15" wheels for my 36

[johndee138]

I'm investigating the feasibility of swapping out my 16" artillery wheels for some 5x5 1/2 wheels and 15" tires. I have stock 36 spindles, 39 rear brakes and M/T Lincoln style up front. I am assuming I will need 37-40 style spindles, and have been looking at the Speedway stuff for the hub/ drum parts.
Will all the steering linkage remain the same?
The choices for WWW radial tires are much greater and less pricey in the 15" categories. That alone is driving some of this inquiry.
Diamondbacks are $1200 and up for 4!
Yes, I'll be tying up more than that if I do end up doing this swap, but I think I may increase my long term options if I switch out the wheel sizes.
Any suggestions on what I might need?

[Steve in Denver]

If you have an extra set of '36 artillery wheels, consider having them machined down and a set of 15 inch wheels welded on them. If I can get close to this right hand drive Argentinan '36 roadster again, I will get a close up shot of the wheels, but they kept the '36 hubcap and he is running radial white walls.


oh, probably not the right place, but this car might be for sale. Will let you know.

[skidmarks]

KH wide 5 rims in 15" are around. Used ones can be found for 50 to 75 a piece

[Steve in Denver]

Kelsey Hayes Wheels, good idea.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...wheels.849665/

[Newc]

Yeh; A V8er in RG 10 drilled out the rivits of a wide 5 set and sent the centers to a wheel fab shop to have 15" radial type rims welded on the old centers. Came out great. Newc

[V8COOPMAN]

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Man, if ya just pay attention you'll learn sumpin' every day! DD

[Steve in Denver]

So what 15 inch rims get attached to the '36 wide fives?

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Steve Kennedy

So what 15 inch rims get attached to the '36 wide fives?

I paid attention! In the HAMB attachment above, Dick Spadaro stated: "The wheels you have are easily Id by the flange. These are floatation tire wheels used for off road or soft terrain application. Most common was use on Marmon Harrington 4w drive vehicles. These are desirable wheel as they have a wider shell and can use 15" tires."

DICK SPADARO, Dec 4, 2013


johnnydiamond stated that they are hallmarked "Kelsey-Hayes and dated 1952." These wheels were apparently FACTORY-produced by K-H at a later date, and not an adaptation in someone's garage. DD

[blucar]

I have 4, 15" wheels that have the wide 10" bolt pattern and will accept the '36-39 hubcaps. I would surmise that they were made for HD use and or MH 4w drive outfits. The wheels are a split ring type, with the split ring on the inner portion of the wheel. Looking at the wheels from the outer-side they appear to be stock Ford.
I have been considering having four of my extra wheels modified to 15" so that I can use off the shelf modern 15" radial tires in lieu of the aftermarket pricey ones.

[johndee138]

Perhaps that is the way I need to go. I have good brakes and I'm not concerned about "correct" hubcaps. Who should I contact for wheel modification? I guess it's time to start collecting some more wheels. The 16" WWW radial tires are really cost prohibitive, I'm wondering why the wheel manufacturers haven't picked up on this, it seems a slam dunk if they're already making wheels anyway.

[blucar]

Originally Posted by Steve Kennedy

So what 15 inch rims get attached to the '36 wide fives?

I have a '39 Plymouth conv cpe that came with 16" tires/wheels, I wanted 15" so I could run modern radial tires. The main requirements I wanted in tires were that they be USA made, black walls in a 60 series tire which meant I needed 6.5--7" rims that would give me a 4.25" back-space. I also wanted to retain the stock 10" dog dish hub-caps that require spring clips to hold the caps on.
I talked to every custom wheel company there was, being told that my project was impossible.
I finally found a small company in Solvang CA that told me he had the rims, however they would only accept a center that was 12-5/8" wide due to the fact that the hub centers have to be a press fit before welding. Makes sense, a press fit would insure proper alignment prior to welding.
I went on a mission looking for wheel centers that were for a 15" wheel, had inside spring clips that would accept a 10" dog dish hub-cap, and most importantly be 12-5/8" wide.
Going through my wheel collection I came up with a set of '49-52 wheels, 5 bolt lugs, 15", spring clips, the centers were 12-5/8"... Problem solved. The company in Solvang made up the wheels for me for $25.00 each.

[grumppyoldman]

My 41 has 15" wheels that were on the car when I bought it, They have the Ford script stamped on them, so if the wheel covers don't matter there out there somewhere. Al

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by grumppyoldman

My 41 has 15" wheels that were on the car when I bought it, They have the Ford script stamped on them, so if the wheel covers don't matter there out there somewhere. Al

Your wheels (which are '53-'66 pickup) will not bolt-on to the 1936 wide five pattern. DD

[grumppyoldman]

The poster asked about 5x51/2 that"s what I have. Al

[johndee138]

After digging a while, I've located a wheel shop that will make up brand new 15" wide five wheels for under $100 a piece. Anyone have specific wheel backspace specs and tire suggestions since I'm going to run some skirts, I don't really want big ol meats on these rims, just same profile as a 600/16 tire so I won't have to fight with getting them off when I get a flat, and no fender rubbing either.

[LQQKER]

100.00/wheel sound reasonable. I had cost of 175/wheel to widen the wide 5s. Mind sharing your source ? IMHO 6 inch rear 5 in front 0 offset. Check tire sites for size cross reference.....Tall but not too wide ???