Wheel dilemma, older fake fuchs not holding air

[Thadacta69]

Hey all, I'm not sure what to do here, I need new wheels- I have a wheel leaking air and new tires on the wheel. We've tried sealing them a few times and the hairline cracks and damage to the rim make it impossible to hold air for more than a few days. Right now the spare is on and I have a new set of tires for 15x6 wheels.

Car is a 1969T

I think I'll go up in wheel size when I do my body/full restoration work. Right now the car has a 3.0 with PMO carbs and and s cams, It feels like it needs larger wheels and wider rubber when we do the full overhaul. I've spent a bunch of time and money to get the car running and driving and it's great for now. The body is rough as is the interior, so eventually we'll go through the whole car.

Do I just buy some Maxilite wheels to hold me over for a while? Or go with a rough or not perfect set of Fuchs? Any advice would be helpful! I'm thinking re-sale once I widen the rear fenders and get larger wheels, but I also don't want to drive around on something terrible for a few years while I build up the cash for the full overhaul.

[R_Builder]

If you still have the stock 69-77 steel flares on both front and rear, an easy one is to go to 15x7 Fuchs and run 205/55R15 tires. Good compromise on looks, width, and just 4% smaller than stock tire size so not a huge hit to the speedo accuracy. Plus, since they are the same size you can rotate them all for even wear.

[Arne2]

I'd look for some cheap 15x7 cookie cutters from a 944 to use until you add the rear flares.

[Thadacta69]

Thanks! Will give it a try. I am pretty sure the wheels on there are a 15x6, the tires I have on them are 205/50-15's so how does going to a 7" width in the wheel impact? Should I stick with something 15x6? or is that 15x7 going to be better?

[R_Builder]

Mentioned the 15x7 because you spoke of wanting to increase in width. The cookie cutter idea is a good temp solution as they are good quality/price and easy to sell later if you go even wider. Only you can decide if you like that look though...

Check your specific 205 tire's spec sheet to make sure it can be mounted on a 7 inch rim. They'll fit nice under stock flares and the extra wheel reveal and more vertical side walls has always looked nice to me on an early car, but now we are getting into the subjective stuff...

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Thadacta69

We've tried sealing them a few times and the hairline cracks and damage to the rim make it impossible to hold air for more than a few days. Right now the spare is on and I have a new set of tires for 15x6 wheels.

If a wheel is that damaged, it is probably not safe to drive on. The wheels take a lot of stress/strain. Cracks like you described can cause stress risers (places that will crack/fail first) that could cause a complete mechanical failure of the wheel.

[john70t]

Is the car, and your own health, and that of your passengers, worth more than a thousand bucks or two?
A failure at the wrong time could send the vehicle into something solid arriving in the opposite direction.

(fwiw, a spare might have a different diameter and put added wear on the diff in the long run)

[Thadacta69]

Absolutely! It’s not being driven until a new wheel set is on it. For sure not worth it. Seems like a set of Maxilite’s or something similar is a good solution for the next year or two.

[dannobee]

If you're honestly not going to drive it with a cracked wheel, have your local tire shop put a tube in it. Tell them what you're doing and that you only need the wheel to hold air and that you have no intention of driving it.