The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Best Way to Spot Original Wheels at a Swap Meet?

Daves55Sedan · 09-17-2019, 09:34 PM

There are some differences between the '52/56 OEM wheels and later" wheels.
The later wheels have a small recess all the way around the inner diameter, so when the tire is removed, you see a little bumpout that runs around the inner part of the rim. Also, the later wheels lay more flat between the hub cap bumpout and the outer rim, however they have the outer rim positioned such that they have identical measurements with the old style wheels in respect to the distance between the rim and the brake drum mounting surface. Also, the newer wheels don't have as much material turning down into the air slots for brake drum cooling as the old wheel does. It looks like the metal was cut at a shorter radius on the newer wheels than the older ones.
If ya wanna wait till tomorrow, I have an original '55 wheel without tire mounted I just finished cleaning, sanding and painting, but it is not clear-coated yet. It's too dark to take photos now, but tomorrow I will take photos of all these differences and post them of both the newer wheel and the original '55 Ford wheel so you can compare.

09-17-2019, 09:34 PM	#3
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: Best Way to Spot Original Wheels at a Swap Meet? There are some differences between the '52/56 OEM wheels and later" wheels. The later wheels have a small recess all the way around the inner diameter, so when the tire is removed, you see a little bumpout that runs around the inner part of the rim. Also, the later wheels lay more flat between the hub cap bumpout and the outer rim, however they have the outer rim positioned such that they have identical measurements with the old style wheels in respect to the distance between the rim and the brake drum mounting surface. Also, the newer wheels don't have as much material turning down into the air slots for brake drum cooling as the old wheel does. It looks like the metal was cut at a shorter radius on the newer wheels than the older ones. If ya wanna wait till tomorrow, I have an original '55 wheel without tire mounted I just finished cleaning, sanding and painting, but it is not clear-coated yet. It's too dark to take photos now, but tomorrow I will take photos of all these differences and post them of both the newer wheel and the original '55 Ford wheel so you can compare.