DanOlson Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Posted January 19, 2009 When I actually got the housing underneath the springs, all I had to do was drill out the hole in each perch to 5/8" to allow for the head of the spring bolt, and the housing fit like a glove. My 1/4" difference turned out to be mistaken. My original intent was to have the axles and drums redrilled to 5 on 5 but that would not do me any good because the drums will not fit all the way inside the wheel. By using the adapters/spacers between the drum and the wheel I solve both issues. I know it is not the ideal situation but I don't want to buy new wheels at this point. Dan Quote
Merle Coggins Posted January 20, 2009 Report Posted January 20, 2009 How can 9" drums not fit into wheels that originally had 11" drums behind them? Merle Quote
DanOlson Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Posted January 20, 2009 When I refer to 9", I'm referring to the rearend not the drum size which is 11". When you remove a rear wheel from a stock rearend, notice where the shoes are relative to the wheel mounting surface. On a Ford 9", the shoes are outboard at least another inch or more which puts the drum further inside the wheel. I'll snap some pics when I document this project. Dan Quote
grey beard Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Dan, So from the discussion on this thread it is logical that two measurements are necessary to find a rear unit to fit B series Dodges - the width of the spring center bolt holes in the housing and the tread width - width between the two sides of the lug bolt flanges on the outside of the two drums. How thick do your spacers need to be to get your wheels to fit around the new drums? Is your truck a half ton or a 3/4 size? The two use different size wheels, if I am correct, and different type wheel studs or lugs. Quote
DanOlson Posted January 22, 2009 Author Report Posted January 22, 2009 It came off the jack stands yesterday and moved under it's own power. 53 B-4-C (3/4 ton) with 15" wheels Stock rear differential width wheel mounting flange to flange is 63". Here's what I ended up with: Ford 9" with drum brakes, flange to flange is 65.3". So an overall width change of +2.3". My 15" wheels would not accommodate the new drums so I used a wheel adapter/spacer to change the bolt pattern from 5 on 5.5" to 5 on 5" and allow room for the wheels. My guess is that a stock 16" wheel would probably handle the new drums as I was only shy about 1/4 of an inch. The spacers are 1.35" thick so I ended up with an overall width of 68". The rear fenders should have no problem clearing them, I hope. I think it will look more in proportion with the front wheels now. Dan Quote
Frank Elder Posted January 24, 2009 Report Posted January 24, 2009 Dan, It's probably a silly question but here it goes, did you have any problems getting the wheels to center in the fender openings? Due to different length of the diff housing and pinion. Or where the spring mounted to the frame? Thanks, Frankie. Quote
DanOlson Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Posted January 25, 2009 No question is silly. In my case I was not concerned that the tires were centered in the fenders and in fact the tires are not centered in the fenders and are closer to the out side of the fender by 2.5" on each side than stock. What is of concern is that the wheels are the same distance from the centerline of the frame. This is easily achieved by accurate measurements of various key points like the distance from the spring pad to the end of the housing for instance. This measurement should be the same on each side. I'm not sure I answered you question but feel free to ask anything. Dan Quote
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