Wheels

Wheels

Wheels are forged two-piece alloy wheels. 20" x 10" wide front and rears, with some spare rears at 20" x 12". I arranged a copy of the GMH original logo on centre caps, as the truck was originally a product of General Motors Holden, in 1948.

Finding a manufacturer to produce the wheels to my specs was a mission in itself. Some suppliers didn't even email or call back. Getting quotes from several manufacturers was interesting, as the prices were mind-blowing. Ranging from $1500US to $3000US a wheel, plus shipping, customs duty and taxes. I found a manufacturer online, in China, to produce the wheels, although this turned out to be a bit of a long drawn-out process.

1. To work out what size tyres and rim to best suit the vehicle. Here in Western Australia, you can only legally fit 10" wide rims. 

2. Next buy tyres to fit under the fenders and that fit the rims. It can be a challenge to hold them in place to work out the offset on the rims. 

3. It helps to purchase a special off-set tool to hold the tyre in place and allows you to make the necessary adjustments to find the off-set required. See the last photo 

4. Download the wheel measurement sheets from the manufacturer's website and work out the backspace or frontspace required. Then you have to measure and fill in all the information required and fill in the sheets. See left...

5. Send all information to the manufacturer and wait for a reply. They work out a price and send you an invoice to be paid upfront.  Once they receive the payment, you then get a  drawing of your wheels, for sign-off and then production can start. Once approved it takes 35 to 45 days to manufacture the wheels.

6. Shipping to Australia is through a forwarding agent, found in Perth. He organised the wheels to be packed in a shared container and shipped to Australia.

he whole process takes nine months, plus a month for shipping.

Now with all the tools and information worked out, the next set of wheels wouldn't take anywhere as long.