Technical '35 Ford wires on finned Buick drums?

I really like the '35 Ford wires and am planning on using them on my build but I just got a killer deal on three really nice 45-fin Buick drums for $50.00 from a local parts hoarder (who also has a chopped '32 5-window buried under a mountain of stuff in his garage…what a waste).

I think there may be some fitment issues with the Buick drum/early Ford hub conversion and the '35 wires. Anybody know for sure if there are and how to compensate for it if there is? I would really like to make the finned drummed/wire wheel thing work if I can.

Thanks,

Andy

 

Dont do it. The rims stick out too far and the mixture of parts doesnt look correct.

 

I agree. Don't do it. Looks stupid.

 

stupid? or traditional? you decide. Swapping front drums to alum. fins was probably one of the most common upgrades to real hotrods. If done right, it adds form to fuctionality. With the right machine work and careful attention to support of the wire wheel center, it can be done.

 

IMHO it looks like this set-up would put a lot of extra strain on the wheel bearings.

 

not a big fan of the look , but if you want to do it you will need some adapters/spacers like the ones Rally America sells

i'd post a link , but their website doesn't seam to be working now

 

Hollywood accessories made backing plate covers to match the Buick drums. Quite frankly, I think the backing plates without the drums is a better look. Wilson Machine also makes these backing plates

 

It's a look you absolutely love or one you one you totally hate depending on your personal tastes.




I love the looks of the finned Buick drums but think I'd rather run a wheel that left less of the drum exposed.

 

A big issue is the scrub radius, the distance between where the centerline of kingpin hits the ground and where centerline of tire hits the ground. This should ideally coincide but is likely several inches with this setup. This adds considerable steering effort and can give extra feedback from wheel into steering...especially if tire hits an obstruction like a pothole.
This will likely be disputed...but early Ford wires were not commonly used on old hotrods in my experience, and by the time Buick aluminum drums were reaching the junkyards and people were figuring out how to adapt them, rodders were moving from Ford/Merc type disc wheels to chrome reversed (not much change) then on to "mags" as those came on strong in the early '60's. There was some use on expensive rods of the various rather scarce 1950's Detroit wires (as on Buick Skylarks and a number of other makes circa '53-6) which were made to fit into the same drums as the common steel wheels...
Look around in old rodding mags, circa '58 on for aluminum drums.

 

Amen....The picture above your post says it all you can see where the king pin hits the ground, 3-4" from the center of the tires. this thing will be all over the road on pavement ruts.

 

it is two different eras ....wires are 1930s ....buick fins are late 50s early 60s ... mixed periods ...your car your though ...

 

I would imagine the weight difference between a big ole Buick and an early 30s hot rod would negate most of that issue.

 

The only parts that are Buick are the actual aluminum brake drums. All the rest is Ford. That car gets driven and makes some long distance treks. The narrow tires probably help ease things up a bit and servicing and or replacing the wheel bearings on a regular basis are part of the deal.

 

Nope. Two different era's of hot rod parts/styles, but its yours so there it is.

 

You are right, I brain farted on that one.

I personally like the look of wires on finned drums, but to each their own.

 

'35 wires have a center that is smaller in diameter than KH which equates to longer spokes. I'm not the final expert here but I finally took the '35s off my sedan because of the tendency to flex. It was nightmare trying to get a decent balance, too.

Plus, Bruce is right. The scrub radius issue automatically creates a more difficult handling car.

Too many minus's and not enough plus's for me.

 

Makes about as much sense as an LS-1 with three rochesters...

 

scrub radius....you guys make me laugh. We're building hotrods not swiss timepieces. If the steering is a little too hard for you to handle, perhaps you should be driving something with power-assist. Babies.

 

Ooooo... tough to argue the point... yet, Buick drums and Ford wires just dont mix well.

 

I had '35 wires on 45 fin drums on the front of the A in my avatar for a short time...all that was needed was a pair of aluminum adapter / spacers from ebay. They were 5 on 5 1/2" to 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern and they were 1 1/8" thick to fill the pie plate on the wire wheel. I had no steering problems. I didn't drive it this way long enough to judge for bearing problems because that combination just did not not look good on there...

 

okay. Now that I've seen multiple pics of the setup I agree. They can look a bit awkward sticking out that far. I'll hang on to the Buick drums in case I change my mind about what wheels I'm going to run.

Thanks for the input,

Andy

 

Nothing like having the fins just peak out of the classic 40's stealies....

 

Found your bumper sticker

 

The parts are plenty strong to carry the weight of a hotrod with kingpins and tires in different zip codes, but the geometry is just plain dysfunctional, not a useful characteristic on anything.