H1 Wheels and tires swap
04-23-2017, 08:56 PM
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H1 Wheels and tires swap
Hello everyone!
I recently swapped over to the military 37”, 16.5, H1 wheels and Goodyear MTR tires. I made this thread to share my experiences with those of you who thinking of making the same swap. I have attached a lot of pictures for better explanation.
Stepone:
Choose a style of wheel.
Decide on what style wheel you want (i.e. 8,12 0r 24 bolt wheel). The 24 bolt wheels come in two styles, paired and non paired.
I chose the paired 24 bolt wheel.
Prices vary ranging anywhere from $35-$50 a wheel.
Step two:
Order your parts
Once you have decided on a wheel style, you will need to choose a prefabbed center with correct bolt pattern to be welded into the wheel. I found that Jester Fabrication is the least expensive at $49 per center. Also, you should order your rock rings and PVC inserts. The PVC inserts are 16” water pipe cut down to give your setup a “double beadlock”. The PVC inserts will cost around $40-$50. If you get wheels and tires together, they will come with runflats installed.
Runflats will come in two styles, a three piece magnesium /rubber runflat and a solid rubber “Mohawk” style. The solid rubber runflat is a mofo to get out. If your tires come with either style of run flat, there will be a butt load of Vaseline on the inside of the tire.
The rock rings will cost around $30-$50.
Order new O rings. I will explain later. They cost around $4 a piece.
Step three:
Put everything together.
Hopefully you have a decent setup (welder/plasma cutter) at the house, or a friend who does. Begin with prepping the big section of the wheel, wire wheeling/sandblasting the paint off the inner lip where you will weld the pressed center to. That paint is very difficult to remove, so plan on grinding for a while. The thin “dish” or front of the wheel you will need to plasma cut the existing 8x6.5 bolt pattern out. To do this, mount both pieces back together using only 2 bolts (you just need to hold them together) flip the wheel over so the front is down. Using the lip on the back portion of the wheel as a guide for your plasma cutter, cut the old bolt pattern out.
Now it's time to weld the new center in. This is actually a very easy task. The lip you got all the paint off of is where the center will be welded at. Place the center inside the big section of wheel from the back. After you have it seated measure from the outside edge of the center to the top of the rear of the wheel. I used a big square as a straight edge. Then weld away. I’m not trying to insult anyone’s welding skills by saying this, but only weld 2 inches at a time moving from the 12 o'clock to 6, then 9 to 3 etc.
Welding the rock ring is extremely easy too. Place the rock ring on the topfront of the wheel, align the bolt holes and valve stem and weld using the same 2 inch system mentioned above.
Before you know it, you have 4 or 5 good looking wheels.
Step four:
Prepping the tires.
As I stated above, you might get tires with Vaseline inside. Like a whole big jar of the sticky stuff. As I did, I used an old Visa gift card to scrape the goo out. Then sprayed a ton of brake cleaner in there to get the rest out. Thank god Autozone had brake cleaner on sale that weekend.
Now you have to install the PVC insert. Get ready to manhandle your tire. I recommend two people doing this, it’s a pain in the ass. It doesn’t matter what tire you get, they will all be extremely difficult to maneuver into submission. You will place the insert vertically into the opening on the tire (which is laying on the ground). Push, kick,and sit on the insert until you have it halfway down. Then you are going to turn it horizontally to get it inside the tire. Please take note on where the valve stem cut out is, so you can assemble the wheels and tires correctly.
This is a great time to place your balancing beads in the tire. I used 14oz of lead beads.
Step five:
Assemble the wheels and tires.
Assembling your wheels and tires is pretty basic. Using a 5 gallon bucket, place the big portion of the wheel facing up. With your new O ring place it in the grove on the top of the big portion of wheel. I recommend using axle grease or leftover Vaseline to coat the O ring with. That O ring is what keeps the air from leaking out.
Place the tire with PVC insert onto the wheel. Then take your front wheel plate with welded rock ring and line up the bolt holes with the bolts. Make sure you line up your valve stem with the cut out portion of the PVC insert.
The 5 gallon bucket will allow you to bolt the two wheel pieces together easily. 24 bolts do not go together quickly. Using the 12 o’clock, 6, 9 and 3 technique start bolting the sections together. Do this with about 6 bolts. Once the two pieces are secured tightly together do the rest of the bolts in the same order.
Step six:
Mount to your Jeep and have fun!
I hope this helps and if anyone has any questions or needs help, please feel free toPM me and I’ll help however I can.
YouTube has various videos to assist.
I personally recommend Jester Fab. Their prices are the lowest and service is amazing.
Take care and have fun,
Don
Last edited by Donnie_Dorko; 04-23-2017 at 09:19 PM. Reason: Basic editing
