1931 wheels Two types.??

D

dshebuski

Junior Member
The judging standards talk about two 19"wheel manufacturers in 1930-31. I lost points in 2009 judging because the car had " mixed wheels". The standards are silent on the differences. Someone mentioned that a MAFCA article some time ago explained the differences. Does anyone know of this article or any other source ??? thanks for you consideration of this request dws
 
I'm sure someone else will chime in that knows a lot more about it. However, based on what I was taught by someone else I judged with you can tell the difference in the two wheels by looking closely at the spacing of the spokes where they attach to the rim. Once you see it, it is relatively easy to tell.
 
There are two different 19" wheels. The manufactures were Hamilton & Kelsey-Hayes. There are more Hamilton wheels available today due to production. The width difference is measured where the spokes meet the outer rim, between the spokes. I believe the difference is only 1/4" to 3/8". The Hamiltion wheel has the wider spoke difference. When you start looking at the wheels you can see this. There is an article in one of the issues of the MARC magazine by Doc Kalinka concerning this. Hope this helps. Randy
 
I have been able to tell the difference between the 'wide' and the 'narrow' wheels by holding two fingers together and sliding them down between the spokes. On the 'narrow' wheels you can get the sides of your fingers to touch adjacent spokes at the same time, and on the 'wide' wheels you cannot, but the more wheels I have looked at, I am noticing that that spacing dimension is not exact for each manufacturer. I recently 'reviewed' 130 19" wheels for my current project, and was able to determine that 112 of them were able to be catagorized as 'wide' or 'narrow', but the remaining ones were not that distinct. Just a thought!
 
Hello Will ,:D The only way i could tell if they are side by side, .The difference i see is in the center hub part. I had a n.o.s. Kelsey-Hayes wheel at Hershey this past year for $100.00 and sold it to Mark Welsh for $75.00. He was working on a project and we both agree 4 wheels and tires on the ground must match but the spare could be of a different wheel and tire.[ not on 400A and 180A-all should match of the 5.]That was the last thing we spoke about.:>(........Kelsy-Hayes seems to ba a hard wheel to find .
 
wheel inventory here.......

when Doc Kalinka's article was published, I cut out a cardboard gauge showing the spacing difference.

after reading this thread, I did a quick inventory:

Town Sedan- 5 Hamilton, 1 K-H
Coupe- 4 Ham, 1 K-H
spare parts- 2 Ham, 1 K-H

more useless information. I seem to thrive on it........
 
I can understand what you guy s are saying regarding the spoke spacing but what about the difference between the hubs. Some have a very flat mounting surface for the hubcap, thers have a more rounded appearance. I have yet to come across any with manufacturers markings. as all mine are ex Ford of Canada that could explan the difference?

Cheers
 
Will see what I can do tommorrow. I have never gone though my pile of 19" wheels to sort them for anything other than restorable and not restorable. Rod
 
On the inside of the wheels where the valve stem hole is there is a manufacture stamped in the metal.] Center hub -where you have the 5 so called arrows between the lug holes and the raised circle you will see the difference between the 2 wheels [ Kelsey-Hayes] wheels seem to have a very sharp stamping then the HAM wheels.When you get them together side by side you will see the difference.
 
Don Turley said:
The "Standards" is not "silent on the differences". See page 22-1, second paragraph:
(1) "The position of the valve stem opening differed in these wheels in relation to the lug bolt holes.
(2) "The space on the rim between the three spoke pattern was slightly wider (on the Hamilton wheels.)
(3) "All rims must match."
Don Turley
Click to expand...

Unfortunately #1 is incorrect. I never could figure out where than came from!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top