Front Wheels and Restoration Cost

jd2cyl1943

Member
Location
Bemidji, MN
My B needs new rims on it's front wheels. Do you know where I can have it done and how much it would cost?


I calculated that for the tractor to be able to run and drive(without the re-rimming) it would cost $3000-3500. Is that a usual amount?
 
Hello. It is not unusual to have double the money invested in a tractor verses what is would sell for. Without knowing a lot about
your tractor, I will assume it has spoke wheels and needs new rims for rubber tires. Have a tire shop or junk yard help locate rims
for you and find a fabrication shop that can cut out the centers and reweld them to your spokes. Where are you located? Guys on
here are all over the US and might have a better insight on places that will help you out. Good Luck. Bill
 
Here are some pics. I'd like if it could remain cut off and not turned into regular front wheels. It is part of the tractors history and makes it just a little more unusual, if you know what I mean. And I'm in MN.
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Learn to weld, then cut them off the spokes, find a pair of rims and weld them back on. There's no deadline is
there? Take welding in high school and make them a project.
 
I have a set of cutoffs for an unstyled b fronts that should fit your tractor. You could have them for a $100. They will need races. Email is open. Thats
probably cheaper than repairing yours. Im located in Illinois. Good luck, Mark
 
Your location would be advantageous to explore Biewer
tractor salvage or maybe Kugler salvage. All States Ag
Parts is also an option. As RR says weld new rims on and
you can call them your own.
 
I encouraged a young parishioner of mine to take a similar ( automotive ) need to a local fab shop with two points to discuss with the owner. a) That he expressed an interest in wanting to learn the skill, and would like to assist. b) That he'd volunteer a period of time for shop clean up, in off hours.

Worked just fine. Was a smaller family owned shop where the owner could / would take time to mentor a young man after hours. There are oodles of tradesmen out in the world with the heart of a father... sometimes they just need to be asked.
Prolly would fine the same results with your average farmer... they ain't dumb!

Worth a consider?

Fr. Bob
 
Hey wheel has blank rims in 12,14,15,16 inc by several widths from about 3-8 inch depending on diameter on some of them. Less than 100.00 per rim also depending on size. Heywheel.com is the site for you. Look at the choices you have with them and lots of rear rim choices also. There you go. They are in KS. I bought some wheel centers and a wheel once for reasonable price and freight was not a killer either. OR buy a couple rims the size you want in a junkyard and cut the centers out with the torch. Then grind out what you need to smooth them out and weld them on to the spokes.
 
Minnesota is big, I live in St.Cloud, and have some solutions that cold work. Where in the state are you? Jim
 
Last I knew a few years ag a shop close to me had one of the
special jugs made probably in the hate 40;s to tru up the rim
to the center to get them perfectly round and not enough off
that tractor would bounce all over.
 
There is a place in St. Ansgar, Iowa
called Wold Rim and Wheel... not sure
just what all they make there.

We nearly went through Wold for rims
once - but then my husband found some
used ones.
 
I needed a rim for a IH model H front rim.
I found a rim off of a IH model 55 baler
was the correct size I only had to remove
the center section. I think it's still in
the barn. It would be an easy fix if you
had a local weldor to repair your rims.
 
Wold is in Iowa, they still make rims.
Univerth is another that makes rims and
wheels, any ag tire outfit can order or
price those out.
 
I put new rims on my 35 b. Got blank
center rims 3x15 from another mail order
company. They are $65 a piece. I used a
grinder with a cut off wheel to get the
old rims off cleaned up with the regular
grinder wheel. Set the wheels and rims on
the bench and used a Flux core welder.
Took an afternoon. Worst case get the
spokes off and cleaned up. Get new rims
and take to a local welder, if you don't
have the capability to weld yet. He will
be able to weld them pretty quick,
probably cheaper to if he doesn't have to
clean the old rim from the spokes.
 
Good grief..... That's a lot of
money.... I have $300 in this
Farmall B. Probably drive it out
of the shop, with fresh paint,
for under $500.

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My Dads tractor buddy who has a great collection of steel wheeled tractors once told me I am not good at welding, but I am great at grinding.
 
These are re-rimmed. Center hubs are from a 37 A JD and the blank rims came from a company called Hey Wheel out of KS. Did them myself. $40 each for the
blank rims.
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