Thought I'd says hello. I'm new to the forum, and new to an old Ford. I just bought a 1960 F350 flatbed dually. Great running 292, body not too bad, almost everything works. The purpose of it is to help with building a house, and a shop. The truck has been working out great, even carried 2500lbs of block last week, twice. I need to work on the driveline brake, and it needs new tires. What do most do about the wheels, keep using the stock split ring, or replace? And replace with what, I haven't had much luck finding 6 x 7.25, 16"; that are affordable?

Thanks for any input,
I'll be around,
Todd

 

Hi Todd!

Welcome to FTE! This is a great forum and I think you will get tons of good info.

I don't know anything about split rims, but someone willbe along to say hi and fill you in.

Best wishes,
Julie

 

hiya and welcome . look up using the search and see how many threads and posts come up about split rims / widowmakers { I'D TRY THE WIDOW MAKERS FIRST } . most of us that have had or own the bigger ones with split rims hunt look , scrounge , whatever to find something than them . they're for a lack of a better term , if they are the split rim widow makers , dangerous peices of s---. c'mon in and browse around now

 

Welcome to the madness we all call old trucks.
I don't think the split rims on the F350 are what are known as "widow makers" they use a small ring that will however blow off if it is not seated correctly. I don't know what wheels are available to replace the 6 hole ones that are original.

 

Welcome Todd
Alright, another fridge owner. Nice looking trucks aren't they. I don't know if you know it or not but we like pics on this sight, they say alot. I would get rid of the split rims they can be dangerous. I would call up a tire shop and start asking what would fit, then go to a wrecking yard and have fun. Where at in OR? I'm in OR. I have a 60 F100.

 

Hi and welcome aboard, always nice to see another F350 here.
I couldn`t come up anything worth while in doing a search.
I`m faced with the same problem on my 53, 56 and 57 F350`s. So far I`ve been lucky in that I have decent spares for all of them but soon I`ll be looking for an alternative to these 6 rims.
The 50`s F250 had the nicer 8 bolt rims/axles and take rims from about 1983 and down.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice.
Talent is where we will be once I finish the house. I'll get some pics soon, I've either been at work, or building. My truck is light blue, I think it was white at birth though, the inside of the glove box is white. It has a 292, 4 spd tranny, original seat fairly nice, and white steering wheel and *****. Fuel and temp guages don't work, and dash light doesn't work. Heater works like it should, vents close well, Windows are in good shape. It's a lot of fun to drive.

 

Check your dash bulbs and if they`re ok then likely it`s in the head lite switch.

 

Thanks, I'll be up all night with advise like this. I bought it to use like it was originally made for, but the more I drive it, the more things I think about fixing. I told myself I'd wait until spring when I get the house and shop done to fiddle with the truck, but maybe I can get some small things done along the way. I've been driving it to work, maybe we'll be slow around here tomorrow and I can get into the dash.

 

I hear you, this disease is called bonding and there`s no known cure except working on the beast.

 

I'll add my welcome and say I'm glad to have another big truck guy hanging around.

Let's see if I can help on your wheels. My wheel listings show that tonners having your 6 lug x 7.25" circle were supplied with DRW 16s that are a "lock ring" design. They were 16" x 5.5" Budds having part #65340-1. That number will be stamped on the rims' back/concave edge. The technical name for the design is "Firestone RHP". I'll attach a cross section diagram of it. "Lock ring" type wheels can still be used and serviced, and are in fact still sold new for some big OTR truck applications. You'll want to have professionals work on them because they can be dangerous if not handled correctly. You would also have the best luck having them worked on at shops that do work on big trucks. Shops that only do modern cars/trucks may incorrectly tell you your wheels can't be serviced simply because they don't like messing with them.

All this said, trucks lead a tough life and wheels get replaced. So, you could have replacement "widow makers", technically known as "Firestone RH-5° ". I'll attach a cross section of them too, and a pic of the inside of one to help you see whether yours look similar. "Widow makers" are identified by the raised band on the concave side where the wheel halves overlap. Thankfully you don't have 17s, because the book says they were the RH-5° design. If you do have "widow makers", finding replacements is a task. Nobody uses that bolt pattern anymore so new wheels aren't an option. Finding used, like was said, is a matter of doing junk yard searches. That bolt pattern was used on IH, Dodge, and Studebaker as well as Ford. There are companies that can make you new wheels, but that's expensive and let's hope that won't be needed. You'd rather use that money on the house. Hope this helps some. Stu

 

The authority on big trucks and wheels has spoken. I'll add my welcome to the board, and may I suggest you kick back, relax, and enjoy the forum....there's none quite like it.

 

So realizing this the wrong place to officially introduce myself.

Hi my name is Brian and I have been infected by the old Ford virus.

I am the proud owner of a 1953 Mercury M-350 Express, and yes it had the dreaded 17" widowmaker rims. I went the expensive route after a whole lot of aggrivation trying to find crossover rims, and bought new rims from $tockton Wheel$ ( 16" PowerWagon II's).

Sorry for the hijack, I'm new to this.

 

Welcome to the board!!

I've always had a soft spot for the orphan trucks (57-60) ever since I drove one back in high school. We ended up converting it to 4 wheel drive using the drivetrain from a 75 F-150.

Enjoy the madness
Bobby

 

Brian - I'll add a welcome to you too. And a question. How was your experience with Stockton? Some have had good experience, some not. I assume, though, that their Power Wagon line was a clean match and all they had to do was set them up with your bolt pattern. Is that correct? Stu