Pro-s and Con's of wheel adapter's

I have heard horror stories of running wheel adapters, then I have heard of guys running them for years with no problems..I am looking for some wheels for my 64 Ford F-100 and with it having a the big 5 on 5.5 bp I'm having a hard time finding a good looking wheel. for it.. So thinking of running adapters to fit some wheels I already have till I can afford a nice set of Torque Thrust (grey center).. Any thoughts?

 

rember thay move your wheels out at least 1.25 inch

 

Pro = they will allow you to put wheels on your truck that normally wont fit.
Pro = relatively inexpensive.


Con = designed for lighter passenger cars.
Con = when they fail you will wreck your truck.

That's my unbiased opinion. If you HAVE to do adapters, go with the quality billet ones which will probably run you $200-250. DONT use the cheap pot metal ones.

Check that they are tight often and you should be ok.

 

Why not just re-drill?

 

Having a tough time finding them used?

New 5 on 5.5", they make a shitload of them. Ford (and others) have used that bolt pattern for 80 + years.

Find the wheels you like, and redrill.

 

If you have a 'friendly' auto wrechers nearby, simply replace the truck axles & drums with a pair of the same length from a Torino, or other larger passenger car?
Your pickup axles are same length, left and right. Wheel bearings are interchangable.
Car pattern is 5-on-4-1/2".
Some mixing and matching necessary for fronts (bearings) but they are available.
If you decide to go discs in front, simply opt for the 4-1/2" rotors.
(or redrill the Ford pickup ones you may convert to!)

AGREE 100% ON NOT USING ADAPTERS. They're O.K. if billet, but only on lighter cars.

 

I have billet adapters on the rear of my 1/2 ton truck. So far so good.

 

The good, machined ones are plenty strong, assuming you're not planning to haul gravel in this truck every day. I agree that the old cast ones are pretty weak, I doubt they're even made anymore.

If you don't mind spending the money on adapters, and you don't mind the extra spacing of the wheels, I don't see any problems using them.

 

I've run adapters in the past without any problems. They were on a 47 Chev rear to get to 5 on 4 3/4" pattern; which were on the car for a couple of years. In your case, I would re-drill them.

 

My 34 has an Olds rearend, 5 on 5. The front is a 34 dropped axle. I had the hubs and drums redrilled to 5 on 5 and it was cheaper than buying adapters. Using adapters just puts another weak link in the chain.

 

If it were me I'd just put the 200 + that the adapters would cost in my for the wheels that I want kitty and run some clean but low buck wheels that fit the truck. Otherwise swap or drill to get the 4-1/2 inch bolt pattern and have an easier time finding wheels that you like. Billet adapters might be fine on a light weight car and I'll have to run them on my roadster if I want to run the wires but on a full size truck that isn't an all out show truck the temptation to put a load in the back is all too great to want to run them.

 

Cons.................Rods don't track well on three wheels!

 

I've got a set on an off topic car that have been on it for about 5 years.They are good quality billet and I mounted them with red loctite.So far no problems what so ever. Just be damn sure they are quality pieces,there are a lot of cheap pot metal ones out there.If I were to do it again I would probably re-drill the axles though.

 

As long as they're torque evenly to the drum and wheel is torque evenly to the adapter, they should be find..You can buy good ones for about $75 a pr.......

 

Thanks, guys I thought about the whole re-drill, disc conversion, but I think I am just gonne find me some OEM steelies for now, and spend the extra money on my 5 window... Off to the pick and pull. Did Ford offer a 15x8 Steel wheel most I have seen so far are the 15x7's if so what vehicle did they come on? Thanks guys lots of great info.... Ryan