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49-51 Shoebox Ford rims fit on 48 Dodge?


ebruns1

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Hey fellas,

 

My rims are trash and I see some decent rims available on CL from a 49 Ford.  He thinks they are 15x6, which shouldn't hit any steering or brake components correct?  What I am worried about is the center hole diameter matching the hub?  Were they different back then or standard so you could interchange?  I previously tried putting a modern Ford Ranger rim on my 47 Chrysler (as a temp roller) and it would not seat correctly due to the center hub opening being smaller on the 1990's Ford rim.  But the rims I'm looking at are off a 50's Ford...anyone know about these?  Thanks for your help!

 

Jim 

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19 minutes ago, ebruns1 said:

Hey fellas,

 

My rims are trash and I see some decent rims available on CL from a 49 Ford.  He thinks they are 15x6, which shouldn't hit any steering or brake components correct?  What I am worried about is the center hole diameter matching the hub?  Were they different back then or standard so you could interchange?  I previously tried putting a modern Ford Ranger rim on my 47 Chrysler (as a temp roller) and it would not seat correctly due to the center hub opening being smaller on the 1990's Ford rim.  But the rims I'm looking at are off a 50's Ford...anyone know about these?  Thanks for your help!

 

Jim 

I am 90 percent certain they will,but the truth is you can buy brand new steel rims from Summit Racing for about 60 bucks each delivered that WILL fit,and are brand new and guaranteed to be unbent,pitted,or cracked.

 

By the time you buy the CL rims and then sandblast them for painting,you will  have more than 60 bucks each in a old rim that may be bent or pitted. Besides,IIRC,the 49-51 rims are only 5.5 inches wide and unsuitable for wide enough tires to ride good and give you traction and handling. Go with a 6 or 6.5 inch wide wheel,which is a better fit for 205-225 tires. Get them in,wipe off the rust protection,have them powder coated,and you are ready to go.

 

BTW,you might want to check to make sure those Ford wheels are 15 inch and not 16 inch. I THINK some of the early 49's came with 16 inch wheels.  If the width is important to you,send me a PM tomorrow morning to double check for you. I have at least 8 of them out in my yard with no tires on them and it will be easy for me to measure them. It's raining here right now or I would do it now.

I can tell you for a fact that early Duster/Dart rally wheels are a perfect fit on  49-51 Fords because I have a parts car in the yard with 71 Duster rims on it

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10 minutes ago, matt167 said:

Measure the backspace and center hole. For sure it won't have the locating hole where the pin goes thru

 You can drill  a hole for the locating pins. That's no big deal. Duster wheels fit on a 50 Ford,so that shouldn't be a problem,either.

I wouldn't recommend drilling holes in 49-51 Ford wheels,though. They are different than the earlier and the later Ford wheels,and restorers will pay 50 bucks each for a rim that isn't bent or pitted.

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They will fir BUT Ford used a larger lug nut and while you can use them on the right hand side, they were never available with left hand thread.

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2 hours ago, dpollo said:

They will fir BUT Ford used a larger lug nut and while you can use them on the right hand side, they were never available with left hand thread.

Huh? If the factory lug nuts will fit on the right side,why won't they fit on the left side? They screw into the hub,not the wheel.

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For what its worth I replaced the stock 16" 1941 rims that came with the "restored" Coupe with 15x6 and 15x7 Wheel Vintique Chrome Smoothies with their standard Frod pattern.....I removed that locating stud from the stock Plymouth brake drums and used the standard Plymouth left & right hand threaded bolts on the chrome rims which easily cleared the Plymouth centre hub .......worked fine...............andyd   

IMG_1549.JPG

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Good advice everyone thanks.  If I were to order new 15x6" rims, what backspace do I order to match the original rims?  I figure if I match the factory rims I won't have a problem with anything rubbing in the fender wells or the steering arm and components.  What backspacing came on the original rims?  I'd like to get 215 or 225 75r15 radials if that makes any difference.

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35 minutes ago, ebruns1 said:

Good advice everyone thanks.  If I were to order new 15x6" rims, what backspace do I order to match the original rims?  I figure if I match the factory rims I won't have a problem with anything rubbing in the fender wells or the steering arm and components.  What backspacing came on the original rims?  I'd like to get 215 or 225 75r15 radials if that makes any difference.

Just measure from the back of the mounting surface to the outside of the rim edge and you will know. It's usually not super critical,though. If you have a 3-3/4  backspace you can usually go with a rim that has 4 inches as long as you don't go nuts with the wide oval series tires.

 

BTW,if you buy the "uni-lug" wheels that fit Ford and GM bolt patterns,and extra hole will probably work for the locating pin. Or just buy the standard Ford/Mopar bolt pattern and drill a hole in each rim between the lug holes.

