1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed

[whitetop]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LeeP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I decided to restore the wheel instead of polishing them. They were put on an original type mill and turned down. What I learned was the early aluminum wheels have air bubbles in the aluminum. These actually show when you look close up at the wheels. They would need to be clear-coated to eliminate the flaws. Lessons learned when doing a restoration. Lee </div></div>

Lee, just about all the wheels back then had air bubbles. Poor quality aluminum. From what I have seen, probably the most quality wheel back then and the manufacturer who used the best aluminum was Appliance.

There was an article on Fenton and how they would just take scrap aluminum of any type and melt it down-did not care what it came from or what the original purpose was. There are probably a zillion types of aluminum, quality from poor to aerospace.

Today wheel manufacturers use only brand new aluminum and it is all of one type. lot more quality control today..one reason why today's aluminum wheels can buff out like chrome.