By two piece rim do you mean the RH-5/widowmaker rims?
I would agree with Grigg that you should be able to find a set of 20" rims that won't need modification. (I'm the one who bought his
As far as welding(or riveting) your centers into a new outer ring then I see no reason why it couldn't work so long the center will fit in the new rim.
There is also no reason you could not cut 2" out of the center of the rim and reweld it narrower. Off road guys do this all the time to make rims wider. Your job would actually be simpler as you don't have to add a band to widen. Here are a couple of links for examples:
http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6736 and
http://www.bandedsteels.com/Banded%20Steels.html So long as you have a good jig set up and check run-out on the rim you won't have any problems.
Unless I am mistaken on the rims that you found, I think 100 is way too much for a 20" rim. These are just large truck dayton style rims correct? You should be able to find a 20x8 rims for little or nothing used. I have about 15 of them that I got for free, 4 from one person and the rest from another who was cleaning out a building. Both of these people were found on craigslist. I see no reason with a little looking that you shouldn't be able to find them for under $25 if not free(although you may need to get rid of the old tire on the rims you get) If you were closer to Columbus, OH I could give you some really cheap. Doesn't being a couple states away just suck...
If you can do all of the fabrication work yourself and can find some cheap rims then you should be able to make some that will be just as cheap as an original wheel you may find..... especially when those great original rims may be a couple states away as well.
Tad
