Technical Steelies with a 5" bolt circle?

[Ragtop]

Anyone know of a "Steelie" type of wheel that has a 5 on 5" bolt pattern? My friend has an old Olds rear end in his deuce roadster and would like to match a set of early Ford Steel rims he's got for the front. (the front is 5 on 5.5") He'd like to run early Ford ('46/'47 caps) but everywhere we've called says no=one makes a center like that with a 5" pattern. I know you can get "Smoothies" with a cap that looks like an early Ford but just how well do those caps match the real deal?

[Fat47]

GM used the 5 x 5 pattern from 49 through the mid 80's on the bigger cars, buick, Chevy Caprice, etc, but unlikely you will find anything that will take the hubcap you want to run.

[F&J]

but unlikely you will find anything that will take the hubcap you want to run.

Probably true..

I have the same rear in a 32. I went to an old time used/nos parts store and he had an ancient wheel book. We looked up all the 16" wheels with 5" BC, then made a list of which cars. He then looked in his wheel inventory and only had 1939 Studebaker wheels. They look sort of like a Ford steelie, but the cap won't fit. It might be possible to add some bumps to hold the cap.

One wheel I wanted to look at was a Packard commercial or big series car; it was wider, but he had none. Again, I doubt the cap would work.

[johnny bondo]

yeah the hubcap is the issue. but you could modify the cap to clip onto the clip style wheels. 48?-53? cadillac would give you the look you are after tho. any dog dish style GM wheel looks sorta the same.

you might consider changing the front wheels to match the GM wheels in back? i have a studibaker? truck? wheel with the clips that is 5.5 with the clips.

or just get some wheel adapters or re drill the drums/axles.

[drptop70ss]

Easy find would be from a 94-95 caprice, should be around in the bone yards.

[slickhale]

'61-'70-something lincolns were 5 on 5 and the early to mid 60's ones are prob are closer to the look you are going for. if you were closer i'd give you the one i have left.

[okiedokie]

41woodie here on the HAMB combined Chevy center caps [like on ralley wheels] with early [40-48] Ford caps on his woodie. Send him a pm and ask him about it. I have some 5 on 5 15x8 Chevy wheels that supposedly came from an early Suburban that will accept the early Chevy caps, but I don't believe the diameter of the inside lip is correct for ford caps. I will look at one and measure it for you.

[okiedokie]

The Chevy wheels have 6 1/2" between the three inside nubs. Ford caps are 8 1/4".

[Ragtop]

Yes, Some late 50s T Birds had the 5 on 5 too but the cap is the problem. Looks like we'll do the s,moothie wheel with their caps. Hard to see in the catalog but they look like 40 to 48 caps so maybe we'll be OK/

[fordcpe]

Just drill the axles to 5 x 5-1/2 to match the front. Then get stock wheels and bolt them on.If you dont have enough meat to go bigger go to the smaller 4 3/4 bolt circle.Darrell

[drifters cc]

I had a set of 1995 1500 GM truck steelies (look just like old chevy stuff) 5 on 5 and 7 or 8 inches wide, good 4.5 inch backspacing too.

[madmike3434]

Originally Posted by johnny bondo

or just get some wheel adapters or re drill the drums/axles.

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I agree easiest way is with a pair of wheel adaptors........make sure they sit on the drum perfectly flat !!!!!!!!! Any runout at all due to hitting a balencing drum weight and you will see your wheel coming flying by you as your rear drops to the road.

Don't ask how i know

mike

[Ragtop]

The wheel adapters are problematic in a couple of ways. We're trying to get the tire to sit in a lot closer to the body than it is because the Olds rear end is so wide and secondly, I've had some big problems with adapters and I don't trust them. I think my budddy's going to buy the smoothies for all four corners and just buy the caps they make that look like '40 caps. Thanx for all the suggestions.

[porknbeaner]

Originally Posted by Ragtop

Anyone know of a "Steelie" type of wheel that has a 5 on 5" bolt pattern? My friend has an old Olds rear end in his deuce roadster and would like to match a set of early Ford Steel rims he's got for the front. (the front is 5 on 5.5") He'd like to run early Ford ('46/'47 caps) but everywhere we've called says no=one makes a center like that with a 5" pattern. I know you can get "Smoothies" with a cap that looks like an early Ford but just how well do those caps match the real deal?

Jeep
My willys ('61) is 5 on 5 if I recall and the wheels look just like an early Ford.

You do have another option. Get a Ford wheel and whatever other wheel that suits the build and swap the centers. Everyone trys to make that rocket science but it was done in the driveway when rodding was young.

[cabriolethiboy]

Originally Posted by Ragtop

Anyone know of a "Steelie" type of wheel that has a 5 on 5" bolt pattern? My friend has an old Olds rear end in his deuce roadster and would like to match a set of early Ford Steel rims he's got for the front. (the front is 5 on 5.5") He'd like to run early Ford ('46/'47 caps) but everywhere we've called says no=one makes a center like that with a 5" pattern. I know you can get "Smoothies" with a cap that looks like an early Ford but just how well do those caps match the real deal?

I used some early GM 5"BC chrome wheels ( probably Olds) on a hiboy once. The 48 Ford cap would fit into the center but there was no way to snap it on, the GM cap used clips. So I just drilled and tapped the center for for small round headed screws for the Ford cap to snap over. Worked fine. Kind of hard to find the right location for the screw though. BTW, I also have some of those 16" Studebaker wheels for my sedan delivery that I plan on putting on it someday. It has a 5" BC because when I built it I was planning on using Buick Skylark wires.

[Mr48chev]

Hamb Alliance vendor http://www.rallyamerica.com/12series.html Smoothies though.

[Hnstray]

Originally Posted by porknbeaner

Jeep
My willys ('61) is 5 on 5 if I recall and the wheels look just like an early Ford.

You do have another option. Get a Ford wheel and whatever other wheel that suits the build and swap the centers. Everyone trys to make that rocket science but it was done in the driveway when rodding was young.

Beaner.........

Your jeep should be 5 x 5 1/2".....same as early Ford. And, I don't think swapping wheel centers will solve his problem. IF he had a wheel center that worked he wouldn't be asking for help, it's the center that is the problem, not the rim. Bet you hadn't had your coffee yet this morning when you wrote that one.........

Ray

[2many projects]

I've had good luck with mid 80's Cadillac RWD Fleetwood Brougham wheels sourced from my local salvage yard.
I think early to mid 80's Pontiac Parrisian sedans work too.

[Ragtop]

A buddy of mine used GM Rally wheels, cut both the GM caps and the Ford caps and welded them together but with the real early Ford rims up front we didn't want windows in the wheels centers. I think my friend will just buy the smoothies and get smoothie caps that look like early Ford Thanx for all the suggestions.

[buds56]

On my 56 pontiac I used some wheels off a mid 90's roadmaster

Bought some hubcap clips for an old chevy truck.

I had to straighten out the clips some to grab the cap securely,cut the center out of an old hubcap so I could see where to put the clips, drilled the wheels and with some 10-32 machine screws attatched the clips
Here's som pics, (Ignore the poorly prepared paint)