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Okay, Jonathan... here is another "off the wall idea!" Before I include the photo, understand that I always prefer to stay with Ford parts, but sometimes one has to go with what is readily available, especially if the part being substituted can easily be undone if and when desired!
Dodge used the 5 X 5 1/2" bolt pattern for many years and offered wheels of 17" on the later trucks [yes, I know they had as large as 20", but you have said you desire a more narrow tire]..."I can't stand wide tires".
The pilot hole on my aftermarket rims are 4.5". The hub itself is 3.5" but flares ever so slightly at the base. I would want to see a minimum of a 4" pilot hole.
I read some threads about the 5 on 5.5 x 16" Dodge rims. They have quite a different offset or backspace and cause tire rubbing on Fords and Jeeps. Romel77 had Dodge wheels on his 1986 F250 and they looked really weird. The wheels were recessed into the wells, and the pilot holes were enlarged with a grinder for the big Ford full-floater. That is not to say that all Dodge rims will have the offset/backspace problem, but I would want to do some measuring first. Might be worth spending some time in that section of the junkyard as well.
Well there I have it! A working vacation down under 🙃
I wonder though, the pilot hole and bolt circle looks a little tight? Could they be 5 on 4.5"? I grew up around my dad's 1966 but it was wearing hub caps most of the time. It was an odd duck special ordered by a USFS district ranger in New Mexico. It had a 5 lug semi-float D60 LS rear end.... so of course it had the odd ball wheels...
From another thread David started for me... thanks for the effort! And thanks for the info NumberDummy. Looks like the info I read before was talking about the "innie" wheels and I want the "outie" wheels which are at least somewhat newer, but rare
Originally Posted by NumberDummy
Outie = So called because the hub cap snaps over tabs located on the outside of the wheels center section.
Innie = So called because the hub cap snaps over tabs located on the inside of the wheels center section.
5 lug, 5.50" bolt circle pattern outie wheels were introduced in 1966, which was the last year for like innie wheels.
The 16" wheels you're looking for were optional for 1966/79 F100's & Bronco's, 1975/79 F150's, but are very hard to find.
The 3rd member swap was thwarted. The timing belt change on my TDI ended up taking two days because I had to drill out the crank pulley bolts... and I ran out of time for the Ford. Priorities stink sometimes.
During the week I decided to play a little with the interior trim. The base level brown interior and black weave bezels are going away, and a black headliner interior with rosewood trim will be going in.
My rosewood bezels are in great shape, but the silver edging was worn off, and the radio nameplate is the '82-'86 XL badge. So I dug a '80-'81 nameplate out of my parts stash and sat down with a tiny paintbrush and some Spaz Stix mirror-chrome airbrush paint.
The results were quite disappointing. The paint is amazingly thin and splattery and runny. It is meant to be sprayed in an airbrush after all. Not only did it bleed and run down the sides of the bezel beads, but the finish was a dull flat silver just like the craft store paint pens. After holding a NOS bezel in my hands I was really hoping for a better solution to restore the chrome bead.
I might have given up except I noticed some very chrome looking spots on the edge of the paint bottle. Given the extremely thin nature of the paint I figured out that the surface had to be glassy to get the result. The bezel was porous enough that the paint surface could not pool and "chrome over". My solution was to clear coat the bezels first. Note: if you are working on weave bezels, or if you don't like the all-over gloss you could apply clear nail polish to the bezel beads. I noticed that my woodgrain print was developing tiny cracks so I felt it wouldn't hurt to cover the whole thing with clear coat. I also ditched the tiny paint brushes, and applied the paint with pointed cosmetic Q-tips. That is about 10,000x easier and smoother. It still bleeds sometimes, but it melts right off with 90% isopropyl. You can use another pointed Q-tip dipped in alcohol to erase any mistakes. After about three coats on the beads I was starting to smile. The nameplate is still a bit blotchy, it helps to paint soak the Q-tip often and dob it on, and try to get it to pool evenly over the surface. I still want to experiment with surface polishing or waxing to see if I can improve it... but it ain't bad... a lot better than the paint pens in my opinion. And yes, the emblem is just sitting on the nameplate area for representation. I still need to drill holes for the '80-'81 style alignment posts.
