Once the shell was secure, and inspection of the brakes, axle, and wheel bearings showed them to be sound and serviceable the next step was to address the wheels and tires. The tires were at least 30 years old and replacement was obvious. The wheels don't appear to be original. My best guess is that they are some sort of truck wheel from the '50's. Since they were sound and not split-rims I decided to refurbish them. The chassis was secured on blocks and both tires, and the spare were removed.
Discount Tire in Hilliard Ohio stripped the old tires and valve stems and removed them for a nominal fee. What I wound up with was 3 rusty, pitted, slightly mismatched rims. The next stop in the journey was to Columbus Art Memorial for sandblasting. They did a great job and were reasonably priced. At this point time was of the essence since the freshly blasted steel would begin to rust almost immediately with no coating. My father took over the next step and primed and painted the wheels using a black color coat/clear coat enamel. Were I to do this job again I would have taken the time to use some body filler to deal with the pitting on the wheels prior to painting.
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