Hi everyone,

I remembered reading about this site in some magazine awhile ago and only now had a reason to register..

I just bought a set of 15" Work Ewing III's, They have all the legit stamping inside the wheel but don't have the stickers most work wheels have but I just attribute that to them being old.

I've been told they a rareish old school wheel and I got them for a great deal, 4 wheels and new tires was cheaper then getting new tires for my stock wheels..

Only thing is their kinda beat up, I'm fine driving with them as is for now, but I'm looking into rebarreling them to make them wider and a bit lower of an offset , and then getting them completely refinished. ne

Does anyone know of a good place to buy hardware (new bolts) for them? And how hard would finding new barrels be? Sorry I'm new to the 3 piece wheel game.

Also the wheels included all 4 Work center caps but I have no idea how to get them on the wheels and no idea how to put them together/take them apart ( 2 each way) and their not in the best of shape either, so i'd either try to get them refinished too (idk if you can even do that) or just buy new original ones (idk if you can do that either with them being old?)

Sorry if I don't make sense at any point in what I was trying to say, I've never had "real" wheels or even 3 peice wheels for that matter so working on the wheels is an entire new thing for me.

Thanks!
-Max

Call or look around Works site to find new barrels... basically any 15" 3pc. rim should fit. You can also get new hardware through them or just remove one of the nuts and bolts to take them into your local hardware store. You do not have to have a specific bolt. Someone working in the store should be able to point you to a matching nut/bolt combo.

Yeah, Ewing IIIs are hard to come by and personally I really like them. Ive been looking for a set personally for my 510. Anyway, i saw a set of decent looking center caps on Ebay a week or so ago; they werent terribly expensive. The caps I believe are plastic so Ive never heard of anyone trying to refinish them.

You should post some pictures for us to enjoy!

edit: what size/offset are they?
edit #2: here are the caps on Ebay http://tinyurl.com/7hjew2y

_________________
--Tristin
1969 Datsun 510 4dr.

Max, please don't listen to this advise above. I just refinished my Watanabe 2 piece wheels and there's no way I would use hardware store bolts/nuts on my wheels. Reason is that unless you're going to a really well stocked hardware store they'll likely not have high strength bolts needed for an automotive application. And I definitely wouldn't trust a store employee for knowing the difference...trust me I know first hand. Most of the stuff at a regular hardware store is for general purpose not for a wheel supporting the full weight of a moving car.

I ordered my 12.9 grade/M8x1.25/zinc plated/30mm bolts and grade 8/M8x1.25/flanged/serrated/zinc plated nuts from my local fastenal distributor. You should check out their website (http://www.fastenal.com) to see if there's a distributor near you and you could just go in there with a sample bolt/nut to have them find them for you, just be sure to tell them what application you're using them for, or call them to be 100% sure you're ordering the right stuff. Oh and FYI, it's a little cheaper buying from them locally then ordering online. They're a little pricey but I'm glad I spend the $100 on both the nuts/bolts knowing I'm running the appropriate grade hardware. Oh and don't cheap out, get zinc coated hardware so it won't rust!

I'm assuming you have the Ewing IIIs in the "star" pattern? If so the centre caps are thread-on - there is meant to be a black threaded centre piece which attaches to the wheel with a bunch of small screws. Then there is a ring which slips on over the top of this (which forms the centre of the decorative spokes) and the cap holds the ring in place once threaded down.

mine are in storage so I can't really go get a photo to demonstrate, however this is what they look like complete:

_________________

I obviously didnt mean just any random bolts you can find. I assumed the OP would be smart enough to use high grade hardware... I mean, youre going to be driving on them. I was stating that you dont have to get the hardware through a wheel manufacturer.

_________________
--Tristin
1969 Datsun 510 4dr.

FWIW, this place makes custom barrels for almost any wheel. Not cheap, but very high quality.

http://kodiakracingwheels.com/shells.html

If anyone is interested, my local wheel repair shop has a set of four collecting dust. One of their worker used to be into the Jap stuff. I bought a set of rare Jap wheels from them when I went there to get another set worked on. Let me know, I believe they're still there. None of them have the center caps, I believe. I remember the guy telling me he had repaired and refinished them but never used them.

I have the same wheels on my car. Just wondering how you remove the face of the wheel. Tried removing all the bolts but I cant seem to be able to separate the wheel face and the lip.

Thinking of making my 15x7's to 15x8's or maybe flipping the wheel.....

Has anyone tried doing a wheel flip on these?

Thanks!

Unfortunately they stopped producing barrels for other brands. They will only produce their own brand now.
You can try Araya Wheels or Memory Fab for custom offsets.

More than likely they are welded like SSRs. You would have to find the seam, pull all the sealant off, and then cut the wheel lip off. After that you would just buy a set of lips that match size and bolt pattern, then reassemble the wheels like true 3pc.

_________________
--Tristin
1969 Datsun 510 4dr.

I have 8 of these wheels and all of them are welded together good luck re-barreling them, you'll have to cut them apart like Tristan said in the above post. You'd want to use a lathe to cut the weld, and even then you'll probably destroy both the lip and the barrel, have a look at Heath's thread for an example (see the link in his last post near the bottom of the page for pics), he did the same thing to his Starsharks



If yours aren't welded, consider yourself lucky!

_________________