I got a question. My dads '55 F-350 (in my gallery) has the original Widow-Maker 17s. I want wheels that look exactly as stock. It is the big 6 bolt pattern. Can the two piece wheels be welded? Or, can they be used to make non WM wheels? The truck is going to be restored to concours perfect condition, including the wheels and tires, but I will make a one piece wheel exception. Any thoughts?

 

ya don't want stu to stand up in here , he's kinda tall , might hit his head !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

WmJoe - The widow maker halves cannot be welded together to yield a one piece wheel because they have what's called a 5° lip profile. Hence the name Firestone RH-5°. There's no way to push a tire over the lip without damaging the bead. Tubeless rims, on the other hand, have a more angled lip which is called a 15° profile. Plus they have a drop center. These two features allow the tire to be squeezed over the rim lip onto the wheel.

The old WM centers can be pulled and remounted in new outer rims. There's been a number of threads devoted to this. Companies like American Wheel Specialist and Stockton Wheel are the better known sources. You might have to be careful not to go too small, like with a 16" rim, so that you don't have problems clearing your rear drums. And whether these sources can provide new narrow 17" outer rims like you'd need to keep it stock looking I'm not sure. You could also have them mount your centers in new 17.5" or 19.5" tubeless rims like would have been a factory option starting in 1956. You'd have to call them to see what all your options are.

Another option is find new or used 17.5" or 19.5" tubeless rims. Starting in 1956 Ford, IHC, and Dodge started sourcing tubeless 17.5s and 19.5s. IHC offered only the 17.5s in the single rear wheel style, (there's a NOS set on eBay now), but to my understanding they used a 9/16" stud where yours should be a 5/8". Here's the listing link if you want to check with the guy to find out about them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Both Dodge and Ford had the single rear wheel type in 17.5" and 19.5" sizes with the 6 lug x 7.25" circle. From looking at the books, the Ford and Dodge wheels used the same 5/8" stud/lug nut combo, but I can't give guarantees on that. There was a set of the Dodge 19.5s on eBay a few weeks ago. As I recall the seller was "powerwagonjohn" who has an eBay store. He lists Dodge stuff a lot. You might contact him to see if he has other sets. But really quiz him to make sure you match your center bore, and stud/nut type. Hope that helps. Stu

 

Thanks Stu. That's the info I was after. I had planned on getting in touch with Stockton, but wanted some of your expert knowledge before diving into the world of Widow-Maker replacement. It's a ways out, but I want to start compiling my infoormation, and sources now. I do plan on keeping it as concours as I possibly can. If the wheels are slightly different, I don't think any one will know, and I think I will have to over bore the engine .010. Right now, those seem to be the only things I'll have to worry about, as the rest of the truck is restorable as is, or parts can be replaced with new restoration pieces.