donsrods
Well-known member
In recent years there has been a lot of interest in making our cars look old timey,and one of the things people are doing is installing '35 Ford wire wheels on their cars. I am saving a set to do this myself, and the reason people are using them is because they are the first and last 16 inch wire wheels Ford made. All the previous years were 17 and bigger, and after 1935 Ford went to solid steel wheels.
The problem is this: Although the bolt pattern is 5 on 5 and 1/2, just like later Ford ('39-'48) hydraulic brakes, these wheels do not simply bolt on. The reason is that early Ford brake drums had a couple of bumps molded into them so that the inside of the wire wheel rests against them. Later drums do not, and it leaves a gap that gets pinched down and distorted when you torque the lug nuts down. This can lead to cracking and wheels coming loose.
A member on another forum was nice enough to provide me with a magazine article in the August 2007 Street Rodder Magazine that goes into detail on this problem and how to fix it. Bottom line, you can buy a spacer that goes over the later Ford wheel studs, and then you put the wheel on, and it rests properly on this adapter. Then you tighten down the lug nuts as usual.
The adapters are about $ 20 each, and are made by Dave Wilson at MT Car Products. (530) 872-0122.......www.mtcarproducts.com If you want to read the article, it is on page 236 of the issue I mentioned.
Second subject:
Early Ford wheels, either wire or solid, tend to get the lug nut holes routed out from years and years of tightening down the lug nuts. There is a product called "wheel savers" or "lug nut washers" that you can buy for about 40 cents each that go on first, and take up the worn out portions of the holes. I have been running these on my '27 for years, and just ordered more for my 23 T from Macs Auto Parts. These make sure your lug nuts don't pull through elongated holes.
Hope this helps some of you out who are thinking about using early Ford wheels on your rods.
Don
The problem is this: Although the bolt pattern is 5 on 5 and 1/2, just like later Ford ('39-'48) hydraulic brakes, these wheels do not simply bolt on. The reason is that early Ford brake drums had a couple of bumps molded into them so that the inside of the wire wheel rests against them. Later drums do not, and it leaves a gap that gets pinched down and distorted when you torque the lug nuts down. This can lead to cracking and wheels coming loose.
A member on another forum was nice enough to provide me with a magazine article in the August 2007 Street Rodder Magazine that goes into detail on this problem and how to fix it. Bottom line, you can buy a spacer that goes over the later Ford wheel studs, and then you put the wheel on, and it rests properly on this adapter. Then you tighten down the lug nuts as usual.
The adapters are about $ 20 each, and are made by Dave Wilson at MT Car Products. (530) 872-0122.......www.mtcarproducts.com If you want to read the article, it is on page 236 of the issue I mentioned.
Second subject:
Early Ford wheels, either wire or solid, tend to get the lug nut holes routed out from years and years of tightening down the lug nuts. There is a product called "wheel savers" or "lug nut washers" that you can buy for about 40 cents each that go on first, and take up the worn out portions of the holes. I have been running these on my '27 for years, and just ordered more for my 23 T from Macs Auto Parts. These make sure your lug nuts don't pull through elongated holes.
Hope this helps some of you out who are thinking about using early Ford wheels on your rods.
Don
