Coker Tire is Your Source for Custom Vintage Rims

As you probably know, we make thousands of tires for collector vehicles, with OE and custom fitments for vehicles made from the 1890's all the way to the new Fiat 500. With that said, we are sometimes the only source for certain applications. For instance, Coker Tire is the only source for custom vintage rims for Brass Era cars, or any car that features wooden spoke wheels. Coker Tire's custom vintage rim service and machine shop is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and longtime machinist, J.D. Scott is in charge of producing steel rims for extremely rare and valuable automobiles, vintage commercial trucks and even motorcycles. Continue reading to find out more about Coker Tire's line of StanWeld vintage automobile rims, as well as other vintage rims. [products] First and foremost, we'd like to list the types of rims that are manufactured in our Chattanooga machine shop. We offer Rolled Drop Center rims, Clincher rims, Lock Ring Style Rims, Split Rims, and StanWeld rims (demountable detachable or quick detachable). In this article, we're going to showcase a set of StanWeld rims, built for a Brass Era American LaFrance fire truck. J.D. has a huge collection of machine patterns for StanWeld rims, but did not have a reference point for this particular truck. In order to fabricate a pattern for the tracer lathe, he requested the original rim (or what was left of it). What he received was a small section of the original rim, which was just enough to provide a pattern, once he cleaned up the edge. The rim was badly rusted, so the new StanWeld rims, in combination with new wooden spoke centers and new tires will give the customer's vintage fire truck a new look and the ability to get out and drive it! [caption id="attachment_6659" align="alignleft" width="720"] These are the rusted remains of the original American LaFrance rim.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6658" align="alignleft" width="720"] J.D. cleaned up the cut, and used the old rim as a guide to build a new template for the tracer lathe. [/caption] The process starts with a huge steel blank, which is rolled into a hoop by a local steel supplier. These blanks are solid steel, and offer enough thickness to be machined on the outer surface, inner surface and faced on each end. The end result is a high quality machined rim that looks good and will stand the test of time. Priced at $875 each, StanWeld rims are not a common off-the-shelf item. Each set is hand-crafted in our machine shop to fit a particular application. When you're dealing with iconic automobiles, it's worth every penny to have the right tires, the right wheels and the right look. We cover a lot of different aspects of the old car hobby, and our Chattanooga, Tennessee machine shop is just one of the many reasons that Coker Tire is the world's leading supplier of tires AND WHEELS for collector vehicles. If you need a set of custom vintage rims built for your vehicle, please contact us at 1-866-591-3420 or shop the Custom Vintage Rims section of our website. [caption id="attachment_6654" align="alignleft" width="720"] Large steel blanks are kept on hand in the machine shop, so when an order comes in, J.D. can chose the desired blank and chuck it up in the lathe.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6656" align="alignleft" width="720"] J.D. faces the steel blank on each side, and then begins machining process to transfer the intricate pattern onto the outer and inner surfaces of the wheel. After the outer surface is machined, the rim is re-positioned in the lathe to machine the inner surface.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6655" align="alignleft" width="720"] The finished product is a beautifully machined custom vintage rim that is a perfect fit for the application. We also build the lock rings and other rim hardware in house. [/caption] [caption id="attachment_6657" align="alignleft" width="720"] J.D. Scott is a lifelong machinist, learning the trade (and catching the hot rod bug) from his late father, Jim. With many years of experience, J.D. has earned his stripes as Coker Tire's custom vintage rim expert. In a world made up of automated manufacturing and overseas production, J.D. stands out as a true American craftsman, and his handiwork is a exclusive offering from Coker Tire.[/caption]