Wheel/Drum Balanced as a Unit

[RAC68]

Hi All,

My father always said “The difference between a hobby and work is….if you've got to do it… its WORK.” Well, this winter I am addressing Healey interests on the Hobby side.

Along with the design and implementation of an SU fuel pump Optical trigger with a few friends from Calgary, I will be building an O2-based exhaust analyzer to play with my HD8 adjustment. Additionally, I am looking for a small amount of steel plate (1, 6” round, 1, 7 ½” round) to address the balancing of brake drum, wire wheel adapter, and wire wheel as a single unit.

Most wheel balancers have a back plate that allows adapters to bolt on. The idea is to create a simple spacer/adapter that will act in a similar way as the axel in receiving and allowing the drum and wire wheel to be securely bolted. The wheel can then be mounted and secured properly with the spinner. No modification to any of these units will be required although orientation of all involved units will need to be maintained when remounting onto the car. I believe a small dab of paint on each unit will provide sufficient indicator for realignment.

Because I had most of the materials, I initially built a light version of the adapter using sheet plastic and 2 sizes of plastic plumbing pipe. However, due to the extreme weight of the units to be attached, I am insecure with the ability of the plastic fixture to maintain form … even with the low rpm and short rotational duration of a modern balancer. Although I plan to test the plastic fixture, I see the creation of a simple steel fixture as the real solution and am presently looking for some scrap metal of sufficient thickness (estimate (2) pieces of 3/8” or ¼” steel plate and a 3” piece of 2”-3” diameter pipe).

Thoughts and suggestions???

Ray (64BJ8P1)

 

[British_Recovery]

Hi Ray, Balancers I've been using have a post that goes through the center of the wheel and a cone that goes on the back. I thought of a way to minimize the difference between the angle of the balancer's cone and the angled seat of the wheel. I had an old splined hub cut down just below the threads so it can be put into the wheel and provide a flat seat to the balancer. The hub without the threads allows the regular balancer hardware to work to secure the wheel. We haven't tried it out yet, but the tech said it should work. I guess you could bolt a drum to it, and with the appropriate spacers, do it all at once. You could probably balance the drum separately first, just to find the heavy spot, and position the wheel accordingly to lessen the weights needed. Good thinking on your part. Good luck, Bob

 

[RAC68]

Hi Bob,

I think I see the approach you have taken. I would caution that there is usually a little play between the splined adapter and the wheel that could cause difficulty in centering the setup.

I previously used a wheel spline, centered on the balancer with a small cone next to the plate and a hole in the spinner for centering the front. Although this has performed rather well, I believe the adapter I would like to create will balance all major wheel components at once.

The adapters pictured, both plastic and steel versions, have a pipe separating the two plates to allow for the shaft and to clear the drum. The plastic version is uses an outer 3” plastic pipe with center 1 ½” center pipe that rides on the balancer’s shaft for extra support. The steel version doesn’t need the support and, hopefully, will be strong enough to carry the full weight of all the wheel components without deflection. I like your idea on predefining the heavy spots on the drum and wheel in order to orient them to reduce the amount of weight required.

My biggest problem is to find 2 small pieces (6” and 8” round) of scrap steel plate to fabricate.

Ray (64BJ8P1)