Ford's Different Wheel Sizes

[Ruth]

While perusing eBay I saw this ad for some wheels. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1928-ford-m...sAAOSwcnpdOxov

We all know that Model A's had 19" and 21" wheels but after seeing the ad I got curious to what years had the 16", 17" and 18" Spoke wheels and why would Ford change the sizes so often? Thanks

[CWPASADENA]

18's in '32


17's in '33 & '34


16's in '35 and on thru the war. I think clear up thru '48.


'35 was the last year for spoke wheels.


Chris W.

[biggieou]

Can you run tubeless on the 17's?

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[Gary WA]

Early Ford Wire Wheel Tech - Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board

[Ruth]

Thanks Chris and Gary for the quick answers. Is there any reason why Ford changed the size so often?

[CWPASADENA]

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Smaller diameter wheels used a tire with a taller and wider cross section.


Taller cross section resulted in a softer ride.


Also the tread width got wider which resulted in better handling.


Load capacity of the wider tires also went up which was necessary as the cars got heavier.


Chris W.

[Bob Bidonde]

Model AA vehicles have 20" wire spoke wheels.

[rotorwrench]

As tire construction improved, the wheels were made to fit for the best quality ride. 1935 was the last year for Ford welded wire wheels. Kelsey Hayes may have made the bent spokes a while longer but they just sort of went out of style when the steel disk wheels came out. The new wheels could be dressed up with trim rings and different hub caps so they really caught on. They were easier to clean too.

[Jim Brierley]

All cars in those years were making the same changes, not just Ford. I think it was driven by tire technology.

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by Bob Bidonde

Model AA vehicles have 20" wire spoke wheels.

Not all of them:

https://aafords.com/aa-chassis/aa-1000-wheels/

[rotorwrench]

Originally Posted by Jim Brierley

All cars in those years were making the same changes, not just Ford. I think it was driven by tire technology.

Yes but they weren't close friends with guys like Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison either. Henry and his top people kept up with new technology pretty well considering they were selling among the lowest cost automobiles available. Kelsey Hayes made a lot of wheels for Ford under contract even though Ford held a lot of their own patents and made a lot of their own products. Every subcontractor that worked with Ford made money on the volume of sales.