Hi all,
Bought myself a set of well used Simmons B45's a while back on the cheap with the intention of repairing/cleaning them and putting on my Mirage. Only took almost 18 months to actually get around to it, but we got there in the end.
I didn't document every step, but managed to get photos of most of them and thought I'd share in case anyone else had considered doing the same. All told it was relatively easy, although time consuming, but still kinda fun. The plan with this car was always to learn to do new things with it and I'm glad I had a go. All told the wheels only cost me a couple of hundred bucks and a bunch of time, so are definitely a good way to go if you're looking for the budget option and have the time to spare.
First up we need to separate the wheels. These Simmons were bolted together using hex head bolts and some weird proprietary nut on the back.
I could buy a special socket to match the nut, but nuts to that (wow I'm funny). I was alwaying going to use regular hex nuts when putting them back together, so vice grips it was to undo them.
Once the bolts were removed the centre could be popped out with a mallet.
Then you'll need to cut the sealant with a knife.
And the rim outers should separate. Now comes the fun part of cleaning - start with a knife/scraper to get rid of as much of the sealant as you can, then move to sandpaper to get it clean. Then give the mating surfaces a little scuff to clean and ensure a good seal when they go back together.
Now to clean the rest of the wheel. You can spend forever on these, polishing to an almost mirror finish if you had the time; I just got it toa point where I was happy with it from arms length. They're not going on a show car so looking ok from across the road is fine by me.
Wash, sand, polish, etc. I did this over a few days. Started by getting all of the grime off with a brush and soapy water. Next came various grades of sand paper to get out any scratches. Finally I moved to a polishing/buffing wheel on the bench grinder for the outers, and a can of spray for the centres.
Bought myself a set of well used Simmons B45's a while back on the cheap with the intention of repairing/cleaning them and putting on my Mirage. Only took almost 18 months to actually get around to it, but we got there in the end.
I didn't document every step, but managed to get photos of most of them and thought I'd share in case anyone else had considered doing the same. All told it was relatively easy, although time consuming, but still kinda fun. The plan with this car was always to learn to do new things with it and I'm glad I had a go. All told the wheels only cost me a couple of hundred bucks and a bunch of time, so are definitely a good way to go if you're looking for the budget option and have the time to spare.
First up we need to separate the wheels. These Simmons were bolted together using hex head bolts and some weird proprietary nut on the back.
I could buy a special socket to match the nut, but nuts to that (wow I'm funny). I was alwaying going to use regular hex nuts when putting them back together, so vice grips it was to undo them.
Once the bolts were removed the centre could be popped out with a mallet.
Then you'll need to cut the sealant with a knife.
And the rim outers should separate. Now comes the fun part of cleaning - start with a knife/scraper to get rid of as much of the sealant as you can, then move to sandpaper to get it clean. Then give the mating surfaces a little scuff to clean and ensure a good seal when they go back together.
Now to clean the rest of the wheel. You can spend forever on these, polishing to an almost mirror finish if you had the time; I just got it toa point where I was happy with it from arms length. They're not going on a show car so looking ok from across the road is fine by me.
Wash, sand, polish, etc. I did this over a few days. Started by getting all of the grime off with a brush and soapy water. Next came various grades of sand paper to get out any scratches. Finally I moved to a polishing/buffing wheel on the bench grinder for the outers, and a can of spray for the centres.