37 ford 1.5 ton wheels

D

drwoodruff

Junior Member
looking for a set of wheels for my 1937 ford 1.5 ton rack body found some 32 ford 1.5 ton wheels locally wondering if they are the same and will they fit thanks
 
No, the 1932 bolt pattern is a 5 x 6 7/8” circle while the 1937 is 5 x 8”. Going from memory the change occurred in 1934, or maybe it was 1935. Stu
 
Drwoodruff,

How many are you looking for and in what condition?

Stu,

The change occurred in '34.

Red
 
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I may have some. PM me your contact info and I’ll try to get you some pictures of what I have.
 
Back in those years there were three rim widths. You might want to specify or prioritize to match the widths of your originals. The widths were 5” (modern 3.75”), 6” (modern 4.33”), and 7” (modern 5.00”). Back then, and throughout the 1940s in the Green book, the widths were measured across rim lips. Industry wide, however, the National Wheel and Rim Association (NWRA) in the early 1940s had converted to rim width measurements across the inner base rim between rim lips. Thus the modern measurements noted. Stu
 
Stu,

So what you're saying is that originally, Ford measured the width of the rims from the outside of one lip to the outside of the other lip?

Thank you,

Red
 
Yeah, Ford and everybody else. But when industry switched to the inner base rim width measure Ford’s Chassis Catalogs stayed with the old measurement standard on through to around 1950 or so. For many years NWRA references listed it both ways. Just a suggestion to find new rims of equal width. It could matter in tire selection, and spacing of your rear duals. Stu
 
I have some extra Budd wheels but best to look at them in person to make sure you would be satisfied. Most have internal rust pits but will work. All are 5". I'm in Northern Virginia just south of Washington DC. Let me know if you have any interest.
 
And I will mention this since I am in the middle of it right now. When buying tires,tubes and flaps be sure to find a flap as narrow as the space between the tire's bead when mounted. They are molded with a flat base and if that base is too wide you will have the devil's own time compressing the sidewall down to get the lock ring on. I have been mining some old tire/wheel sets to find the narrow ones.
 
And I’ll add the discussion Gary and I swapped notes on a few days ago. Make sure you buy the tubes with bent brass stems. Not the shorty jobs that you can’t get a hose to access with the tires mounted on the truck. Stu
 
I have 5 wheels I would part with. One measures 5" the the others are closer to 6", in varying condition. It would be best to look at them and decide if you can use them. I'm about 2 hours from Morris CT. Contact me if interested.
 
Stu,

Do you happen to know how many wheel manufacturers there where back in the 30's and 40's? I thought Budd produced the wheels for Ford, but I found some that "appear" to be made by Kelsey Hayes. I am just guessing at that, I haven't wire brushed them to see what they have for markings. The other brand seems to have more "bubble" on the dish than the Budd wheels. It appears that they have about 1/4"-1/2" more offset than the Budd wheels.

Red
 
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