey starts

pounding on your Campy's wheel-weight, when it finally does come flying off,

so does a big chip out of your rim.



The obvious solution is, NEVER USE CLAMP-ON WEIGHTS!  Always use stick-on

weights, mounted on the INSIDE of the wheel to gain maximum cool points

(wheel weights of any kind are unsightly, IMHO.)  Furthermore, I seem to

remember Jack DeRyke telling me years ago that the metals used in clamp-on

weights can react with the magnesium and cause corrosion, resulting in a bead

that's predisposed towards breaking anyway.



Regarding the potential for repair of this problem:  Well, obviously the best

option is to weld it up as Jack mentioned.  However, if the chip is only

minor, you can probably get away with using (gasp) bondo.



As they say, "A little bit 'o bondo, a little bit 'o paint, makes a car look

like something it ain't."



The wheel I used for my coffee table (the source of a how-to article someday,

but basically, I've got an original Arriva mounted on an 8-inch Campy,

sitting on a brake disk and hub, suspended off the floor by four legs, and

covered with a 36" round piece of glass; absolutely beautiful furniture in my

eyes, but I acknowledge it would have a Wife Acceptance Factor below Absolute

Zero) had been condemned both because it had an actual visible crack about 3"

long running alongside the bead, perhaps 1/4 inch from the very edge, and

also because it was missing a couple of hunks from tire monkey molestation.



I mixed up a little bondo and did some reconstructive surgery, and it came

out looking fine, you couldn't tell where I'd fixed it.  I then had a friend

VERY CAREFULLY mount the tire, and the bondo survived perfectly fine.



(Interestingly enough, I had to pressurize the tire to get the bead to seat,

and I forgot to then let the air out; two hours later, I had a two-inch wide

by 1/2 inch tall blister of paint where air had leaked through the crack.

This after having spent many hours prepping and painting the wheel.  I

managed to cut the blister off, prep and touch-up the paint; it's not

perfect, but you'd never know it was there unless you were looking for the

flaw.)



I don't know about the roadworthyness of a bondo-repaired bead, but if the

wheel was holding pressure before the fix and the repair is simply cosmetic,

I wouldn't think it would be too much of a problem.  Of course, you'll have

to re-balance the wheel/tire combo once you're done.



Mike (signing off and leaving for Vegas!