I came across a dana rear yesterday that has a 3.73 gear that would turn my truck into a way more useable driver(currently Timken 5.14)

It looks like a fairly simple swap,except I am wanting to keep my original bolt pattern wheels. I noticed when I did my front brakes(1953 F350) that there was a bolt on hub spacer that converted from 8 bolt on the drum to 6 on 7.25.It basically looked like a wheel adapter and was about 4" thick. I havent pulled the rear drum yet but wondering if I am going to find the same thing.....or can I swap drums?

I think if I can make this diff work,it will be way better than cutting up the truck for a T5,or trying to install an Aux trans.

Any ideas on how to do this and keep the stock wheels? The truck is SRW with the 6 on 7.25 bolt pattern and bud wheels.

Thanks

 

Rear End - A later Dana 60 would be a good solution to your split case Timken B-150 axle and its 5.14/1 ratio. To go to an 8 lug x 6.5" pattern you could use one from a 67-72 F-250/350. To keep your 6 x 7.25" pattern you'd need to find one from a 1966 or earlier F-350. Whether you'd be able to match that 3.73/1 ratio I sorta doubt, but you should be able to get it down to maybe a 4.11/1. I can't find my rear axle ratio reference right now so I'm being vague on what ratios were available. Maybe Number Dummy will drop in to answer that.

Front Hubs - The hub is one piece, not an adapter on top of the hub. The part numbers are TCAA 1136-A for the left side and TCAA 1104-A for the right side. I've not read where anybody has had success converting to different hubs on a similar axle. You might investigate swapping in a whole F-250 front axle from a 53-56 to see if it might bolt in and have similar steering hook up. That would yield you the 8 x 6.5" pattern.

Wheels - I don't recall you saying on other threads, but I'm gonna assume that you've got the deeply dished 17" widowmakers that were unique to '53s. If that's right you don't want to keep them. Here's an expired ebay listing for a set of unsold 16" lock ring style wheels that would be cheap. While these don't have as much dish as your stock wheels, they would get you on the road. If you find a '66 or earlier F-350 axle, you might also find its wheels too. Just be wary of widowmakers. Stu

6 lug 16 inch Budd wheels split ring Dodge Ford IH | eBay

 

Stu,

thanks so much for the input.

the truck currently has the stock 17" widow makers on it,with new tires I just had installed(came with the truck) the rims are in excellent condition so there were no issues installing them. I am currently driving the truck and finding it difficult to enjoy with the combination of rattles,bone jarring suspension,and very low top speed. 35-40 MPH is comfortable,but any higher and it gets annoying.

The truck is completely original with a nice patina,and our plans are to make it into a mild rod that we can enjoy and use like a truck-keeping the bud wheels is critical to the look we want,it really defines the truck. 8 bolt standard wheels lose that,and 16" newer style bud wheels seem to as well.

I am kind of at a crossroads with the truck now. We are considering upgrading wheels tires/supension diff etc. I want to stay as close to original *** possible,but also want to enjoy driving it. Changing the diff seemed like the easiest way to gain some driveability. Adding an aux trans ,and leaving the diff would ad to the coolness factor and help with top speed. Is it possible to get a 19.5" wheel in my bolt pattern?

I realize I am kinda sidetracking the thread....just not sure what the next move is.

 

I'm not one that thinks "widow makers" are save to use in any capacity. But I accept that not everyone thinks like I do. There were 19.5s made with the 6 x 7.25" pattern, but they are really rare. And they have slightly less dish than your wheels. As a practical matter you'd have to go with custom wheels to get 19.5s. A much more practical approach to keeping the stock look would be 16" lock ring style or 17.5" tubeless one piece. The 16" tires will be about 2" shorter than your 17s but are safe and plentiful from Dodges, IHCs, and Studebakers. The 17.5s would be shorter than the 16s (trust me, even though it's counter intuitive), but the tubeless feature would be nice. Those wheels too are sort of hard to find but I do see them on Craigs List every so often. I'll link in below the Universal Tire catalog pages that list the outside diameters of the various size tires. Stu

https://www.universaltire.com/truck-...ary/truck.html

 

Thanks for the links. I did find a set of 16's here locally,but opted not to use them as they were on the small side. I am wondering if you maybe also know what transmissions are interchangeable? Along with the diff change,a trans change would help if I could find an OD. I dont want to install a T5,but have seen a few older Internationals with 5 speeds and wondered if they were similar.

Another option I have locally for a diff is one from a 6 bolt IH locally ,bolt pattern is the same,but the stud diameter is smaller....possibly an option?

 

I've not aware of any O/D trannies that would mount to your flathead other than what I've read about the T-5 used in the small Chevy pickups. The rear end in the IHC would be a good solution if the width is similar to yours. You may have to move spring perches but that's not a big deal. The smaller wheel studs, no doubt 9/16" vs your 5/8", says the axle is out of a 120 or 1200 series 3/4 ton. All the IHC 130/1300s had your same 5/8" studs. Any idea what the gear ratio is? Stu

 

Its a 4.10/1 from a 68 IH,pretty sure its a 1200. I did not know that the 1300 had the same studs. I was thinking I may be able to put the larger studs in to make the diff work for me. The 3.73/1 I found is from a new IH and i could possibly swap the gearset from that diff. Found a local guy with a pile of these old IH trucks.

Brian