Could use some help identify wheels. There bare no markings on rim although I have not removed tires. Wheels are 15" 5X 4.5 guessing 4 or 5" wide there are 48 spokes. I have called a couple of wheel suppliers and 48 spokes seems different. They say 52 is there norm. I would like to find 2 more 15" 48 spoke 5X4.5 7" wide. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Terry aka dirt t
Chrysler Corporation wire wheels= adjustable. Ford wire wheels= non-adjustable (as far as I have seen). I know....I haven't seen them all.
If I understand this correctly, the early ('55-'57) T-bird accessory wires (not a factory part) and the Dodge wheels were both made by Motor Wheel Corp. Does anyone know if there is a distinguishing difference between the two? "Motor Wheel Corp.Chrysler/Imperial/Packard/Hudson With its distinctive dog-bone center cap, nothing looks quite like the wire wheel made for the ’53-56 Chrysler Corp. cars. Despite their popularity, they’re relatively misunderstood. First, despite enduring folklore, they were made by Motor Wheel Corp. and not Kelsey Hayes. Second, they weren’t exclusive to Chrysler. According to Jimmy at Rally America, Motor Wheel offered no less than 10 different variations of the design to the OEM world for factory options (Packard and Hudson, for one example) and to the aftermarket world as parts-store accessories (early Thunderbird and Corvette for another). Though the wheels differ in several ways, including bolt pattern, width, and wheel offset, the caps are interchangeable due to a universal register. The Chrysler wire also has a little-known stepbrother of sorts: the wheel made for the Dodge, Plymouth, and later DeSoto and Packard. They have similar hubs and take the same cap, but there’s no mistaking the two. Whereas all of the spokes in most wire wheels terminate in the rim’s drop center-or well-the construction usually limits wheel-offset options. To give the Dodge’s wheel the positive offset it needed to fit under the fenders of the smaller car, Motor Wheel terminated the face spokes in the outermost wheel flange, or felloe as it’s often called. Speaking of Motor Wheel, there are a few important things to understand about T-bird wheels. The Kelsey wheels that Ford sold on the Sports Roadster and in its parts departments from 1962 onward were different from those available for the earlier T-birds. According to Jimmy, those earlier wheels were made by Motor Wheel. They were never a factory-authorized Ford part. The official Ford wheels also had a 14-inch diameter."
That's great information still leaves the question. .. what are these wheels. If bird were 14" these are 15" the spokes are adjustable. Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Later T-bird wires were 14". The early accessory (dealer installed option?) wires for '55-'57 were apparently 15". However, I don't know if those were adjustable or not.
They are, I believe, the Mopar /Motor Wheel with the outer rim lacing as mentioned in post #6. The extra set of holes in the center is because most Plymouths and some Dodges used wheel bolts, nut studs with nuts. The extra holes are for the locating pin on the drum that greatly eased installation. Originally, they were very likely chrome plated, but many have been painted as the chrome plating deteriorated over the years. Ray
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