1940 V8-60 Wheels, can you easily ID with tires mounted?

I know of a pair that are possibly 3.5"s. Problem is they have tires mounted and are too far away to look at in person. Can I tell from detail pics of the rim, like a 4 and 4.5?

Neal

 

Yes, the latter.

Seems like SamIyam or ?? said there was an identifiable trait to the rim.

Neal

 

Borrow a "rim width gauge" from somebody that balances tires. Usually a plastic tool for getting the width before balancing a tire on a computer machine.

 

Make a simple "U" shaped gauge from light wood or stout cardboard you can send to where the wheels are. The U will be big enough to fit over the tire and reach the area of the rim gutter. One side will have a short projection that will rest against the gutter area, the other side will then be a short distance from the equivalent place on the other side of the rim and the gap can be measured with a ruler. Knowing the total gap, you can compute the outside width, which should be the measurement you want plus 2X the thickness of the steel. It will be a bit sloppy, but it should be easy to tell 3.5 from anything else.

 

Neal, you'd have to see the wheel from the back side. When looking sideways at unmounted 16s a 5"er has a slight slope on the front rim face and heavy slope on the back face. A 4.5"er has a vertical front face and a medium slope on the back face. As for 4"ers, I have two styles, A vertical front face and a slight slope on the back, and a vertical front face and back face with a thicker mid-section ('35 spokes are like this too). 3.5"ers are vertical front and back and must have the narrow midsection. Some guys I know carry little carboard templates in their wallets of the backside contour so you can check mounted wheels at swapmeets. You can check out my 3.5"ers at Harris ranch. Lance

 

Thanks for the tips, hopefully I can figure out what these wheels are.

Lance, I will look at your wheels at the RCN.

Thanks again,

Neal