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Hey Fred ....Kube, Cas and Lanny have all given you some top-notch information. And I see that you mentioned that you have a pair of '41 Merc, 16" X 5"-wide wheels ....THE Holy Grail of old Ford wheels. I guess I'm having a hard time figuring what your question really is. I'm assuming that you want to stay with 16" Ford wheels, able to be fit with the early caps (inboard nubbies). I'm wondering if you're looking for a wheel WIDER than the 5" '41s? Do you think that any of the widths we've discussed here is too narrow for a tire like a 7.50 X 16, or a 7.50 R16?
If so, there is no reason that you can't run 7.50s on a '42-'48 4-1/2" wide automobile wheel like we have. The pictures below show an Excelsior Stall Sport Radial (7.50 R16) mounted on said 4-1/2" X 16" Ford wheel, and on a '36 3-window coupe. They run great, and tubeless to boot. Excelsior recommends a 4"-6" wide wheel for that tire. We have Excelsior 5.50 R16s on '40-'41 Ford 4"-wide wheels on front. Any of this help, or am I just confusing matters? DD
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