Hello guys, I've been going around my Deuce (arrived last saturday, still going to the garage all the time and pinching myself that it's for real!) and I still have no idea what the steel wheels are. I can't be sure but I thought Deuces only ever came fitted with wire wheels, right? So what are these? They're 16" rims, and were on the car when it last got moved before I got it (back in '99), but no tyres. They do fit the original bolt pattern perfectly, but I have no idea about their origin. Can someone else shed light on this? Cheers, Eddie P.S.: The Tudor sedan body is up for sale as I have a roadster tub I want to use. It's completely rust-free and original, I'm listening to offers.
C'mon guys, help ID these things... here's a couple of better shots: They fit the bolt pattern perfectly, but they're 16" rims, and the hub they belong to is much wider, as you can surmise by the big center opening. There are no markings on them that I've found, could be marked on the inside as I've yet to remove any of them. Any ideas?
Those are some cool wheels!...sorry I can't tell ya what they are other than they are called artillary wheels. Ford did use some along the way I guess. BTW, that's a super neat Deuce!
Posted query on the artillery wheel ID topic, I'd just found it when hershambob posted the pic for me. I've been reading the topic from the top and they look like some Kelsey hayes that were posted earlier... we'll see what the gang makes of them. Cheers, Eddie
I always thought these were referred to as Milk Truck Wheels... Is that incorrect? They are cool as heck whatever they are.
I would guess Packard, or maybe Imperial. Both used 5.5 bolt circle at times. I don't know what some of the independents like Graham or Hupmobile used, but maybe?
They were distributed by one of the main tire makers (Goodyear? General?) and known as Jumbo's. I have seen them in 15" too. They were made to update Model A and up to more modern rolling stock. Sorta like mag wheels for Gramps! Hang on to them. Hard to find a full set, any I see are singles or pairs. I think they fit regular Deuce wire wheel hub caps. Deuces are so common in Portugal that you can discard a body as cherry as that Tudor? Must be nice!
They are not milk truck wheels, Jumbos, or Packard, or any other car manufacturer's production wheel. They are aftermarket wheels sold to the Ford owner who wanted to upgrade to the 16 inch tire. Probably made by Motor Wheel Co. or Kelsey Hayes.
Alchemy is right. And they are pretty hard to fo find. If you do not want em, you should have no problem getting rid of them. Thats a nice car, I would not part that one out!!
The only original 16" wheels which have a 5 on 5-1/2" bolt pattern that I have found are 1936 (only) Buick Roadmaster (only). Here are mine on my 1933 coupe - they are 16" x 5" and had 5 mounting clips for the hubcaps, which I cut so I could use the hubcap adapters to mount 1933 Ford wire wheel caps. Your don't appear to have the clips, but might be able to take the wire hubcap adapters if you would like the sort of look I have....
One more shot of the wheel with a custom DiamondBack radial with bias ply look - I think these may be originally Budd Mfg. wheels as they are similar in design to the ones I have on my '36 Hupp....
Here are the wire wheel hubcap to steelie hubcap adapters. I used the type for Gennie wheels on my '33 coupe, but they are also available for smoothie wheels - slightly smaller diameter. I got them from Bob Sage, The Wheelsmith - www.thewheelsmith.net. I had the original style pinstriping done by Jeff Styles www.socalpinstriper.com. The wire wheel hubcaps just pop right in. In the previous posts you will see that I drilled the wheels and used stainless ****on head fasteners to secure the hubcap adapter as the artillery wheel did not have any nubs to hold the adapter. I used stainless washers to space the ****on heads out to where they hold the hubcap adapter on securely....
345winder, why didn't you just grind or drill the rivets for the clips?? now you have exposed bare metal and no clips....
Beautiful car and handsome wheels. I have one which has a bent and rusted rim. The wheel center is in good shape and looks just like these.
Here is a photo of an ad I had in a 1941 Wheel catalog. No mention anywhere in the ad of who the manufacturer was. Dealers price was around 15.00 per set of 5.
Hello guys, Thanks for the input. The conclusion is that they're Kelsey Hayes rims, quite sure. I've still to figure out some hubcaps for them, but for now I'll probably stick with them, this is a long-term project anyway. Deuces are not common anywhere (but I know of a nice Fordor too), but I never really wanted a Tudor, don't particularly fancy the shape. Since there are now quality steel roadster bodies available, I'm going to build me my dream car. This body just happened to be on mine, I'm tired of originality's ties, I've restored enough cl***ics before to those bounds. Since a Deuce is basically a kit of parts, and the body is the only defining feature between versions and the rest is identical, I'm sticking to my plan, this one just happened to be born a Tudor, but will now be reborn in another shape. It barely survived the crusher (twice), and has been picked for small items all along these years, so much of its soul is gone anyway, it's a corpse of what was once a car, a long time ago. Much of its history is gone. I live in a hot climate (we're barely into spring and temps are already nudging on 30º C, and it's now midnight and it's close to 20), so closed cars are not a must. Besides, I want to drive the thing regularly, so it must stay close to my ideal. I'm not building a garage queen, I'm trying to build my ultimate pleasure machine here. I'm not going to sell it either, so I don't care much for what other people make of it, original or not. In fact, I've been all around it, trying to see if the Tudor shape would grow on me. It didn't, not one bit. I like the stupidly-thick build, but not much else. So it can go. Hope you can understand this, and that I don't get flamed. Cheers, Eddie P.S.: Weasel, that Coupe is GORGEOUS! Love it!
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