Thread: 1953 Ford F-100 hub/brake assemblies and Ford wire spokes?

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Question for the hot rod guru's.....

Got a 1953 Ford F-100 front axle from a guy (or at least I think it is)? From my reading, the hubs and brake assemblies from a 53-56 F-100 are a common conversion for 38-48 front axle's.

My question is: Is the something I'm missing or the only way a 28-35 Ford stock ford wire spoke is going to bolt up to this drum is with a 1.5" adapter/spacer?

I ran into this problem on the rear Ford 9" rear end on my chevy. Just wondering if that is the only fix here? If it is, I am probably going to round up new stock 40 drum and brake stuff. I think the front tires hanging more off the drum would look pretty cheezy....

Thanks, Matt

The spacer you need is actually to "register" the wire wheels onto the drum. The early drums had some nubs formed into them to hold the wheels in place firmly, the later ones do not. Places like Rally America and possibly others carry them. If you don't use them you run the risk of the wheels working loose.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

The spacer you need is actually to "register" the wire wheels onto the drum. The early drums had some nubs formed into them to hold the wheels in place firmly, the later ones do not. Places like Rally America and possibly others carry them. If you don't use them you run the risk of the wheels working loose.

Don

Hi Don,

I actually got the flat spacer to, "register" the wire rims. They have that little ridge in the center, but they are for the early stock drums. The early drums are dished out towards the hub about 1.5" so it clears the inside dish on the stock wire spokes. The 53 drum is flat. Just wondering if you need that big 1.5" aluminum spacer to get those rims to fit on the 53 drum or maybe I am missing something?

Thanks, Matt

To be honest, I don't know. If you call Rally America tomorrow either Gary or his Son should be able to tell you for sure. Here is their site:

http://www.rallyamerica.com/

Don

Yes - you need about a 1 3/-8 to 1 1/2 spacer. I did this conversion a on a flathead powered T with a early Ford front end. This amount is needed because the wheel mounting surfaces on the drums up to 48 were raised off the main part of the drum where as the 53 to 56 drums were entirely flat, leaving no room for the recessed part of the wheel hub.

Originally Posted by buckroseau

Hi Don,

I actually got the flat spacer to, "register" the wire rims. They have that little ridge in the center, but they are for the early stock drums. The early drums are dished out towards the hub about 1.5" so it clears the inside dish on the stock wire spokes. The 53 drum is flat. Just wondering if you need that big 1.5" aluminum spacer to get those rims to fit on the 53 drum or maybe I am missing something?

Thanks, Matt

The problem is that your wheel center is too small to clear the brake drum, but you knew that. You have to space the wheel out like has been mentioned above. I am running Rally America's spacers on the 9" rear in my T with no problems but it does set the wheel out over an inch. the thing I like about RA's adapters is that they have the support machined in them for the early Ford wheels. No need for additional parts.

Originally Posted by GVG

The problem is that your wheel center is too small to clear the brake drum, but you knew that. You have to space the wheel out like has been mentioned above. I am running Rally America's spacers on the 9" rear in my T with no problems but it does set the wheel out over an inch. the thing I like about RA's adapters is that they have the support machined in them for the early Ford wheels. No need for additional parts.

I've got the Rally America's on the back right now. I have had some on order with them for almost 3 weeks now....but, they supposedly are waiting on there supplier on there end. Maybe they will be shipping this week?? We'll see?

Thanks for the info, Matt