rim width

[hivolt5.0]

I'm still very new to the '57 Fords and I found something interesting on the Ranchero I recently purchased.  I had the old tires dismounted from the, what I thought to be orginial, rims so I could clean and paint them.  Well, once I got them home I discovered two of the rims are 1/2 inch wider than the other two.  All four rims look exactly the same for all intents and purposes yet two of them are 14x6 and two are 14x6.5.  Did the Ranchero's have two different width rims from the factory or did my Ranchero just "acquire" the different widths through 50 plus years of existence?

Thanks
David

[KidKourier]

     Check www.1957Ford.com, has tons of specs for all models of '57 Fords that may help you with info on your Ranchero. If memory serves me(which it some times doesn't) we use to look for rims off stationwagons,rancheros,couriers for the wider rims to run a little bit wider tireand they looked to have more reverse to them.KID

[meteor]

Has the car been lowered? Are the narrower 6" rims off the passenger side? I'm just curious because I have an issue with clearance on the passenger rear (tire rubs when the body rolls) and I was told because the axle on that side is slightly longer it may put the wheel closer to the body.

So maybe they put a narrower wheel on that side to compensate...?

[hivolt5.0]

KidKourier - thanks for the info, I'll go check out www.1957Ford.com you mentioned; I think I actually have it book marked somewhere.  I guess it would make sense for the wagons to have some wider rims; they came with heavier duty axels and such too right?


Meteor - The Ranchero doesn't look to be lowered any.  There are no lowering blocks in the back and judging from the crust on the front springs which matches the crust on the rest of the front suspension I assume they are original as well.  Unfortunately I don't know where on the Ranchero the wider rims were mounted because I didn't even notice the width difference until after the old tires were taken off and I had the rims sitting side by side on the floor of my garage.

I've sanded and painted all of the rims and plan on "labeling" the wider rims before I get the new tires mounted so I can put them on the back.

[DanTudor57]

If these are indeed original wheels, I suggest you take a very very close look at them. They are 50+ years old, and have seen many miles. I've found several original wheels that appeared to be in fine shape to actually have hidden damage from long years of service. Two of these were from a Custom, I didn't see the cracks until after I had sandblasted 50 years of paint and build up. They looked fine, but they had tiny cracks.

[canadian_ranchero]

hollander says 57 cars are 14x5 and the s/w, ranchero and retractables are 14x5.5.hope this helps

[hivolt5.0]

DanTudor57 - I looked over the rims farily well as I was sanding them down but I wasn't able to sandblast them like I wanted to.  I understand your comments about the rims having 50+ years of use and abuse.  Two of the rims have some curb damage on the outside lip.  When I got the Ranchero, the only tire that didn't hold air was on the front and the air was leaking around the tire bead.  After cleaning them up there was some rusty areas around the lip and several years worth of rubber stuck to the rims.  I'll definitely keep an eye on them.

[meteor]

Why not look into new wheels, plain steelies are cheap. It will you save you the hassle of sanding the old ones not to mention the safety factor and in the end peace of mind.

[Ford_Crazy]

Anyone know where I can buy new 15" steel wheels that will mount my 57 dog dish hub caps?

[rmk57]

 Stockton wheel, Wheel Vintiques, sells plain steel rims. Pretty sure they make them in any width,
backspace you like that would accept the dog dish caps.

[meteor]

I got my 15" steelies from Coker, I think they are 7" wide. I probably should have got 6" wheels.

oh, and I also run 57 meteor dog dishes...