Wheel Balancer-How old

[Beerman]

Bought this at an auction a few years ago for the princely sum of $1. Never plugged it up and don't know if it works or not. The auctioneer said that this type of balancer was now illegal (not sure where he got that from).

Any idea of how old it is and what it might be worth? (assuming it still works?). I'm trying to get rid of some of the clutter in my garage and this certainly qualifies.


Beerman

 

[Professur]

It's got tubes.

 

[cowboy73]

I'd say 50s or 60s. Does that tag say 10,000 RPM? That's probably what made it illegal ie. unsafe.

 

[Falcon67]

They used to use one of those at the shop that did my wheel and brake work back in the mid 70s. I don't know how it worked, but the guy running it did one hell of a good job with it. IIRC, It spins up the tire with the little wheel by the motor, tire stays mounted on the car. After they would do my Trans Am, 100 MPH was like riding a flying carpet.

 

[Packard V8]

My first job in Spokane thirty-six years ago was as Service Manager of a Goodyear Tire Store. We had one of those. They were great for balancing cars which had brake drum problems. Did you get the strobe unit with it?

They're illegal, because they're unsafe in the hands of idiots. Some state OSHAs and most insurance companies learned stoner tire busters were likely to harm themselves with anything with moving parts and no guards. That 10,000 RPM motor could spin a front tire/wheel up over 150 MPH if you held it there long enough. Then, the red circular gizmo would part company with the steel wheel and act like a demented buzz saw as it raced around the shop. Funny if you are standing far enough away. I only let the older, experienced techs use it.

jack vines

 

[blt2go]

i've been looking for one of those. they are excellent balancers as they not only balance the wheel tire combo they balance the entire rotating mass. ie drum or rotor, hub, lug nuts and all.

 

[tatra]

used to use one similar when i was doing rubber...........cordobas with wire hubcaps and goodyear polysteel radials for the local dealerships..........took awhile to get " the feel" but once mastered, you became the go to guy, which sucked cuz it was a stressful thing for a 17 y/o to be on all day with them lined up out the door..........god i hated chryslers then..........used to do old rolls 's , bentleys etc too with the polyglass bias plys.............these were older , maybe 30 years old cars that had picky owners that wanted perfection...........best was a jag xjs owner who had me stomp it down broadway in van. to get it vibrate at 80 in city limits.. .......that balancer sure brings back some memories....................

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Thats a two motor wheel spinner. The shiny drum in the middle runs on the wheel and there is a motor on each side of it, the two motor units will spin big heavy wheels. I think that unit is actually made by Hunter. I have a single motor with a different looking motor and base unit, with a lift up lid that houses the weights and the balance unit and at least two of the wheel adapters. The single motor unit struggles somewhat and I've used it only on smaller wheels such as 195/70/75-14's. As old as mine are, the rubber on the wheel adapters is still in good condition. I use it occasionally, and have always been extremely careful to make sure the wheel adapters were securely locked in the rims, to the point that I pull real hard on them, and I also carefully lock and verify by pulling, each of the four locks on the red balance mechanism. There is an art to using them, I can make it work, but am not as good as some of the old timers I recall seeing use these things 35 or 40 years ago.

The balance mechanism was just overhauled by Hunter when I bought mine from a family friend who owned a Hertz franchise. He was closing down the shop as he was transitioning from cars he owned to cars he leased that stayed under warranty, and he was getting rid of his rental trucks, the prime reason for the shop. I bought the balancer and a old sulfur dioxide refrigerant compressor that I added a 1/4 horse motor to and casters and make a excellent vacuum pump out of (still have it too).

Charles