Edited by knuckleharley
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The Wheel Vintique Chrome Smoothies that I ordered and used were the standard backspaced ones that came with the 15x6 and 15x7 rims to suit 195/75x15 and 235/75x15 Coker Classic Whitewall Radials.....the car had one coil cut at the front and 2" blocks on the rear and the wheels & tyres did not rub anywhere on either front or back, inner or outer 

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1 hour ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

back in that era the locating hole of the ford rim was a bit smaller and is such the case today in many applications.  The mopar will easily work on both model cars but often the ford will foul up on the larger center that is the mopar rear axle..measure carefully...

The aftermarket steel wheels that have both the Ford and the GM bolt patter have large center openings to avoid this problem.  The lug nuts will center the wheel on the hub,so it's no big deal.

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3 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

The aftermarket steel wheels that have both the Ford and the GM bolt patter have large center openings to avoid this problem.  The lug nuts will center the wheel on the hub,so it's no big deal.

in reading the original question, it pertained to the shoebox ford rims of the era....nothing stated on aftermarket...that was suggested but not specified by the original poster....

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3 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

in reading the original question, it pertained to the shoebox ford rims of the era....nothing stated on aftermarket...that was suggested but not specified by the original poster....

So what?

 

Lighten up,Lucille.

Edited by knuckleharley
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1 hour ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

the hole in question is the hole in the center of the wheel, not the little teeny hole for the peg on the hub

Yes,I know. I did write "large center opening",so how is there any confusion about this?

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OK Fellas...it's all good knowledge so I'll consider it weather I asked for it or not :Dhaha!  Here's another mystery to the wheel question I didn't even yet mention.  I have no locating pins to worry about!  Maybe they were knocked off.  Also, I have studs and lug nuts, not lug bolts!  Did all the 46-48's have factory lug bolts only?  So I actually can use any rim that fits the center hole even one without a locating pin hole or a smaller than mopar pin hole.  I'm planning a Scarebird front disc swap anyway, so I'll have a new front hub and rotor when I do.  I'll only have to worry about the rear since that will remain with all stock brakes and hardware.

 

Jim

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36 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

Yes,I know. I did write "large center opening",so how is there any confusion about this?

the confusion seems to be that you do not realize the ford wheel center register hole is smaller than the mopar and thus will not fit the hub on the mopar.  And yes you did write large center opening but in reference only to aftermarket wheels and totally ignore the original question of the shoe box ford wheel.   Confusion is quickly added when a topic goes astray from the original question by folks who fail to address it as written. 

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4 hours ago, ebruns1 said:

OK Fellas...it's all good knowledge so I'll consider it weather I asked for it or not :Dhaha!  Here's another mystery to the wheel question I didn't even yet mention.  I have no locating pins to worry about!  Maybe they were knocked off.  Also, I have studs and lug nuts, not lug bolts!  Did all the 46-48's have factory lug bolts only?  So I actually can use any rim that fits the center hole even one without a locating pin hole or a smaller than mopar pin hole.  I'm planning a Scarebird front disc swap anyway, so I'll have a new front hub and rotor when I do.  I'll only have to worry about the rear since that will remain with all stock brakes and hardware.

 

Jim

I suspect at some point your rear end has been changed. Every 40's Mopar I have ever seen left the factory with lug bolts,not nuts. You need to get someone that is familiar with the various rear ends to take a look and tell you what you have. While you are looking,look for a tag bolted to housing that has a parts number and gear ratio on it.

 

Maybe measure the diameter of the axle housing where the drum slips over it,too.

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3 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

the confusion seems to be that you do not realize the ford wheel center register hole is smaller than the mopar and thus will not fit the hub on the mopar.  And yes you did write large center opening but in reference only to aftermarket wheels and totally ignore the original question of the shoe box ford wheel.   Confusion is quickly added when a topic goes astray from the original question by folks who fail to address it as written. 

HorseHillary! Everybody knew what I was writing about and why.

Edited by knuckleharley
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On 3/23/2018 at 2:09 PM, knuckleharley said:

I suspect at some point your rear end has been changed. Every 40's Mopar I have ever seen left the factory with lug bolts,not nuts. You need to get someone that is familiar with the various rear ends to take a look and tell you what you have. While you are looking,look for a tag bolted to housing that has a parts number and gear ratio on it.

 

Maybe measure the diameter of the axle housing where the drum slips over it,too.

All D-24s came with stud pressed into the drums.....no lug bolts front and rear are studs and lug nuts.

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8 minutes ago, Frank Elder said:

All D-24s came with stud pressed into the drums.....no lug bolts front and rear are studs and lug nuts.

Thank you for the correction. I had no idea. Every Mopar I have owned but the 42 Dodge was a Plymouth,and they all had lug bolts. 

 

Come to think of it,I THINK the 55 Plymouth parts car and the 63 Fury convertible project car both have lug studs and nuts.

 

Going to  have to check my D-22  when I go out to the shop today.

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