I’ve never purchased a quick change rearend but want to run one on my 34 Ford coupe project. My question is there a “better” bolt pattern to run, 5x4.5 or 5x5.5? And why? Does horse power determine, wheel/rim selection, “era or theme” that I’m building it towards..??.. It’s sounds weird saying theme because it reminds me of Orange County Choppers....but the plan so far is using a 392 Hemi and I’ve got my eye on using Divco wheels in the back and steel smoothies on the front. Here’s the coupe: Thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The main reason I chose 5.5" to work with is the flexibility to use gennie Ford steel wheels from the 40's as an option. But it does make all other aftermarket, magnesium, torq thrust's etc... hard to find in that pattern.
there is a Quick Change thread on here.....like ^^^^he said a wheel choice will have to be factored in.......
Yea...are you planning on building your own wheels with custom centers, custom bolt pattern ? I'd use plain ol 5.00" or 5.50". Many wheels available. Mike
Not one of your examples but in the case of 4.5 bolt circle versus 4.75 it kind of depends on where your loyalties lie and the components you generally use in your builds. Meaning small Ford/Mopar versus small GM. If you have more than one car and they share the same brakes, hubs, etc. then it's much easier to swap wheels/tires around. Oem wise, the small GM hubs/axles used 7/16" studs where small Ford was 1/2", sometimes this has a bearing on a persons preference, in the hot rod world nowadays many axle/hub mfgs put dual bolt patterns as standard. In my case, my loyalties were more towards late 50's to mid 60's Chevys' so I'm partial to the Chevy 4.75 bolt pattern as many of my cars used factory style wheels. So I tend to go the 4.75 route now when ordering custom made hot rod components but I have made 1/2" studs my default choice.
Good point about wheel studs! I’m also leaning towards 1/2”...thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Lately I've been selling more quick change rears with the 5 1/2 inch bolt pattern mainly because the customer has also been purchasing MT Lincoln brakes from me. A few have also bought the 11X2.25 big Ford late model brakes available with either 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 BP. All rears I sell use 1/2 X 2 inch screw in studs.
Well, if you're trying to build a 'traditional' car, then the 392 dates you to the late '50s at least as the 392 didn't come out until '57. The Divco wheels are a '30s/40s thing.... 'Correct' wheel choices would be either 15" steel or alloy wheels. The 'trad' bolt pattern at that time would probably be either 5-on-5.5 or 5-on-5 (Olds/Pontiac). The larger patterns do offer more inherent strength compared to the smaller Ford/Mopar/Chev offerings, but for a street car there will be little difference. Pattern size shouldn't come in to play unless you're running race-level power with slicks. As pointed out, there's far more wheel choices available in the 4.5/4.75 patterns. And that can have an impact on readily available brake/axle parts if that's important to you. I'm with DDDenny; if starting with a blank slate, the smaller patterns just offer more choices. And while I'm a Ford guy, I'd probably go for the 4.75 pattern as it's even more common than the smaller Ford. Definitely go for 1/2" studs. And on the subject of wheel studs, think about length. You'll probably want longer studs if running alloy wheels but they can look funky with steel wheels if not running hub caps. Changeable threaded-in studs will give you more options.
I have a tendency to lean toward 5 on 4.5 or 5 on 4.75. But I have a tendency to run modern wheels. I guess that is kind of what separates the '60s kids from the rest of the world. LOL
I don't get why the "traditional" philosophy requires matching the wheel bolt circle to the period when the engine was produced. Why wouldn't this apply to the car's body as well, which would rule out the '34 coupe? Don't the vast majority of "traditional" rods have parts with production years scattered over decades?
Actually depends on the era of the build. If you are building a 40s style hotrod for example you would want to run as many 40s era parts as possible depending on how fanatic you are about it. That would probably rule out 50s era wheels and engines. Here is an example from the life of the beaner, I lean toward 60s style builds. That would pretty much weed out a set of Centerlines or a Coyote motor. That is not to say that I could not run 40 Ford wheels they were still being used in the '60s, not as stylish as say American 5 spokes but they were still being used.
It doesn't 'require' it, I was merely pointing out that if the OP is trying to build an 'traditional' build that's era-correct, it's unlikely that 'back in the day' this build would have used a small-pattern '50s Ford or Chevy car rear as they would have been considered 'light duty' behind that Hemi, and the Mopar rear axles didn't have emergency brakes on them. A early Ford banjo wouldn't live behind it, and the 9" Ford hadn't come into general use yet. A QC would have been 'correct', as well as the mid-'50s Olds/Pontiac rears as they were the usual choice for a 'heavy-duty' application. I'm certainly not one of the 'trad police', but on fenderless pre-war cars, so much of the mechanical bits are exposed that mixing 'era' parts (no matter which era it was built in; '30s/40s/50/60s) can be jarring to the flavor of the build. That's a big reason I prefer post-war fendered cars; I can hide my crimes under the sheetmetal...
You’ve hit the nail on the head...I’ve got my feet in 3 decades of style! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Krylon32, I was told my frame came from your shop! I’ll definitely reach out when I pull the trigger for a quick change. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well that’s my fault...matching wheel bolt pattern to a “period”. I’m 40 years old and didn’t grow up with anything but muscle cars and pickup trucks. We took a family vacation to Bonneville Speedweek in 2006ish and I fell in love with “traditional” hot rods. I had and still do have a 1950 medium bed Chevy pickup but it was my oldest vehicle until I purchased the 34 coupe. Did the rat rod thing with a pile of parts that resembled a 30’s Ford roadster pickup but knew where my heart belongs. So not having a close group of traditional hot rod friends I rely heavily on the H.A.M.B.! I really do appreciate all the opinions and advice. These Internet forums are hit and miss but the H.A.M.B. is amazing Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Just to throw another possibility at you. The Wide 5 bolt circle wheels would also be an option for your car. These were used on '36 Fords and have been on the scene ever since. These can be especially cool when used with finned aluminum drum brakes. A note on your Quickchange: to be truly traditional you can't use a Winters. They were not available 'back in the day'. Krylon32 and I are both dealers for Winters, so don't think I'm trying to sell you on something different. Just pointing out that when you get down to picking nits on period correct pieces, it limits your selection and usually drives the price up.
I recently ordered a Winters quickchange from Krylon32 for a 32 coupe project. Even though the car will have a 348 Chevy (60's era), we are using the small V8 style quicky (50's era) and I ordered it with a 5.5" BC. I did that because we will probably use a variety of wheels on the car, from steel 40's Fords to little window Halibrands, to who knows what else. But most all these popular wheels are available in the 5.5" pattern, and are sitting on the rack in the garage. You should keep your options open, and order a pattern most likely to fit many wheels you like or may already have.
I haven’t even made it to the rack...heck I don’t have a rack built yet! I’m leaning towards 5x5.5” but really need to research QC vintages and go from there Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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