Yes, I remember that trip well! It was supposed to be a relay by a bunch of stovebolters, and I ended up making the whole thing solo, over 1,200 miles, as I recall. I had been on the way to eastern Pennsylvania to pick up a partially completed Excalibur roadster that a member of another website had given me. (It's still not finished!)
If you have access to a lathe, it might be possible to set the spindle up between centers and put a knurl on the area where the bearing rides. That will expand it without creating stress points like doing it with a center punch( AKA "Okie knurl job")
Jerry
