Wide 5's on a 50's Rear End?

Howdy all. Tim here. I wanted to see if there was any way to run a 50's open drive rear end and use wide-5 drums. The goal is to use wide-five wheels without the hubcaps. I'd rather have the drum showing, than to have an adapter showing. I may settle for an adapter and use hubcaps... but we'll see what all is possible.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Tim
MBL

 

i am sure it's possible somehow, but i can't imagine it would be easy because you would have to use the keyed wide-5 hubs and have a way to keep them on the later axles. why don't you just use a 1946-1948 truck banjo rear end (which is alreay open drive) with 1939 backing plates? or just convert an earlier banjo to open drive? i think you're going to end up running adapters.

 

Wouldn't running hubcaps kind of defeat the point of it?

I've seen heavy duty adapters for stock cars to go wide-5 on the cheap, the only other option might be to look at wide-5 drums for racing use.

 

I thought someone may have made some racing ones. I think running the hubcaps would defeat the purpose...well mostly. I somewhat dig the wide-5 hubcap combo, just not as much as I like the no hubcap version. Part of the problem is possibly not running a banjo.

I realize that the keyway/axle issue would pretty much prevent me from using vintage wide 5 drums on a newer rear, but perhaps the racing drums if they exist would be the answer?
Tim
MBL

 

i thought about it some more and this is what i would do:
take an early wide bearing 9" rear end (not early 1950's, but it'd work). take the new 1940 bendix brakes that are designed for banjos with 9" ends on them and run original 1939 drums. take the axle shafts and machine out the old wide-5 hubs so that you can fix them to the axles permanently. swedge on a good set of old drums and run it.

but why don't you just run a banjo?

 

Ok Now we're talking. So this would work. We can get the old wide-5 drums on a ford 9" rear? Interesting prospect! The banjo may be too narrow for my car. (1932 Pontiac 5-window coupe). I am not 100% sure about your description though. The new 1940 bendix brakes...the backing plates would fit on the ford 9" rear? Those 40 bendix brakes (shoes and all) would work with the wide fives?

I suppose I would have to find a machine shop to taper the axle, put the keyway in it, and some threads....sound about what you meant?
Thanks!!!
Tim
MBL

 

wait! hold your horses on this one. keep in mind on a banjo rear the axles and center section are essentially one unit that won't come apart, but the hub can slide on an off the tapered end. in a 9", the axles can slide in an out of the center, but the hub is fixed on the axle and everything is held together by the end plate over bearign. i think you would have to get a machine shop to permanently fix the hubs to the later axles, not using the tapered area, keyway and nut but probably by press fitting and welding.
i know the following things:
-there are new bendix backing plates made specifically for 9" axle end caps that work with 9" axles and 1940 brake drums
-i know there is a way to put 1939 wide five drums on original 1940 juice brake backing plates
i do NOT know exactly what would be required to put original 1939 drums on the new backing plates, if anything. anything is possible with enough work!

 

I have worked out a very easy method of doing this conversion, but you need to find a certain wide five two piece drum I think they came on very early 36's, but I could be wrong. I have a '55 olds rear under my roadster & I intend on running wide fives. You unbolt the center of the drum & knock it out, you are left with a drum that has two bolt patterns. The inside pattern is 5 on 51/2. The olds pattern was redrilled to 5 on 51/2. The ford drum is 12"inside diameter & will bolt on over the olds drum. The overall width off the track is only increased by 1/2 an inch because off the offset on the drum. you will also have to cut off a little of the lip for clearance,as per pic.I have posted some pic,s to help explain.
Charlie.

 

What the heck do racers do now to put wide-5s on the rearends they run in like IMCA mods? It can't be that hard. Although tapered axle drums like 50's Mopars would make it a lot easier to set up.

 

well, shit. i guess you COULD keep it simple and easy; if that's what you're into.

 

Search for my cheap and traditional Quickchange artical, you could do it with 38-39 3/4 ton drums i belive