35 Wires

Im Using '35 Wire Wheels On My New '27 Lakester. Im Concerned About Their Strength. Has Anybody Had Trouble At The 300 Hp Level And Skinny 700-16 Firestones? Tx

 

No the tires will fry before you hurt the wheels.

 

Ditto

 

find the ad Henry ford had 'i think in 33' where he had a whole car hung (in the air) from one of his wire wheels.

 

Keep um tight. Mine will sometimes loosen. Don't know why.

 

Are you running the on 40-48 drums? Do you have the support rings? I sell them cheap.

 

make sure you run the special spacers behind the wheels, if you are not running the original 35 rear drums.

 

that`s them. andy was posting the same time i was.

 

I don't think you could run them at Bonneville... and I HAVE heard of guys spinning the outer rings right off the hub and wires going everywhere. When you say Lakester are you talking for race or land speed? If so, I personally would shy away from wires... if you want a similar look try artillery wheels...stronger, nostalgic and still cool.

 

From just one spoke

 

not one spoke i dont think.
its a 33 or 34 ford coupe hanging in a building on display by a wire wheel showing the strength of the ford wire wheels. --- someone must have the ad somewhere. i have a few of those ads at home ill have to look for them sometime. ------ the wheels are strong!

 

Doesn't matter HOW strong they are...regulations are regulations when it comes to racing. Spokes have the potential for causing disaster... I just don't think you'll be able to race on them in many places, if at all.

 

Not to hijack this thread.....How much if any are Kelsey Hayes accesory 40 "bent" spoke wheels stronger than a stock spoke?

 

Like has been mentioned, with a 7:00 tire you are not going to have any trouble This is ***uming your 73 year old rims are in good shape to begin with.

If you had widened the rim, added offset, installed fat sticky tires, those would all add to the possibility of wheel failure.

Much like the drum brake debate, your limiting factor is the tire patch and traction.

BTW I have the exact set up you are talking about on my '27 with a 348 W motor.

 

Tx To Every Body For Your Input! I Havent Heard About The Support Rings. Plz Tell Me More. Dakotajayme

 

you need the support rings to be able to tighten the wheel nuts up, without them the nuts wont tighten properly and will pull the wheel out of shape. the 35 drums have tabs on them to support the wheels and to stop them collapsing as such.

as well as andy having them speedway sells them http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/5846,301_Early-Ford-Wire-Wheel-Support.html

 

While it is true that SCTA will not allow wire wheels some venues have no such restrictions. We just ran my lakes modified at the Antique Nationals with KH wires. Rears are widened 1 1/2 " on the inside. If the car is light,1500 Lb. or so it will just spin I don't know the torque or HP on my engine, it is a model "B" with a 2 port conversion, probably less than 150 HP but has a lot of torque. With 5.30's in the rear end it will break loose with 2 nd gear starts.

 

The Hot Rod Company aka Sidevalce sell the Tardel rings for the wheels.

 

I with the gang here, I run them on a 1700 lb T w/283 and a T-5, banjo w/4.11's. The tires spin real easy. 600x16 Firestone. I figure I can't hurt the rims or the rear end.

Frank