My best friend has roped me into working on his son's '55 F350. And the bad part is, he's pretty impatient about it! So I have a couple of starter questions so that I can keep his impatience from moving him in the wrong direction. I've done some searching, but haven't found answers yet.

The immediate issue revolves around the rear axle ratio, expecting the need to swap the Timken for a 9" to get a comfortable road gear. From my reading so far, it appears that no one makes ring/pinions with road-friendly ratios for the Timken axle. Is there a particular 9" application that has been found to fit most easily into the F350? We've measure the length and found it to be wider than those that I've found listed online. Coupled with this question is what to do with wheels and tires. He wants to keep the original look wheels, but those obviously won't fit on the 9" axle flanges. Has anyone made adapter plates to mount the 7.25" 6-lug wheels on a 5-lug 9" axle? Looks feasible and would probably solve the problem of the 9" axle being too short, but don't want to reinvent the wheel if others have already pioneered this territory. The wheels are 16" with 7.5-16 8-ply tires. One says "Tube Type" and I suspect they all are. Are there tubeless tires that will fit these wheels or are there repro wheels made for tubeless? Seems like we need to "design" the wheels, tires and axle together to get the desired result.

I'll stop here for now with a promise to return with more questions. We will certainly appreciate any advice from those of you that have already solved these problems. I've experienced the value of these forums on other projects and truly appreciate any help you can provide.

Cheers!

Chuck in Michigan

 

Hi Chuck,

Welcome to FTE. Wow your friend sounds pretty demanding. I hope he's equally reciprocating!

You have lots of great questions that I'm gonna let the other guys answer. Just wanted to say hin and welcome!

 

First of all, welcome to the group. Glad to have you, but I wish you'd have brought a simpler problem. Your modifications will be difficult under the best of circumstances. You might have to tell your friend to chill.

First the rear end. The Timken B150 axle is shown in the Chassis Manual to have optional ratios of either 5.14/1 or 5.83/1. Neither suited to modern roads or teenagers. I was able to get replacement gear sets for my Timkens from Chuck Mantiglia at Chuck's Trucks. My axles are Timken Model 51524, though, so the gear set may not match yours. Here's Chuck's web site if you want to check into that. Chucks Trucks LLC., Chuck's Trucks, Chucks Trucks

You could get a 9" or Dana 60 out of a 67-72 F-150 or F-250 to fix the ratio issue. The spring perches should line right up, and make it a bolt in swap. You'd have to adapt the parking brake since yours is on the back of the transmission.

You've not said whether the truck is a DRW or SRW model. According to the Chassis Manual the single wheel trucks came with 17" singles, while the duallies came with 16". So from what you've said that leads me to think it's a dually, but I figure you'd have said that if it was. Please clarify that for us.

Keeping the 6 lug x 7.25" pattern is one of your bigger challenges. Nobody makes off-the-shelf adapters or wheels in that pattern anymore. Complicating the problem is the fact that your stock wheels are most likely the kind that are today termed "widow makers". The technical term is Firestone RH-5°. No reputable shop will touch these anymore for insurance and lawyer reasons. Here are some pics and a diagram of them to help you see what you are dealing with.





Tubeless wheels were made that have the 6 lug x 7.25" bolt circle in 16.5", 17.5", and 19.5" sizes. They were made in both dual wheel and single wheel designs. Finding them used will be a big challenge. If your truck is a dually, I know where a set sits in a yard near Salt Lake City. A long way from Michigan. You could also start spending a lot of time on Craigs List looking for used wheels. The other option is to buy custom wheels from a place like Stockton Wheel. But be aware that their reputation has taken a big hit in recent years. Another is American Wheel Specialist in WA. They would take your wheel centers and remount them in new outer rims. They are good folks, and I've bought wheels from them. Either of these options is very expensive. Here's some threads on this subject that might give you some other ideas.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-ton-rims.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...ck-wheels.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...ml#post5470496
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7900780

The easiest option is to find the kid a different truck. Stu

 

I'm happy to be on another enthusiast forum. I spent countless hours on a couple of these when I built my '65 Shelby Cobra replica (hence the screen name) and now I'm restoring a '65 Buick GS convertible, so I'm getting alot of info from 3-4 forums for that project. Each one has a feel to it and this one is definitely inviting!

