Here's my ET Supers (front: 15x6 rear: 15x8.5) after I restored them And here they are mounted up on the '64, which is still under construction:
I have a full set that look identical to them, missing the center caps that were with my 59 junkyard save...
CG what size tires are you running front and rear? i've got my uni mocked up fo 205/70/15 fronts and 235/75/15 rear. this is on 15x7 and 15x8..... my suspension is set about the same as yours up front maybe a touch lower and i'm probably a coupla inches lower out back. i keep thinking about going a little smaller but then i really like the way the 235/75 fills the wheel opening almost perfectly.... oh and sorry for the threadjack but maybe ryans also considering tire sizes when going all 15 haha...
you guys are really starting to make me regret the set of cragar eliminators waiting to go on the uni. i went back and forth between them and something ET/CalParts dark gray 5 spokes for months and bought th cragars a few weeks ago. i do plan to "detail" the eliminators by painting the spoke "dips" gray or black...
My 66 came with welded steel aftermarkets which were made in Taiwan. Both 15" but ugly as hell. If you do find ETs that match, they'll all need restoring to look the same, right? Nothin special? What motor/trans in it? I don't think the twin i-beams were out yet until 65 or so. I wish someone made a mild drop spindle with provisions for discs and caliper brackets. Drums don't stop like modern traffic does.
Someone was asking about tire sizes for these trucks, it's hard to tell in this picture but the wheelwells are pretty full of rubber on my little '64. The fronts are 215/70-15's and the rears are 255/70-15's. I have no problems with tire rub front or rear but rears are a pain in the butt to take off. It's worth the extra work to me to have the fenders filled out though.
This can go on for weeks, as an owner of about 6 different 61-66, I can tell you they are great. The only one that had five spokes on.....I took them off and sold them and put steel wheels with wide whites on it. I want more details on the truck please. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...my-old-f100s-back-64-swb.804024/#post-8925114 This one actually had 15's up front that were narrower and wide 14's out back! The one thing that absolutely bugs me about the 64 and older is the front wheel is not in the wheel well where it is asthetically pleasing to the eye. Now that I said it.....if it didn't already, it now will probably bug you too.
I agree with the wheels being too far back in the front wheelwells. For some reason Ford did that from 1953-1964 and it always drove me crazy. If I ever swap out the front end under my truck I am going to push the axle center line forward a few inches. I thought about redrilling the holes for the centering pins on the axle pads to push the axle forward a bit. I may have to take a look at that next time I have the truck in the air.
I retract my statement about the wheels size... I now see the pic of the truck (Nice truck BTW) and the ones I was talking about were on the front! Backs look like wider 8"ers... I know you're all retro traditional... but there are some nice new wheels being made that would make the truck POP!
No regrets once you get them on - this C10 looks great, with the center dip painted they really look like Forsight Drag Mags
Back on topic, I had a set of 5 on 5.5 Appliance 5 spokes that were nearly dead ringers for ET, you should know for sure once you pull them off. Flat-N-Low, was the small lip right on the edge of your ETs machined off? They look amazing.
Absolutely love those trucks from Ford. Had one the same color that I redid the interior in brown corduroy amd tan carpet. Sweet rides. Those E/T's look great on it, but I would go with 15's too. Dan
Switch the 15s to the front and get 17s for the back posted via smoke signals made with a Mexican blanket
@Ryan (are we supposed to get a notification when you 'tag' someone using the @ ?) The fronts are 15x5 w/ 215/70r15 tires and rears are 15x8 w/ 255/70r15 tires... I think a 205 would look better up front. A few more photos:
My dad always says "5 spokes even make an ox cart look good". I have about 8 full sets and run them 2-3 cars at a time it seems like but I've never been able to obtain a single 5.5" BP wheel. My ET sets are unilug also with the "ET" cast by the lug pattern. As stated earlier that probably wouldn't fit on the 5.5" BP. I like your truck tho!
"Used Up": The reason Ford pushed the front axle back was that when the first one rolled out the door, the line's Final Inspector stopped the chauffer and told him to make a 'U' turn in one lane. Couldn't do it...so, the line was stopped (Henry HATED that!) Axled trucks were moved to the side, and springs and drag links were redesigned, then retroed onto every truck on axles, and every one after. It was a standard 'truck' move: Like the waviness in sheet metal, imperfect door gaps, hood fitment: THEY WERE 'TRUCKS'! I moved mine 1.25" forward on my '55. That is the correct 'value'....Lengthen the drag link too, or the sector shaft center high spot will be 'off center' and leave you with ungodly play in the steering...and turn sharper to right than left.
I realize I'm a little late to the party, but ......the ET caps have a larger screw pattern than Americans and most other generic 5 spokes. I learned this when I bought a set of those NOS caps off ebay last year, and put them on a set of steelbacks for a car I did for bobwop. American caps lined up, ET's did not. Had to drill 20 holes....wheee! Odds are(and by now you probably know) they are indeed ET wheels. And pretty damn cool I might add. Now drop the front and trash that bumper---you have an image to uphold
The dreaded TTO's are available in 5 on 5. I'd have no problem with the 14s on the front, but then, I'm old. Great looking truck, by the way...
malcolm just confirmed that my theory tire sizes of 205/70/15 front and 235/75/15 rear should be abou dead on since the 235/75/15 is only .2" smaller in overall diameter than the 255/70/15 on his truck. now if that money tree would bloom and i could get shit done....
That truck sits super low. It's gotta be clipped, huh? I'm as low as I wanna go right now as I don't want to clip it and I don't want to mess with the utility of the bed at all. I'm gonna be hauling shit with this thing. Damn that thing looks good though. No. Wrong bolt pattern and too wide. Thanks though!
I believe they are ET's sold a lot of them in the early 60's to the mid 60's, but then it has been 50 years.
@Ryan, you could get fairly close to malcoms height with dropped axle and leaf manipulation. be it reverse eyes, pull a couple leaves, mono leaf, etc. i'd venture a guess that he's somewhere around 5" of suspension drop since it looks like it's a coupla inches or higher than my uni which has aroun 7-8" of suspension drop... this is my truck at mocked ride height...
Thanks! Yeah, I had to re-face the lips because they had some nicks that couldn't be polished out. One of the rears had a microscopic crack at the edge that I stop-drilled, routed out, and TIG welded. I sent them out to a "professional" polisher who overheated the surface and tried to remove every nick and made the surface wavy. I wasn't too pleased, especially after I told him it was OK if there were a few nicks in the surface after polishing. They are 45 year old wheels that were really rough when I started, and I was OK with a few blemishes.
I've got the same wheels, and the same situation. Mine are 15"x8.5 rears, and 14" fronts. Mine are also ET's, but one pair is early bolt pattern specific, and the other pair is Unilug. If you don't mind going with unilug, the new ET Classic V is the same look wheel. Someone had polished the as cast finish off mine when I got them, and they looked pretty tired. (That's what you get for $300 a set, with tires.) So I got mag wheel paint and refinished them to give them back the old look.
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