I am the new owner of this old 1946 Studebaker M5 drag truck. It has 4 wheel disc with line lock. Used to have roll bars and ladder bars. Rear end is a narrowed 9" Ford with 4:11 gears and coil over shocks. The rear tires are HOOSIER 29 x 12 x 15 on what look like 10" Weld wheels with screws front and back to hold the bead. I want to be able to drive this truck on the street. I don't think I can use the rims due to the screws? The stance of the truck sits low on the driver's side and I have been told that may be intentional for torque but I don't know and there is no previous owner to ask. Any information or opinions would help.
As long as it will stay cool while driving it, drive it. The screws are just to keep the bead from slipping, no issues with the wheel. How snotty is the motor?
What type of rear suspension does it have? I would think you could level the rear of the truck by adjusting the coilovers . The screws in the wheels don't prevent you from using the wheels on the street. They just go into the tire bead.
You may want to ditch the spool in the rear end, which I assume is there since it’s a drag truck, and replace it with a more street friendly Traction Lock.
Agree, the screws are only into the tire bead to keep the tire form spinning on the wheel during hard launches. If you do have issues leaking, which you should not have, you can always tube the tire. Also adjust the coilovers, should be a ring threaded to turn to set the spring in position. Used to have ladder bars? What does it have now?
pics of the engine, interior, and rear end/suspension might tell us more about the truck, so we could get an idea what more you might want to change. Such pictures might also show us a bunch of stuff that's kind of off topic for this place, too
Read Jim's post #6 about five times and then do as he suggested. Post the area you live in. you don't have to be exact but maybe the county or Parrish if you worry about the wrong people knowing where you stay. That may help find someone on here who is knowlegeable and can look at the truck and make honest suggestions. Ladder bars removed should mean that it has leaf springs rather than coils. Sagging to the drivers side quite often means that a rig had a heavy driver who was alone in the rig most of the time but on a drag car might mean that the right side has an extra leaf or some other mod to compensate for the torque at launch on the line. Normally a drag car lifts the left front corner on a hard launch so some guys stiffen up the right rear spring. That in turn would make the rig lean to the left.
Ladder bars with coil overs and the ladder bars are removed. Makes me think you should tell us a little more about the suspension. Pete
I agree with Dartracer. Run it as is and see what you dont like 1st. Then make changes as needed. I have run spools on the street with screwed rims and tires. Outside of a nasty rain storm, I didnt have any driving issues. Little hard on rear tires. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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