Julie, thanks for the first response. My friend is impatient, but he listens and I've already begun to slow him down, especially on the axle/wheel dilemma. We work well together and usually his impatience doesn't derail projects; it just ends up costing him more money . By the way, I've been lurking here for awhile and have already downloaded many of your posts on 12V conversion that we will be using later in the project and I already thank you for that!

Stu, I spent alot of yesterday afternoon reading posts from you about the wheels. And frankly, when I got done, my head was spinning. I've read through the new links that you sent and it convinces me that I need to get part numbers from the wheels as a starting point. I'm pretty sure they are Widowmakers from the pictures in your post. It is a SRW truck with a long bed. That apparently doesn't square with the standards for this application.

I looked at the Chuck's website and they sure have alot of stuff for this truck. I have trouble with their descriptions since most everything that's not exclusively for F100 is for F100 and F250. I don't think I found one reference to an F350 application. Guess I'll have to call them to confirm. When you say they have replacement ring/pinions, only in the stock ratios or do they offer lower, more road-friendly ratios also? If not, then it appears that a 9" swap is in order and we should move on to newer, tubeless wheels and tires.

BTW, his son is in his 30s, so this isn't a project for a teenager. He will be in the decision process on this as well!

Thanks again. I'll get myself busy gathering data and web-surfing.

Chuck

 

God love ya for taking on a big challenge. Doing one of these oddball big trucks isn't like doing a half ton.

I emailed Chuck myself this morning and asked him what was available for the Timken B150. He replied that the 4.11 gear sets he installed in my Timken 51524 axles won't work in yours. He knows of no companies that make replacement gear sets for your axle. He added that he has a gear company near by that could cut you whatever you want, but you'd be spending stupid money.

So that takes you back to either a 9" or a Dana 60, which isn't gonna be hard either way you go. Maybe a company like Arrowcraft (Welcome - Arrowcraft :: Helping You Handle the Road for over 30 years!) could do you custom wheel adapters. Be aware, though, that that'll cost plenty also. We looked into it a while back and the cost was about the same as the cost of a custom wheel for each one.

Then you're still left with the 6 lug x 7.25s on the front of the truck. I've not read where anybody has had luck swapping out a whole front axle, or just the spindles, to convert to an 8 lug or 5 lug pattern. Swapping to the same year F-250 axle or spindles would be worth looking into though I'd think. That would get you into an 8 lug x 6.5" circle at least.

Let me know what I can do to help you sort out your wheels. Studebaker, Dodge, IH, and Ford all used tubeless wheels having the 6 x 7.25" pattern. I can give you specifics if you want to do the searching.

The best source for big truck specific parts is Job Lot in New York (JobLot Automotive). Stu

 

One more thing since you've got single wheels, here's a pic of the inside of an F-3 widowmaker showing the band like raised joint area. On these, and perhaps on yours too, the center is riveted at the joint which would look a bit different than I pictured above. Stu

 

I've been doing alot of traveling and other activities for awhile and my friend has been focused on other things, so I'm just getting back into this. The latest status is that the son now wants us to do a frame off restoration, so I expect alot of changes to the original truck. I'll have to confirm, but expect that we'll put a 9" in the rear with 5 or 6 lug wheels. As Stu mentioned, that leaves us with the front suspension dilemma. I guess I'll post a specific question on that. Swapping the front to the '55 F250 spindles would take us to 6 lug wheels and that might be OK. I presume the only option to get to 5 lug on the front is to swap out the entire front suspension with one from an F100 or F150? And I don't know if that's even possible.

Sorry to be away so long. I suspect I'll return again soon.

Cheers!

Chuck

 

Swapping to an F-250 axle or just spindles/hubs would change it to an eight lug patten, not six lug. The stock F-350 is the big six lug with the 6 x 7.25" pattern. The F-250s have 8 x 6.5" while the F-100s/F-150s have 5 lug x 5.5". Stu

 

Thanks Stu. I should have read the info in your last post more carefully. I posted a separate question on this and hope for more insight from the team. I'll edit that post to be correct on the lug configurations.

Chuck