Cast aluminum wheel lug hole repair

Does anyone have a recommendation for someone who can do a good job at repairing a damaged tapered seat lug nut hole in a cast aluminum wheel? I have 2 of the Kelsey Hayes recall wheels that have a couple lug holes that I would like fixed before I restore the wheels. The damage isn't bad. I see there are press in seats available made for this type of repair, but I would rather have them welded up and remachined by a competent shop that will get it right. Thanks!

while not being able to offer any suggestion on who to send the wheel to for a repair, i have often drilled out the buggered up taper seat and reamed to a common "shank style" nut found on aftermarket mag wheels.
this almost always requires the shank style nuts to be drastically shortened [in a lathe] so they do not bottom out on the drum/disc before becoming fully tightened.
sometimes, however, the taper on that style of wheel can be touched up with a 60 degree "chamfer bit" as is commonly used in a machine shop.
can you post a picture of the wheel in question ?

Not a welder, but I've read on a bicycle website years ago that welding on aluminum can make it get softer so it may need heat treated afterwards.

I would seek out a repair shop that does wheel repair for high end cars like Vipers, Vettes, etc. and see what they tell you.

Thanks for the replies! Because of what these wheels are and what they are going on, I can't change to a shank style lug nut because the lug nuts need to all be the same and also be correct. I took a couple pictures of 1 of the damaged holes. It is a little worse than the picture makes it look. I believe there are 4 total holes (not all on the same wheel) that need a little repair.

By the pics it looks like some holes are elongated.
Is that some/all of the issues?

Yes, that is the issue with most of them. One hole has had a prior repair which was not done very well, so that one needs a little more work which will require machining the back surface (the part that goes up against the brake drum) to make it flat.

i am not a metallurgist, but could you just have the holes drilled and then press in a hardened sleeve to the original size? I would think this could strengthen the area as well.

^^^ Good idea - hardened sleeves are available at good hardware stores.
And a little skill with a small grinding wheel would handle the backside of the wheel.
Hard to tell, but are those Exciters or Vectors or ?

by the looks of that seat, i would try to touch it up with a 60 degree champher tool first.

He said that they were the "Recall Wheels" , the factory ones from 1969.
That's why he's trying to fix them.

Ah, yes - sorry, I blew past that. Definitely worth saving !

That way the stud threads wouldn't dig into the softer alum, of the hole.
Machining shouldn't be that difficult.
Seems easier then trying to do alum. welding.

https://customwheelaccessories.com/browse-our-catalog/wheel-inserts

You could sleeve the holes BUT you'd be losing a significant amount of the original tapered surface which is what retains the wheel - the sleeve would just be filling the hole.

The wheels should center properly on the hub since they are "Mopar" wheels. I wouldn't worry too much about the elongated holes, they don't look that bad - would probably look worse after the repairs !! I'd just make sure when installing them that they are snugged down gradually and that they center on the taper of the nuts.

These are the wheel inserts that should probably be used.

Picking the correct size one would be the main thing.

The wheels need machined already so getting them machined for the inserts would make sense.

https://customwheelaccessories.com/browse-our-catalog/wheel-inserts

They would eliminate the problem of the wheels wearing at the taper ever again.



They're available from multiple places.

http://www.prestigewheel.com/RetaiWheelInserts.asp

Be nice to have the wheel center off the axle register also.

If done properly with the inserts put in the correct position it would be.
The wheel should be hub centric, and the wheel inserts should position the lug nuts properly if machined and installed and placed correctly.

If done properly the hub centers on the axle flange and all the lug nuts have to do is hold the wheel securely in place.

That's how it was designed.

Wallowed out lug holes will never secure the wheel properly, hence the installation of the inserts.

Looked like to me they weren't hub centric like a magnum 500. If they are that would be best. They make shims for that was all I was suggesting.

The place in the first link I posted also has the hub centric rings to make wheels hub centric.
https://customwheelaccessories.com/hub-centric-rings

I agree. I think that would be a much better solution.