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My 48 F1 came from the PO with 16” wheels and LT225/75R16 tires, not no spare. I’m looking for a wheel to use as a spare and figure junk yards would be my best bet. There’s one locally who claims to have a big pile of vintage wheels that I can pick through, but I’m not sure how to measure correctly. I know how to measure the bolt pattern, but not width and offset.
I tried to measure my wheels while on the truck. The diameter is easy but width is not so much. I put a straight edge inside the lip front and back, and measured through the hole. That came out to 5” so I’m thinking that taking into account the thickness of the metal, I’m thinking the rim is 4.5” wide, which seems narrow for the tire. Then I measured from the surface by the lugs to the straight edge, 1 1/4”. I can’t measure from the back unless I remove the wheel from the truck, which I can do if necessary but too cold today.
So when I head to the junk yard, how can I measure to get an accurate replacement wheel. I’m not concerned about the hub cap, I won’t be putting one on the spare.
Im also thinking if I can identify a vehicle that used this size wheel it will help me in my search.
By appearances you have stock F-1 wheel(s). Assuming so they are as you found 4.5” wide. They have 5/8” of positive offset, meaning the center disc sits proud of the centerline by 5/8”. To find a nearly similar wheel you’ll want to take a straight edge and tape measure along to measure the backspace of the prospective donors. Placing the straight edge across the rear rim lips the measurement to the back of the center disc should be about 3 3/8”. Stu
Bob, if you don't care if the wheel matches the others, (just a spare), how about going to a yard and getting a wheel/tire from a 80's -90's f150? They are a 15" wheel. As far as getting another 16" I'm sure you won't find one in a yard. Say, don't mean to highjack your thread, but I have a question for you. You said you have 225/75R16's on your original 16" wheels now? I assume those wheels were originally made for bias ply tires with tubes back in the day... Are yours tubeless and do they seem to be Ok with the radials? Hold air ok? I also heard that old rims don't have a "safety bead" like newer tubeless wheels do. I have 4 16" wheels that I would like to use on my 56 but want to go with newer radial tires. Right now I have 15" tires/wheels off a 80's f150 but tires are old and getting weather checked. Also I would like to use the original 16" wheels and original hub caps. Thanks, Greg.
I had radials on my 54 F100 from 1999 to around 2012 and 2014. The ride was nice but incredibly hard to steer when parking, backing, or manuerving at slow speeds because of so much rubber on the pavement. The fronts wore out first since I kept them over inflated to make steering easier.
So I bought Excelsior 6.00 x 16 bias ply. Two years later I replaced the rears. The new bias plies are better than old hard tires from the past. And steering is a breeze.. . I can back up and turn into my garage with my right arm on the seat back looking out the tear window and steering with my left (with my bionic shoulder!)
Bob, if you don't care if the wheel matches the others, (just a spare), how about going to a yard and getting a wheel/tire from a 80's -90's f150? They are a 15" wheel. As far as getting another 16" I'm sure you won't find one in a yard. Say, don't mean to highjack your thread, but I have a question for you. You said you have 225/75R16's on your original 16" wheels now? I assume those wheels were originally made for bias ply tires with tubes back in the day... Are yours tubeless and do they seem to be Ok with the radials? Hold air ok? I also heard that old rims don't have a "safety bead" like newer tubeless wheels do. I have 4 16" wheels that I would like to use on my 56 but want to go with newer radial tires. Right now I have 15" tires/wheels off a 80's f150 but tires are old and getting weather checked. Also I would like to use the original 16" wheels and original hub caps. Thanks, Greg.
I’ve been wondering about that as well. The PO put these tires on so I don’t know if there’s a tube, but the stems look like they’re most likely tubeless, each one is different and seal the hole. I’d expect that if it was tubes they’d all be the same, and there’d be some small gap at the hole.
I really don’t want to go with a different size spare if I can avoid it.
I had radials on my 54 F100 from 1999 to around 2012 and 2014. The ride was nice but incredibly hard to steer when parking, backing, or manuerving at slow speeds because of so much rubber on the pavement. The fronts wore out first since I kept them over inflated to make steering easier.
So I bought Excelsior 6.00 x 16 bias ply. Two years later I replaced the rears. The new bias plies are better than old hard tires from the past. And steering is a breeze.. . I can back up and turn into my garage with my right arm on the seat back looking out the tear window and steering with my left (with my bionic shoulder!)
I can’t disagree with slow speed handling, I also overinflated my front tires and it’s a bit better. I’m thinking I’ll rotate often to prevent uneven wear. Right now I have more important things to spend money on, exhaust, disk brakes, paint.
Thanks Bob and Abe. Yeah Abe I am considering the tires like you bought and we have talked about that before. My truck with the 15" wheels and radials does steer really hard, for sure... Bob I also assume that if the valve stem fits tight in the hole it would be a stem, not a tube.
Thanks Bob and Abe. Yeah Abe I am considering the tires like you bought and we have talked about that before. My truck with the 15" wheels and radials does steer really hard, for sure... Bob I also assume that if the valve stem fits tight in the hole it would be a stem, not a tube.
Correction, I didn’t buy these tires, the PO did and I inherited them. I’m less concerned about low speed handling than safety. I agree, most likely these tires are tubeless.
again, I just need a spare. The junk yard I’m thinking about had a pic on Facebook that showed a rim marked “48 Ford”. I guess I’ll see when I get there.
Greg, I'm running radials on 1948 16" F2 rims with no problems. The tire shops said it's fine. I have seen posts where silicone or another sealer was recommended on the rivets to prevent any possible air loss. I had mine powder coated and no leaks so far.
I have run radial on several old Fords. My observation is the 53-60 pickups with the set back front axle take a lot more steering effort than the others. We ran 215/85R16 tires on my brother's F-1 with no steering issues at all. I run radials on the 37 sedan with stock wheels and no tubes, wheels were sand blasted and painted before mounting the tires.
