Technical What’s with Banjo 5 x 5.5” rear hubs?

As I was looking at alternatives to the wide five hubs/drums for my speedster build that I wish to use, I started looking at the “standard” Ford style 5 x 5..5 hubs for the banjo rear axle I plan to use. Holy hell! No one seems to have stk, and the prices shocked me. What is going on here?
The plan was to use 15 x 6” wide five rims based on the one I found a few yrs ago, but finding another seems to be impossible. What makes the situation worse is that I just bought some 8.20 x 15 Firestone tires from Coker.

 

Used 5 x 5.5 banjo hubs are out there but like everything else, getting more pricey. Flea market would be helpful as shipping also getting more painful for the wallet.

 

There are a couple open drive shaft 40 rear ends on facebook marketplace near Barrie- Oro medonte.

 

Be aware that 40-41 had the hub inside the drum, and 42-48 had the hub outside the drum. Can’t switch drums between the two types.

And you said nobody has any in stock? Are you trying to buy some at a store? You know that these are used parts, right? Swap meets and cl***ified ads are the place to find them.

 

You can make your own wheels.

I regularly make them. It's not that hard.

I mean it sounds like it is, but it is not.

The hardest part will be finding a lathe to turn down OEM centers a bit.

 

Was at Hershey last year, but this stuff wasn’t on my list as I was planning to use the wide five stuff. Swap meets in my parts for this kind of stuff really don’t exist outside a few events 4-5 hrs away. I’ll check with some local folks though who @Stogy put me in touch with.

 

I saw that one. lol! I just picked up my Speedway open drive kit, so will have to follow that route now.

 

Only place I found so far was Ecklers.

 

Came across this site last week. He has several vids on widening rims. I really f’ked up buying the 15” size tires. I have some 16” x 6” Plymouth minivan rims that I had as a backup plan. Supposedly, the centres of the wide five fit perfectly, so it would have been fairly easy to do the swap.

 

Can I use the hubs from the early style “Model A” wheels? I have a few of theses wheels. Can’t recall what years they are though.

 

The two on the right appear to be Model A hubs based on the stamped brake drums and the smaller flat stamping for the emergency brake band. I think the one on the left is a 1940 hub and drum, on the 46-48 the hub is mounted on the outside of the drum. The first picture is a 40 rear hub and drum, the second picture is a 46-48 rear hub and drum.

 

If I can do it, you can do it.

These are 16's, using Chrysler minivan hoops.


15's work the same. You just need to cut them down in a lathe a little bit.

 

Why in the world would anyone pay over $500 for a repro cast hub??!! That’s ridiculous!! And Henry Ford’s were made of cast ductile iron, not cheap Chinese melted fire hydrants.

Just because you backed yourself into a corner with a few parts you can’t use doesn’t mean you should buy your way out of it with parts that cost even more. Stay away from online catalogs!!

 

Right now at the top of the cl***ifieds is an original 40 and an original 48 rear hub. Either one is $60. Buy whichever one matches your brake drum.

 

I've used a brake drum lathe. Flip the cutter bar upside down and use a tool steel bit.

 

I think I have like $200 in 5 complete banjo rears.
Nobody cares about these around here much

 

I’ll have to do some more research on the different styles and dig mine out to have a closer look.

 

Haha! It’s your posts that probably got me to buy those minivan rims a few years ago. Are you saying that I can turn down the centres of a wide five rim to fit a 15” rim?
I’m searching FB for some 15” x 6” rims at the moment.

 

Yeah, I’m not paying that kind of money for hubs. I just did spend a wade with Speedway for front spindles and juice backing plates, plus a straight front tube axle. I truly prefer getting authentic stuff, but it becomes a balance of time, energy, and function. A lot of old stuff is just getting harder to find in decent shape. Got my vintage dual carb Edmunds intake at Hershey, but then went to Vintage Speed to get his repo Edmunds air cleaners and choke cable brkt. Rebuilding another vintage Holley 94 for it vs a new version. So, some give and take here and there. lol!

 

There is a guy a couple hrs away with a banjo rear for CAN$150. I was going to get it, but then thought my wide five rims would not fit it. I subsequently found out they will. The axle tapers on mine are pretty bad, so the reason to buy it. I just checked his ad and it has the drums/hubs. Will see if he still has it. If so, will get it.

 

That looks like mechanical brakes on that axle, may even be a Model A axle as it looks like the drum is stepped for the parking brake... I could be wrong

 

That is definitely a Model A rear axle.

No useful parts that you are seeking.

Biggest give-a-way is the spring over set-up; not to mention the torque tube, brakes, & wishbones.

 

Ok. So, with the Speedway style Bendix backing plates I just bought, what kind of drums and hub combination should I be looking for?

 

Just found this 1940 Boiling Bros hub on FB. That’s a steal! New one is USD$325! Holy hell! Messaged to see if he had another one, but he only had the one.

 

Boiling Bros is also out of stk of the rear hub. Gotta mean that everyone is getting them from one supplier. Are they the supplier for everyone? Seems they were for the backing plates Speedway sold after reading up on a thread from 2021 on here.

 

The guy just sold the Model A axles. lol! Guy with the hub is willing to ship it to me tomorrow.

 

Yes, you can.

The hardest part of this is getting access to a machine that can fit them.

Go slowly, and make them a mild press fit. You don't want them wandering around as you true them up, and weld them.

It helps to have a pattern adapter to hold them in the machine.

 

The word in my circle is that white spoke jeep wheels are the go to for dismantling and welding in 5x5.5 wheel centers, but I have no confirmation on that. I believe those hoops would be 8 inches wide.

 

Are these the ones I saw yesterday with an engine?

 

Yep.