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I am in process of trying to acquire a 1955 F250 truck, and it has previously been discussed that it has the dreaded widowmaker wheels on it. I went over to inspect the truck some more, and I’m a bit confused on what’s there, so I thought I would post some pics and see if y’all could help me.
The above wheel is what is mounted to the truck. I believe consensus is that this is a widowmaker wheel. All four wheels mounted to the truck are this style, plus one spare.
There is another spare, and I noticed it is slightly different that the others. Note that the holes are more recessed, or sunken into the wheel.
i turned it over, and saw this number on the rim:
It’s a number 63770. Is this a true widowmaker rim? Unfortunately, I could not get any numbers off of any of the other rims. Perhaps I can get that later.
Lastly, how are these rims measured? They look like 19” rims, but tires say 17 x 7.5.
Thanks for the help.
Sean
Sean - the wheels on the truck are RH-5° widow makers. The spare is the locking side ring wheel I told you in the PM that could be a life’s work to find. So now the life’s work might take a little less time. I’m gonna text message my Napco buddy I mentioned to see if he might have extras. Just in case. Stu
Edit - your wheel is a Budd 63770. My buddy’s Napco has the Budd 63780s. Iirc his is the slightly wider version.
Measurements are made across the inner base rim, not across the lips. The mounting system is called an “in/out coined” system.
Maybe the mods can move this over to the 48-56 forum. The truck is a M-H M254 F-250. Stu
Yup, agree with Owen. We have several of the earlier M-H models in our group but this would be the first of the late M254s having the 6 lug pattern. Stu
I first posted about this truck in May when I first found out it may become available. It likely has some problems, but I’ve reached a verbal agreement with the owner to buy it, if he can work out some of the title issues. Here she is:
Are the six lug axles uncommon? I thought they were standard on the F250?
The six lug (6 x 7.25”) pattern was standard on the F-350. This axle was substituted for the earlier 5 x 8” pattern axle during the latter part of 1953. We’ve had very few of these trucks emerge from their resting places over the years. Quite a few years ago Owen (1952henry) found one of these bare front axles in a yard and sent its good axle shafts to a prior member for his M354. I tried to buy a bare 1954 M354 chassis in 2017 but was not successful. So, at the moment, I think yours is the only one of its kind on the forum. Stu
I don't know much about M-H's but the sheet metal looks pretty good from here. This is Custom Cab. Was it a fire company brush truck at one time? The extended frame looks like it might have been for the pumper. The engine looks IK on the outside, carb with air cleaner in place. You can see the valve cover decals and the yellow engine paint. Someone got rid of the crossover exhaust pipe and bent the driver side pipe down for dual exhaust.
It even has the optional foot operated windshield washer complete with glass bottle.
Good luck in your purchase and your pursuit of safe wheels.
Sean - I forget whether we gave, in your earlier thread, examples of things to check on before agreeing to a purchase price on the truck. What brought this to mind is this picture of your transfer case shifter. There should be two as in the green truck pictured. Maybe the lever is there and pulled back toward the seat, but hopefully it isn’t missing. When you’re ready there are other things to check out. Stu
Stu,
Yes, there are five levers on the floor of this truck. One is disconnected and just swinging underneath. It was probably for the PTO the truck may have had at one time.
Here is a link to my earlier thread. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...portunity.html.
In my earlier thread, you, and others, gave me a lot of good advice of things to check for. There is definitely a front axle issue, which initially soured me on the truck. However, after a lot of reading and thinking about it, I decided that if I could reach a deal with the seller for a reasonable price, I would pursue it and just restore it as a 2WD truck, hoping someday, if I’m lucky, I could find an axle. It appears a deal is now in -process, so we will see what happens.
Over the last few months, I got my ‘79 F150 running, and got bit of a bug reignited in me for the old trucks. But, I kept thinking about the ‘55 as it just rotted away in a field. For some reason, it really intrigues me…..I know there’s not many of these years of trucks with MH conversions, and it just seems too much of a shame to let it rot. Perhaps, I’m just a sucker for it, but I guess I can live with that.
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