Topic: Beadlocks

[abnormaltoy]

Hey guys,    
Today I started on my beadlocks. I bought the wheels from 4wheelparts, they’re the RockCrawler series 97 wheels…don’t worry, no fake beadlocks here!



I spaced off taking a picture of the next step, but I sanded the paint (duh!) off the inner lip. Then I went to Harbor Freight and got a bunch of 2 inch C clamps to fully seat the rings on the wheel.
I bought the kit on E-Bay from www.alchemymetalwerks.com (I don’t think his site is up yet) His e-mail address is dave@alchemymetalwerks.com or alchemymetal@earthlink.net . The auction was for 4 sets… so I bought them directly from him. I think it was $64 a piece for 5 sets. They’re made from (pretty much the standard) ¼ inch plate, 32 3/8 bolts with lock nuts.
 
Anyway, before I could begin welding, I had to come up with a way to jig up the wheels. I made an easy little jig from spares I had around the garage.



An old rear axle, OEM spare tire, unused IFS caliper assy and a Warn solid axle hub.  The Warn hub is a 30 spline, so it just dropped on the old axle…as long as you don’t lock the hub it spins freely.



The inner ring is made to fit a lot tighter than other kits I’ve seen. Dave suggested using 1/16 TIG filler rod to evenly space the ring on the wheel.





I ground off a little bevel around the edge of the inner ring, then I ran the filler into the gap. I tacked the ring to the wheel in a few places, making sure the filler was sitting deep in the pocket. Then I ground down the tacks so I wouldn’t get a bump when I welded over them.





Then using my trusty Quik-Grip clamp as a steady I held the MIG gun in one hand and turned the assy with the other.



Resulting in a pretty fair bead with good penetration!



I only completed 2 wheels, the rest are tacked and ready to go. I was a bit windy (you might be able to tell in the tack weld photo) and it was blowing the gas away. All in all I’m pretty happy.

Mark

[Duffil]

Supposing you grind and paint, those will look real good!

[mr4x42u]

bead locks are a must,,looks good..

[Willy Mammoth]

So where is the rest of the bead lock, How does this work?   

Looks good so far and you gotta like the turn table for welding the wheel.

[abnormaltoy [OP]]

I almost like the jig better than the wheel! Do y'all think I should leave the bead to use as a gripping surface for the tire or grind it off? (It would hurt me...that's just about the best bead I've ever laid down and no one will ever see them when they're done.
The other ring won't go on until the tire is mounted, then pinches the tire between the 2 rings. I'm going to add an "anti-coning" ring to the inner ring. The bead on my tire is 3/4 inch thick, so I'll use a piece of 1/2 wide flat stock to keep it from coning too far.
Mark

[motorider228]

this is kind of off subject but not really, are those beadlocks street legal? because i know alot arent. I was just wondering because im going to be starting my build up soon and i want to be able to drive my rig on the street too so i dont have to tow it everywhere.

[abnormaltoy [OP]]

this is kind of off subject but not really, are those beadlocks street legal?

I read the Arizona Revised Statutes and I could find nothing regarding the status of beadlocks...or whether or not you even had to use a DOT approved wheel, just a DOT tire. So, in my mind (warped though it is) if they're not mentioned, they ain't agin the law.
I do have a set of BFG 35 inch muds for DD useage on aluminum wheels, when they wear out I'll get A/Ts. As far as I know if I visit another state with a legal AZ truck...they can hassle me, but, it's still legal to drive in the state I'm visiting.
Mark

[UNBREAKABLE]

lookin' good

[Duffil]

yeah, if youre visiting a state, there's not a lot they can say(i think) in Cali, your usually OK unless you run into a real A****** cop who actually knows that beadlocks aren't legal...around here no body gets hassled though...