Wire wheels on a 1917 ???

BUBBAS IGNITION

BUBBAS IGNITION

Well-known member
I have a new set of Snyders wire wheels powdercoated and new tire and tubes . I also have new front hubs and bearings as well.
I want to put these on my 1917 Roadster pickup.
I think the front should fit very well using the hubs etc . What the easiest way to get the rears on the small drum rear axle ?
Anyone done this one . I also have a extra set of large drums and hubs if needed....????
 
jackdaron said:
Easy enough to do.I have done two sets now. Just change out the brake drums and put them on.
Click to expand...

Jack, you mean use the hubs and drums from a large drum unit.??? I only have the hubs and drums , no internal hardware etc from the large drum parts unit....???
What backing plate is used ??
 
You take large brake drum off of the wire wheel hub and put a small brake drum on. Then it fits up to your small drum rear end. Call me if you like 317-679-6624.
 
To safely place a wire wheel on a small drum axle / w small brake drum, the small drum must be re-drilled to the bolt pattern of the wire wheel rear hub assembly #2887.

The small drum #2818 for the wood wheel hub won't fit directly on the wire wheel hub.

Now if you are real lucky.....maybe find the 'adapter' hub that allows the wire wheel to fit to the small drum axle....

the 2 last photos are of the only one of those I have seen!
 

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tmodelman said:
To safely place a wire wheel on a small drum axle / w small brake drum, the small drum must be re-drilled to the bolt pattern of the wire wheel rear hub assembly #2887.
Click to expand...
tmodelman said:
The small drum #2818 for the wood wheel hub won't fit directly on the wire wheel hub.

Now if you are real lucky.....maybe find the 'adapter' hub that allows the wire wheel to fit to the small drum axle....

the 2 last photos are of the only one of those I have seen!
Click to expand...


Tmodelman, you are correct if he was going to put Ford wire wheels on the car but the project at hand is to mount new wire wheels from Snyder's on the car. These, I assume, are made by McLaren & are a copy of a period wire wheel that mounted on the 6 holes in a stock hub from a wood spoked wheel. There should be no major drilling involved.
 
I guess we need Bubbas Ignition to tell us which wheels from Snyder's he is installing.
http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/4424
Is the McLaren style wheel that they sell. These fit the 6 hole stock hub & come to fit 21" or 30 x 3 1/2 tire sizes.
These would be more period correct for a 1917 .

Yes the Ford style wheel would need the 5 stud hubs & would be
correct from late 1925 to the end of T production.
 
Jack Innes said:
I guess we need Bubbas Ignition to tell us which wheels from Snyder's he is installing.
http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/4424
Is the McLaren style wheel that they sell. These fit the 6 hole stock hub & come to fit 21" or 30 x 3 1/2 tire sizes.
These would be more period correct for a 1917 .

Yes the Ford style wheel would need the 5 stud hubs & would be
correct from late 1925 to the end of T production.
Click to expand...


Guys i am using the 26-27 Ford wire wheel, bought them some time ago for a bogged down speedster project. ( Couldnt afford the McLaren ones )

I did have John McLaren make me a set of 27 chevrolets outter rims once ,they were a masterpiece...!!!!!!!!!!
 
That being the case, Tmodelman has steered you in the right direction. McLaren makes new brake drums & would likely be able to send you a pair with either no holes or 5 holes. I have used his drums & they are very nice. At $25 each they are hard to beat.

http://mclarenmfg.com/brakedrums.html
 
Thanks again everyone , i called another T friend today and he had a set of McLaren small drums made for the five bolt as well as two new rear hubs from Snyders , should be here mid week.
I will post before and after pics when i install them......
 
I plan on putting these on this weekend but got the drums painted and the studs pressed in this afternoon.
Guys these are really nice parts !!!!!!!
McLaren drums drilled for the wire hub and a pair of new hubs from Snyders....fit really nice !!!!
Special thanks to Russ Potter ( Potters Piston Parlor , Bismark Illinois ) for getting these parts to me in time.......:)

100_8542.jpg
 
Got one done today ( pretty hot in Indianapolis) , what ya think???

tknock.jpg


twood.jpg


After a close look at these wood wheels ( look good from afar) they are really in pretty bad shape. Almost every spoke is dryed out and cracked.....
 
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Wow....very nice, like the looks of the '26-'27 wires with small drum! You can be proud of that work to do the conversion.

Wood spoke wheels are nice, but only when the spokes are new! 80+ year old woodwork running down the road, twisting and turning under a T at 30 mph isn't a thoughtful happening!

Ran across this old picture in a FordOwner magazine, showroom window display in 1925, seems to have the new 1926 model year wires, but small drums like you have done too.
 

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tmodelman said:
Wow....very nice, like the looks of the '26-'27 wires with small drum! You can be proud of that work to do the conversion.

Wood spoke wheels are nice, but only when the spokes are new! 80+ year old woodwork running down the road, twisting and turning under a T at 30 mph isn't a thoughtful happening!

Ran across this old picture in a FordOwner magazine, showroom window display in 1925, seems to have the new 1926 model year wires, but small drums like you have done too.
Click to expand...

Thanks, i couldnt believe how bad these wood wheels were when i started pulling and pushing to remove the hub! The engine in this car could run 50 plus all day long and i have driven it at that speed for a few miles etc. I always felt like the wheels gave a little going around a sharp bend ......wow ya just dont know.....
 
yachtsmanbill said:
So Jim... what was the deal mounting the knock off hub caps??? ws
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They are actually threaded to spin on , the rear adapter is held on with some threaded allen screws from the inside . The fronts are held on with rtv as the hub is somewhat different on every car and pretty close to the wheel. Had to make the front adapter very thin to fit between the hub and the wheel but they work very well.

I made up a few sets and sold them sometime ago . I also have some brass powdercoated ones here somewhere i made up for a customer and had some extra...
 
So how about a hint as to what spinners to use? Theres a million generic ones out there and of course, being from chinaman, they are like 97MM !
 
Jim, The wheel looks great! The small drum seems to make it look a lot more legitimate on the earlier model. Any chance of a picture of the whole car so we can see how it looks?
 
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