I'm looking for a 17 inch one piece wheel for a 49 F2 I have three and one two piece that I would like to replace. The one piece wheels may not be the original ones but look like they are.

 

The F-2s came with 16" wheels, the F-3 had 17". Do the three rims you have have the inner nubs to hold the stock caps? If not you'd be better off finding a new type wheel from a newer Ford truck.

 

I'll ditto Bob's comments, and add some. All the F-2s and early F-250s came with 16" x 6" one piece drop center wheels having the 8 lug x 6.5" pattern. They had the hub cap nubs on the inside of the wheel's center. All F-3s came with 17" multi-part rims that are the bad kind that split in the middle of the rim. Today they are called widowmakers, but technically are known as Firestone RH-5°. The link below has a picture of one showing the raised band area that is the joint.

The only other old 17" wheel that would look like a stock wheel is a Kelsey Hayes #30013 (5" wide) or #30169 (6" wide) multi-part wheel used on Chevy 3600 and 3800 models of the late 40s and 50s. They, however, have a smaller center hole (4.625") that will fit the front of our trucks but won't clear the rear hub of an F-2 or F-3. It misses clearing by about 1/16". Plus these wheels have hub cap clips that won't accept our stock hub caps.

So, beside the stock 16s, the only other stock looking wheel that I've found is the 17.5" x 5.25" wheel that became available on F-250s in 1956. This is a tubeless one piece that looks very stock because it is stock, and has the hub cap nubs on the inside like the originals. I'll link below a thread that has good information on these wheels and a lot of other information about these trucks. Stu

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...9-ford-f3.html

 

Thanks for the replys,I really don't know what I have now. The wheels I have do have the inner nubs for the hub caps I thought they were the right ones so i'll to check out the thread and see what I can come up with...and thanks again...

 

I mean no offense, but make sure you're measuring the rim from the inside for size.

 

Well here is what I got....I have a truck with the 17" wheels, the widow makers. It does have the 14" drums on the rear end. The one wheel that is on the front with the outer ring it has clips instead of the hub cap nubs. Buut here is the deal it has F2 emblems on the truck not F3's. So how can I tell if it is an F2 with an F3 rearend or what I really have...thanks for the help.

 

The way you tell is by the VIN number. It will be on the firewall plate, on the glove box door plate, and on the frame. Once you find it come back and one of us will help you decipher it. As a practical matter, the only real difference between an F-2 and F-3 is rear brakes (F-2 are 12", F-3 are 14"). Rear shocks were standard on F-2s, optional on F-3s, and both models could be had with either the F-2 or F-3 spring packages. Edit - except for the wheels of course. F-2s had the 16" one piece, F-3s the 17" widowmakers.

So it comes down to deciding what you want. Swapping the rear end for a '67-'72 F-250 Dana 60 will give you 12" rear drums and allow use of the stock F-2 16" x 6" rims and hub caps. You could also keep the stock rear end by finding the 17.5s that are discussed in the thread I linked. They'll allow use of stock hub caps. Or, if hub caps aren't a priority, you can look for 16" wheels from later model F-250s (up through '97 on the HD model) and see if they fit. We've had mixed reports on this. Some guys have found wheels that clear the drums, others not. It's a bit of a shot in the dark. The last option is having custom wheels made, but that's an extreme solution and a very expensive one at that. Stu