Another piece of advice if you are trying this... don't go cheap on the Q-tips. Go to a beauty supply store and get good ones. The ones I saw at Walmart were fuzzy and not very dense. I bought mine at Sally's beauty supply, Fran Wilson professional Nail Tees.
My Testor's fluorescent orange paint arrived in the mail today, so in between days off I will work on refurbishing the cluster. I have some interesting information to share regarding the low rpm tachometers, but that will be shared in David's thread once I try one last test... then the cosmetic results will appear here
WOW! Good results! I'll be following in your fingerprints on Big Blue if I can find a black weave radio bezel to go with the fog light black weave instrument bezel I have. (I'm still holding out hope for XLS-type trim for Dad's.) But, I'll have to create a fog light bezel first.
WOW! Good results! I'll be following in your fingerprints on Big Blue if I can find a black weave radio bezel to go with the fog light black weave instrument bezel I have. (I'm still holding out hope for XLS-type trim for Dad's.) But, I'll have to create a fog light bezel first.
I did not know you were looking for a black weave radio bezel, I just traded one away... I will keep my eyes open for you though. I don't believe I have ever come across a black weave with clock holes, but with some patience one could probably cut them out on a non-clock model. I was thinking about it some more, and you might want to test the mirror chrome over clear nail polish before trying it on a bezel. The mirror chrome smells just like nail polish, so I assume it is a laquer based paint. The clear coat I used was acrylic enamel. I "assume" clear nail polish would work but I learned the hard way to always test on a piece of scrap! I have done some experimenting with XLS cloning but no success story yet. I will detail that in my diesel thread at some point.
I only recently got the black weave/fog light bezel, so am newly into the black weave radio bezel since David has convinced me that I can make an adapter for the DIN-style radio that will look good.
As for cutting out clock holes, isn't that what my mill is for? I've done it before so it is no biggee.
And you have a year or two to get the XLS thing worked out as Dad's truck is coming along very slowly.
I only recently got the black weave/fog light bezel, so am newly into the black weave radio bezel since David has convinced me that I can make an adapter for the DIN-style radio that will look good.
As for cutting out clock holes, isn't that what my mill is for? I've done it before so it is no biggee.
And you have a year or two to get the XLS thing worked out as Dad's truck is coming along very slowly.
Unless you are really after the early look with the flat nameplate area, why not just blacken a '85-'86 silver weave DIN radio bezel? I think the SEM Euro Satin Trim black that Ken used to freshen up the black areas on his burlwood set looked pretty close to original. If Big Blue has cruise control, what are you thinking to do with the horn pad? Satin black?
I didn't think the silver weaves have a bead like the black weaves. Yes? No? But if they do then that would work, and I'd probably want to freshen the black up anyway.
Horn pad? Well, Big Blue came from the factory with almost every option available, inc cruise. But it got removed at some point and I'm not sure I'm going to put it back. If I did, and I do have the parts in my stash, I'd probably do what you suggested and paint the existing pad black.
I didn't think the silver weaves have a bead like the black weaves. Yes? No? But if they do then that would work, and I'd probably want to freshen the black up anyway.
Horn pad? Well, Big Blue came from the factory with almost every option available, inc cruise. But it got removed at some point and I'm not sure I'm going to put it back. If I did, and I do have the parts in my stash, I'd probably do what you suggested and paint the existing pad black.
You got me there... the '85-'86 style silver weave bezels have a bead but it is much more slender than the '80-'84 bezels.
04-25-2017, 08:36 AM
I have done some experimenting with XLS cloning but no success story yet. I will detail that in my diesel thread at some point.
