Technical 1949 Ford wheels

Since we had some nice weather here in St Charles, Mo. I was able to pull the 49 out and do some maintenance. I decided to rattle can the stock wheels to see if I liked a new color. I am thinking about having them powder coated later if I like the color. I am wondering if the factory riveted wheels are safe (they are 60+ yrs old) or should I find some modern steelies to powdercoat?

 

Have a tire store check them. If they are bent, rusted around the rims to prevent a tire seal or any rivets loose, I would say go for the new ones but 60 years don't scare me if they look fine.

 

My old 50 with stockers & 57 caps. As long as you run original style bias ply tires you should be fine. As log as the wheel is not falling to pieces or rusted up junk they should be OK.

I would not run tubeless unless it's a confirmed tubeless wheel even though they may hold air. Some do this on early Willys CJs and it is dangerous as the tubeless tire can dismount if low of air.

So...if you want to run original tube type tires you should be fine.

 

I ran the stock wheels on my 50 with no problems, just make sure they are in good shape. A friend of mine who is a welder by trade has reversed several sets with no problems, drills the rivets out, reverses the center, spins them to check for runout and welds them.

 

49Club - post pics of '49. what color for rims you thinking about? if you were closer I have a set of later 15"x 5 Ford rims available.

 

This how the car looks now. Color matching the wheels with the interior. flat metallic grey. I will post pic when done. I also have the parts to lower, but between weather and work, I don't have the time yet.

 

was that picture taken at JJs on west clay I think I have seen it nice car. tom

 

This was actually at Fast Lane cars. The car came from Tx/Tn. I bought it from them as is. It was an old restoration. Pretty decent shape. moths got into the interior. Some holes in cloth. I plan on lowering it and tightening it up. Needs some glass, new interior, exhaust, some engine work. Some detailing and pinstriping. We love this car. Side note: Picked up a 1958 Ford Country Sedan, it is a little rougher. (a lot)

 

"When I first did my '51 Club Coupe in 1987, I mounted up some pepop bias WWW Firestone Deluxe Champions (tubeless). I ran them with no problems until two summers ago when I decided they were too old. I replaced them with some Coker Classic radial WWW's (also tubeless) and have had no problems the last two years. The last time I did blast and repaint them. Granted, they don't have the "safety bump" on the rim, but if you pay any attention to maintenance at all, this should not be a problem (I DO NOT off-road this car).

 

running the stock wheels on my 51 woodie, just used some buffing compound and cleaned them up... new Firestone Deluxe Champions, new caps and trim rings... done... looks great

 

it'll look alot better when you get it lowered, see pic

 

Thanks, AlkyWagon for the inspiration. Even got the wife to walk away from "The Apprentice" to see pic. She loved it. Wheels are painted and I will get some pics posted. This week is insane busy at work and getting ready for a bicycle swap meet (other hobby). Will be lowering in the next few weeks.
Side note: pulled the carpet and matting up and found a lot of surface rust. No holes,..yet. Floor still feels solid. Was thinking, wire brush and paint with POE 15. Any suggestion to replacing the factory sound deading that got removed?

 

Are the '49 wheels 16"

 

Sorry, above should have read are the '49 wheels 16", mine were, then they went to 15" in '50.

 

Yes 49 wheels were 16". I do believe that 16s were still standard in 50 with the 15s being an upgrade.

The problem of loosing a radial tire off a tube type rim was not a off-road problem for the stock CJs it was on-road! Loosing a tire while cornering in a light open vehicle like a WWII era Jeep, Model A, or any open roadster could be disastrous if not fatal.
If you drive to the weekend Cruise In and back to the garage, you may never have a problem but if you take squealing corners like Lucas Doolan, you need a wheel designed for a tubeless tire.
Many tire shops refuse to mount radials in a non flanged wheel without a radial tube.
Remember the old wheels were designed to be dismounted road-side. In the rubber rations of WWII my grandfather was on a 60 mile round trip where they had 46 flats. Those tube type tires were fairly easy to dismount.
When low of air a tubeless tire can be prone to roll off the wheel, especially the front. That's why the safety flange was developed.
So if any hard driving is in the future for that car, I would go for the system the original wheel was designed for, bias ply and tube.

 

According to the Henry Ford org. The stock wheel for the 49 was a 16 x 4 1/2 and an optional wheel was 15 x 5. My 49 has 15 inch wheels.