Fitting 1940 wheels to a standard 1935 Coupe

Fairlane500

Fairlane500

Senior Member
OK, Who has done this successfully using stock 1935 Ford mechanical brakes?

What did you do and what parts did you use?
What Modifications were required if any?
Were standard studs used?
Did the 40 hubcaps fit or hit the front spindle grease cap?

Any help appreciated,
 
just get the adapter they sell it,s a thin piece of steel so the rim rests on the drum right . then the 40 wheels will bolt right on
 
I have never done this, but if you are planning to use '40, 5 on 5-1/2" wheels on '35 drums, you would need to remove the projections on the hubs/drums that are there to support the centers of the stock wire wheels or maybe find or make some type of adapter plates, but then I'm not sure the studs would be long enough. Also, if you have the open or rocky mountain type drums and use '40 wheels, the openings on the drums will not be covered from the elements.
 
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richard crow said:
just get the adapter they sell it,s a thin piece of steel so the rim rests on the drum right . then the 40 wheels will bolt right on
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Isnt this for running wires on 40 -48 hubs?????? I want to go the other way, 40-48 wheels on mechanical 1935 brakes. Or is there an adapter for this, If so who has them? thanks for the reply,
 
I had a machinist make these for me. They are 7/32" thick to bring the flat surface a hair above the nubs. I also put in 1/4" longer lug studs. Works great.

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jakesbackyard said:
I had a machinist make these for me. They are 7/32" thick to bring the flat surface a hair above the nubs. I also put in 1/4" longer lug studs. Works great.





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Aren't you a little concerned about running those open drums without some type of cover that would normally be provided by the stock wire wheels?
 
Fairlane500 said:
Isnt this for running wires on 40 -48 hubs?????? I want to go the other way, 40-48 wheels on mechanical 1935 brakes. Or is there an adapter for this, If so who has them? thanks for the reply,
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Read mine and Jakes posts and I think you will probably have most of your answer. BTW, great pictures posted by Jake. I think Richard may be thinking about the rings used to mount early Ford wires on '40-'48 type drums/hubs.
 
JM 35 Sedan said:
Aren't you a little concerned about running those open drums without some type of cover that would normally be provided by the stock wire wheels?
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Yes, I have had thoughts of making some sort of cover to go under the spacer. I have asked many wiser than myself and many have told me not to worry about it. Time will tell. I'm running later 15" wheels and this gives about a 1" opening all around between the wheel and drum. Anyone on here have any ideas? I would like some feedback although not wanting to side rail the original idea of this thread.
 
Jake, what is the source of the studs? Any car model or part numbers would be a huge help, like what you have done with the spacer, now all I have to do is convert to metric!!!

Thanks.
 
I'll dig through my receipts tomorrow. I'm sure I can find the part number. I remember I did a lot of searching to find the right ones and I did have to drill the lug holes in the drums out slightly to press the lug bolts into the drums. I'm using the original lug nuts.

Any one have any more thoughts on needing some sort of covers on the openings of the drums?
 
The little stand up hub towers do not contact the wheel squarely. If you lay it all out , the towers just hit the edge of the inner wheel support area. Your picture shows contact on the new adapter but only glancing contact on the tower outside edges. A better way would have been to make a thicker disk that covered the towers.
 

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jakesbackyard said:
Any one have any more thoughts on needing some sort of covers on the openings of the drums?
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Jake, maybe I'm just a "worry wort" :) as they say, but I would be concerned about small stones and other small pieces of road stuff getting inside the drum area and somehow jamming up those brakes. Maybe a sheet metal piece sorta in the shape of a pie plate or something shaped like the piece that's on the inside area of a '35 wire wheel that normally covers the openings in the rocky mountain type brake drums. JMO
 
I'm going the other way, putting stock 35 wheels back on my truck. I have a set of spacers (like the photos) for the front and modified drums for the rear if you are interested in them.
 
JM 35 Sedan said:
Jake, maybe I'm just a "worry wort" :) as they say, but I would be concerned about small stones and other small pieces of road stuff getting inside the drum area and somehow jamming up those brakes. Maybe a sheet metal piece sorta in the shape of a pie plate or something shaped like the piece that's on the inside area of a '35 wire wheel that normally covers the openings in the rocky mountain type brake drums. JMO
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I'm kind of the same way John. My concern was more with rain. I asked the question on the HAMB quite a while back and no one seemed to think it was a big deal. Kind of a safety nut, if you can be such a thing building a stock drivetrain old Ford. I'm still thinking of adding a shield of some sort. Thanks for the input.
 
jakesbackyard said:
The contact that has been on the nubs (towers) was from the '35 original wire wheels. The new style steel wheels do not touch them. The 7/32'" spacers are thick enough so the nubs are not touched with the wheels I am using.
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The wheels have to pull down and touch the nubs. There is nothing else to support the inside of the bolt circle. I would put the wheel on and see if a feeler gage will go in between the nub and the wheel.
 
Andy, As it's been 2 1/2 years since I did the spacers I didn't remember all the exact measurements (old age). So I just went out to the shop, removed a wheel cover, and I can't get a .002 feeler in where the lugs are. It slips in between the lugs, but the wheel is snug against the nubs. I said the spacers were 7/32", but that was an approximate measurement. When we made the spacers we had the drums off for turning and the machinist took an actual measurement of the height of the nubs and that's the thickness of the spacers. It's close to 7/32" though. Hope that clears it up for every one. You are correct that the whole surface of the wheel mounting surface should rest against the surface of the hub.
 
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