5.5" bolt pattern wheels on ford 9" rear

hi guys- i want to use 16" wire wheels with 5.5" bolt pattern on 68 ford 9" rear, but bolt pattern on rear is4.5". i was told i could have axles redrilled witch sounds reasonable, butwhen i measured bolt flange on axleit looks like studs would end up on edge of flange with no meat on outside edge supporting stud.... question- anyone ever try this before? what other kind of none torq-tube rear could i use? thanks for any help you may have.

 

swap to truck axles

 

David is correct... Remove an axle, count the splines (28 or 31)
Ford trucks up to at least 97 have the 5 X 5 1/2 bolt pattern

 

Ford half ton axles and brakes.You may have to do some measuring as trucks normally have big bearing ends which means your passenger car brakes won't fit,plus the offset from the axle flange to the wheel hub may be wrong. ROY.

 

But they stopped using the 9" in 1986.

 

You could have a set of aftermarket axles made with 5 1/2 bolt also. I did that with a pair and got them from Moser, brake drums you should be able to use from a truck.

 

You could use aluminum adapters

 

You'll need either spacers or wheel adapters. Early Ford wires won't fit on a 9" drum without them.

 

A early Ford Bronco has the 9 inch Ford rear end and the 5 on 5.5 wheel pattern ... plus they are one of the most narrow 9 inch Fords made @ 58 inches ... measured from the wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface.

This is a Bronco like you would get the short 9 inch from.



A lot of them have a POSI and most have at least a 3.50 gear ratio.

 

Like these...
http://adaptitusa.com/5x450to5x550wheeladapter.aspx

 

thanks! that idea makes most sense. now i just gotta find that era bronco

 

econolines are narrow also, bronco axles are difficult to find people have been pulling them for years for 4x4's and car builds.
I dont know what size rear width you need.
Look at truck rearends, one side is longer than the other, pull one short axle out of another rear and have the housing shortened to fit the short axle. cheap way to narrow 9".

 

I had a set of 4.5" bolt pattern axles drilled to 5.5". The lug holes left almost nothing remaining at the outer edge of the flange, I wouldnt trust it. A steel ring can be welded to the axle flange, making it a larger diameter, then redrill for the 5.5" pattern, I had that done once with excellent results.