50 f2 rims

[goshencars]

I have had a 50 F2 pickup since 1963 (third owner) that has 17" widow maker rims. I want to replace the rim with a one piece rim and reuse the original center plate. This would allow me to keep the original cap and look. what 17 x 7 rim will let me do this. I have a 14" rear drum so 16" won"t fit and I have the caps. Thanks

[1952henry]

I believe an F2 had 16” wheels from the factory. The F3s had the 17” wheels and 14” brakes, at least til mid 51. Finding innie 16” rims to use caps on wouldn’t be impossible. I know where there are two.

Stu will be along to correct me, if need be.

[Newc]

Right -my 48 F2 has normal- 8 hole 16" Rims Newc

[1952henry]

If your F2 has 14” brakes, the axle may have been swapped. Not at all unlikely, as the Achilles tendon of the split Timken rear was the pinion pilot bearing. If that fails, it creates carnage.

[Bob C]

I looked i the 1949-52 Ford Shop Manual and the only 14" brakes they show is 1949-early 51 F3. They only show 16" wheels for F2, 17" for F3.

[truckdog62563]

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There’s an old FTE thread where we went through all this, but while I look for it, I’ll start by assuming you’ve tried 16s and found they don’t fit. Like Owen said, the F-2 should have 12” drums, so if you have the 14” Lockheeds it’s had a swapped axle. An easy bolt on fix right now would be to find a set of the 17.5” single wheels first offered in 1956. The 8-17.5” tire has a shorter tire diameter than your 7.50-17”, but the hub cap fits and they look original. The wheels are commonly on eBay at big prices, or I think I might know a guy with a set. In the mean time I’ll look for the old discussion thread. Stu

[truckdog62563]

I texted some buddies and one of them has available 17.5s, so that fix is available if you want to look at it. I’ve mounted these wheels on a Lockheed 14” axle and know they fit. I can’t find the old thread yet, but from memory the guy had Stockton Wheel build him a custom set using new 7” outer rims with his widow maker centers. Stockton Wheel closed a few years ago so that’s no help anymore, but I’m sure other custom shops could do it for you. Any custom wheel will cost you a lot more than going with the 17.5s, so lets finish that part of the discussion first. Stu

[goshencars]

I wonder if the oe ordered the truck with F3 rear end. As far as I know it has always had a 14" rear end. Back in the late 50's the only 17" tires you could easily get were recaps. That's when we reversed the rims of a 16" for the rears and went to 16" tire all around. It aslo has the larger express bed and helper springs in the rear.

[Bob C]

Maybe check your VIN to verify your truck is an F2. I found this info
on the Ford Truck site.


The first digit is an abbreviation for the year. 8 for 1948, 9 for 1949. The 1949 production sequence continued into 1950 and possibly 1951 (there is some debate here). Serial numbers for 1950 began at 92251 for 6 cylinder trucks, and 73088 for V8 trucks.

The second and third digits indicate a 6 or 8 cylinder engine. 7H is a 6 cylinder, 8R is an 8 cylinder.

The fourth digit identifies the model. C=F1, D-F2, Y=F3, F4=T.

The last 6 digits are the production sequence.

[truckdog62563]

Agree, you might want to verify there’s a D in your Serial Number and not a Y. I might also ask in your truck has rear shock absorbers. A sure sign it’s an F-2, although they were a rare option on F-3s. I found an old FTE thread on this but it doesn’t really add anything to this conversation.

I didn’t mention that there is another wheel option that accepts stock hub caps, but they are very rare and expensive if found. The Budd #71410 is a 19.5” x 5.25” also first offered in 1956. This is the true tubeless replacement wheel for your 17” widow maker. The 8R19.5” tire is close in diameter to the 7.50-17”.

[1952henry]

As mentioned before, I would guess the rear had been replaced at some point.

[expavr]

Originally Posted by truckdog62563

I texted some buddies and one of them has available 17.5s, so that fix is available if you want to look at it. I’ve mounted these wheels on a Lockheed 14” axle and know they fit. I can’t find the old thread yet, but from memory the guy had Stockton Wheel build him a custom set using new 7” outer rims with his widow maker centers. Stockton Wheel closed a few years ago so that’s no help anymore, but I’m sure other custom shops could do it for you. Any custom wheel will cost you a lot more than going with the 17.5s, so lets finish that part of the discussion first. Stu

Custom Commercial Wheel in Fontana, CA made a set of 16X7 radial rims that fit over the 14" drums on my 40 Tonner. They were the fabricator that Stockton Wheel used for many of their specialty rims. The attached photos show a Michelin LT 215/85 R16 tire mounted on a rim fabricated from a center machined from an OEM 17" rim and welded to the 16" radial rim. As I recall the drum/rim clearance was close 1/4"-3/8".

[truckdog62563]

Interesting to know that a wider 16” rim can be given enough offset to clear the drums. It’s only noticeable when comparing to your stock spare that would be the 17” x 4.33”. The new rims will have some variety of drop center profile that allows the clearance. Did you have to take them your truck, or perhaps just a drum, so they could work their magic? Stu

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by expavr

Custom Commercial Wheel in Fontana, CA made a set of 16X7 radial rims that fit over the 14" drums on my 40 Tonner. They were the fabricator that Stockton Wheel used for many of their specialty rims. The attached photos show a Michelin LT 215/85 R16 tire mounted on a rim fabricated from a center machined from an OEM 17" rim and welded to the 16" radial rim. As I recall the drum/rim clearance was close 1/4"-3/8".

[expavr]

Originally Posted by truckdog62563

Interesting to know that a wider 16” rim can be given enough offset to clear the drums. It’s only noticeable when comparing to your stock spare that would be the 17” x 4.33”. The new rims will have some variety of drop center profile that allows the clearance. Did you have to take them your truck, or perhaps just a drum, so they could work their magic? Stu

Stu
I made a plywood mockup using the ID of the 16" rim, bolted it to the drum and then experimented with different offset drum clearances and tire to frame and tire to fender clearances on both front and rear tires. All three measurements were used to come up with the offset - 3 7/8" - which Custom Wheel used. At that time Custom Wheel only did fabrication and were the only vendor in SoCal that did the wheel fabrication and accept liability for the product.
Les

[Scotty's 52 F3]

Originally Posted by goshencars

It also has the larger express bed and helper springs in the rear.

The 8' Express Bed is the same from 1948- 1952 and on both the F2 and F3. The F2 had rear shocks and typically not on the F3.

I put a very straight and rust free 1948 F2 Express Bed on my 52 F3. The shock brackets fit right on my 52. The holes were there and I just bolted everything up. The only difference I saw was the running boards had a different flange on the top under the truck and out of sight. And that was a year thing, not a difference of the F2 -F3.