Going to Fall Carlisle in October and I will be looking for a set of 55/56 original wheels that I can mount a "show" set of www on for later next year. Any tips on looking for original 55/56 rims when at a swap meet? I need 15" and 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern obviously - anyone know if the 52-59 rim will work, or is it just 52-56, or is there a stamping on the rim somewhere to let me know? Maybe some of you customizers have a set of original rims?
When I widened the set from my 56 I don't recall any numbers on them and I have since sold them so I can't check. Here is some pics of my wheels during the process so you can see what they look like. IIRC they were 15x5, of course 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern. In this picture the rear wheels are 15x7 "Ford" wheels a friend gave me. I have no idea of the year but they fit fine as well and the hubcaps fit.
Hey DanMan, Here's a tech thread on the subject. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/ford-steel-wheel-tech.115542/ The important part is copied and pasted here: Normal 49-56 Ford wheels were 15x5 with a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. Their hubcaps were outside knob which means the knobs are on the inside of the hubcap and on the outside of the center of the wheel. The hubcap that these wheels took measured 10 1/8 accross the back. From 49-52 Ford offered a 16x4.5 as an option, same bolt pattern and hubcap. From 49-51 the 6-cylinder cars came with 16x4.5 and from 52-56 the station wagons had 15x5.5 wheels on them, both same bolt pattern and hubcap. The 49-51 Mercurys had 15x5.5 wheels with a 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. The hubcaps were 11", but they are still outside knob caps. 49-51 Lincolns also had 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern, but were 15x6s. They also had full wheel covers instead of hubcaps. They had little bumps on the rim to hold the wheel cover on. Also, I have a set of original 54' wheels (same as what you need) with an old set of WWW G78's on them. If you're interested, I'd let them go super cheap just to help a Hamber.
49-56 Gave away four but still have two. No markings that I recall. The center hole is smaller than later wheels.
The center hole is a good point. If I was looking to buy I would look for the larger center as they are required for most disc brake swaps.
My original 56’s are in a lock up but seem to remember a FOMOCO in a oval on the centers somewhere. They are waaay to buried to get to..
True, I have 10 of them all together, and they have the Fomoco script in the oval and 2 letters stamped in the centers.
I have a set of original wheels off of my 56 country sedan but im in upstate NY. would sell them cheap if you wanted to make a road trip.
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