Thread: 52 Ford F-1 wheel question

Tweet

I have a 52 F-1 pickup truck that I'm restoring to look (sort of) like a survivor. The previous owner put wide tires and spoke wheels on it and it looks terrible. Anyway, he gave me the old rims and after taking the tires off of them, I found that only two matched, the other two were different widths. I either heard or read awhile back that the original 5 on 5.5 rims were used on Fords for many years and that they stayed with that pattern after going to tubeless. Here's my question: can I use newer (tubeless) rims and if so, what else fits. I'd obviously like to buy rims from a junkyard for a few $ each than have to go to aftermarkets for hundreds. Also, I'd rather not have tube tires.
Thanks

According to this chart, Bolt Pattern Reference Guides - Ford, Lincoln, Mercury the wheels on any 1/2T truck from '54 to '96 will be the same, and there are thousands of them out there.

In addition, there are kickers. The first year of 5 on 5 1/2 bolt pattern on a disc style wheel for Ford was 1940. Those were a 16" wheel, with a 4" rim width. In '41 they upped the width to 4.5" through '48. These had the hub cap nubs pointing to the center for the small hub caps. In '47 the Mercury line went to a 15", 5" wide if I remember correctly, same bolt pattern and cap style. The trucks of those years were essentially the same style and size, though they also offered a 16 x 5 size. In '49 they changed to the 4 1/2" bolt circle for the passenger cars (though the Mercs continued the 5 1/2 circle through '51 with outside cap nubs), the trucks stayed at 5 1/2 as Roger noted. I forget what year they changed the hub cap clamping style from the point in to the point out, but I think it was somewhere '60 or '61. So the bolt pattern after that will match, but the hubcap mounting would be different.

Now, you didn't say what kind of different the two were from the other two. Do you have two pairs that appear different from one another, or do you have three different styles within the four wheels. Since you said you didn't see the difference until tires were dismounted does that mean the only difference is width?

Edit, in the '50s the truck wheels were also available in 15" as well as 16" and with a variety of widths. Randy may be right in his post about the cap nubs going to '66, that stuff isn't in my brain. There's probably a nice chart somewhere on the internet for all this, I just keep it as "why do I remember this kind of stuff?"

Originally Posted by rspears

According to this chart, Bolt Pattern Reference Guides - Ford, Lincoln, Mercury the wheels on any 1/2T truck from '54 to '96 will be the same, and there are thousands of them out there.

Yeah, '40-'48 Ford cars and '40-'96 Ford 1/2T pickups should fit with the 5x5.5 bolt pattern. The only difference would be in the style of hub cap you wanna run, if any. The pre-'66 rims were usually "innie" and post-'66 were "outies" referring to the little bumps the hold the cap on....also, in the late 60's-early '70s they made some small adjustments to accommodate disc brakes.

LOL! Bob, you posted while I was writing....

Now that you mention other variations, there was also a light-duty F150 in '80-'83 that had 5x4.5 bolt pattern, but those aren't that common in the salvage yard.

I'm actually running old slot mags on my 48 F1. Even after a rear axle swap from 48 to 68(econoline van), the mags fit no problem. I converted the front axle to disc brakes, and the same deal, no fit problem! Pretty universal fit.

Originally Posted by stovens

I'm actually running old slot mags on my 48 F1. Even after a rear axle swap from 48 to 68(econoline van), the mags fit no problem. I converted the front axle to disc brakes, and the same deal, no fit problem! Pretty universal fit.

Wheels are about the only place Ford maintained any consistency through the years, it seems. Most everything else seemed to change with the winds.

and then in 57 they hinged the car hoods at the front so it would be easier to reach the distributors on the back of the engines and in 58 they moved the dist to the front!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Bob,
Two rims match, the other two are narrow and wider so yes, I actually have 3 different sizes out of the 4 rims. If, I had 4 matching rims, I would have persued buying tubeless tires since 2 of the old tires looked pretty good and I'd only have to buy 2 more. Anyway, at this point, I'd rather just go with a boring standard rim and since the old tires were pretty skinny, I'd like to stay with that look. Bottom line is I really don't care if they're innies or outies. I have the original (inny) hub caps but I figure I can buy some old dumpy looking baby moons if I end up with outies. So now I guess my question is what is the most popular (cheap) vehicle in the junkyard that will have the rims I want?
Jeff

Originally Posted by october-1881

...... So now I guess my question is what is the most popular (cheap) vehicle in the junkyard that will have the rims I want?
Jeff

Jeff, you've got a pretty wide range in the "Any Ford 1/2T truck from '40 to '96 range", and I don't see how you'll find anything that would be cheaper in a salvage yard. Tens of thousands made, and no big demand for the OEM steelies.

Roger,
Thanks, I probably should have phrased my question....... "If I go to the junkyard, what will be (specifically) the most popular vehicle that would have my rims?" All in all, I guess the question has been answered.....any 1/2 ton, ford rim, 96 or earlier.
Jeff

X2 on Roger's comment.

If you lived close I'd relieve you of those old wheels...............

Yep, and don't forget the Bronco's from '66 up; and the Econoline E100 & 150 Vans from '70-96 (those with 15's - some had 14's that were 5x4.5). Most are going to be 6" wide, but you might find some 7", too.

Originally Posted by october-1881

Roger,
Thanks, I probably should have phrased my question....... "If I go to the junkyard, what will be (specifically) the most popular vehicle that would have my rims?" All in all, I guess the question has been answered.....any 1/2 ton, ford rim, 96 or earlier.
Jeff

Jeff, you can also check out craigslist in your area and find things like this sometimes:
Ford F100/F150 Truck Wheels

Thanks everyone, I think I'm on the right track now.
Jeff