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RL Chilton

It's time for new tires on the '52 Sedan. I've pretty much made up my mind about getting a new set from Hudson Dave, 215-75R/15, wide whites. Question I am pondering is that amongst my spare wheels, which are going to get powder-coated red, by the way, I have two convertible wheels (5-1/2"), which I thought might be beneficial to put on the front of the car. Any thoughts on this?

Park_W

What's the point? I'd leave it as is. Your tire source choice is a good one. I've been running Diamondbacks from Dave on both my Hudsons ('47 and '51), and love 'em.

rambos_ride

Hi Russell, I'm curious, so school me..what's the difference in wheels between a standard sedan and a convertible?

RL Chilton

Hey, Dan! Convertible steel wheels for the step-downs were 5-1/2" wide. My thought was that the radials might like being on the slightly wider rim, especially on the front. Just a passing thought, really.

walts garage-53 · walts garage-53 December 2012 Posts: 1,470Platinum Member

Russel, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all from Margaret & Walt Mordenti. Good choose on the tires and SIZE. On the sedan stick with the 5 inch wheels. Still am busy as ever in my car garage, and Saturday and Sundays at Jeff's garage. W&M

46HudsonPU

Hi Russell,
Thanks - I got a bit more 'Hudson Knowledge' from you concerning this (5" vs. 5.5"). I am currently looking for at least four 15" x 5" nice Hudson rims for my 'Blue Goose'.
I have a few items that I want to get done on 'The Goose', and changing out the 16" bias ply tires for 15" WWW radials (215-75R/15 or 225-75R/15 - most likely Diamondbacks) is on the list. It had blackwall radials on it about 11-12 years ago, however Hyman Ltd put WWW bias ply tires on it when they 'flipped' it...

If anyone has a nice 'spare' set of 15" x 5" Hudson rims, please email or PM me!

They don't need to be the same color, just so long as they are straight, no cracks, no breaks or damage, and no rust issues. (They will be blasted and either powder coated or painted anyway...)

RL Chilton

Rick-
I think that the smaller rims will make that truck sit a little better and the radials will certainly make it ride better. I love the Hudson trucks, but man, are they stiff-riding vehicles! If you've got a guy locally (or yourself), powder-coating is the way to go, as you don't normally have to blast them yourself. My guy I use blasts everything, so it's just a matter of droppin'-'em-of-and-pickin'-'em-up kind of deal, which is real convenient. I have some customers that I've done that for, as well.

I've got extras, but I don't think I want to get rid of any of them, it's always good to have an extra set or two around. I kind of wish I had a tire rack with a Hudson sign on top of it to store them in. Future project, I suppose.

rambos_ride

so 1/2" width difference - what was the point of that?

I wonder if Alex has a technical bulleteins that explain why?

Thinking of no-power steering and bias-ply tires of old..1/2" probably wouldn't make a hole lot of difference.

With a radial tire and no power steering you might feel a bit more resistance in a turn perhaps...maybe it was bump-steer issues with the body modifications for a convertible...so they ran a wider rim?

Oldfarmer1947gmailcom

7:60 X 15 versus 7:10 X 15 and 1/2" width on rims was Hudson's way of compensating for the extra weight of the convertible.

Ken U-Tx

Wider rim on convertible was due to the higher weight. Bump steer is a suspension & steering geometry issue. The issue with a convertible would be lesser torsional rigidity of the body/ chassis, which was usually overcome by reinforcing the frame or unibody, which was done on the Stepdown to the tune of some 200+ pounds of additional weight over a sedan or coupe.

hudsontech

Thanx Ken. I don't have any bulletins or other info about the subject - what you say does make sense.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

SuperDave

... And it still wasn't enough reinforcement. My 49 has never had any rust or collision repairs and watching the gap at the door jamb while raising it on a four point lift is enlightening! The car bends enough to change the gap by 1/8" at the top of the doors. Yes torsional rigidity suffers too. Just driving through a driveway "dip"at an angle can actually be felt in the seat of the pants!

Ken U-Tx

Right, the relatively thin gauge steel box longerons can stretch. I think in order for them to be stiff enough to prevent the aforementioned door gap changes, they would have to be at least doubled in thickness, like to about 1/8 to 3/16" thick, and another 100+ pounds of weight. Makes sense that you feel the torsional "twisting" in the seat of your pants, as all the twisting occurs between the front door pillars and the rear quarters. Can you hear anything too? I have heard that sometimes the spot welds break and make a squeaking sound when the two sheets of metal move over each other when flexing.

syddthekidd

Since we are talking about wheels and tires....Found these guys while looking around the other day. http://www.rallyamerica.com/Original_Centered_Wheels.html
They will cut out your wheel centers and mount them in a modern wheel. Doesn't look all that pricey either. Interesting to me anyway.

john venezia

I am new to this sight.I am in the process of finishing a 47 p.u I have wire wheels on the trock that look like 30s ford.I dont believe they were stock issue.Any help would be appreciated.Thans John

lostmind

SuperDave-I owned three Hudson convertibles.A sure way to get you to appreciate the
sedans.A world of difference in the ride , handling, and noise level

raidmagicverizonnet

Syddthekidd, that's pretty cool. that is a pretty good price too if you wanted to run your stock caps. You can get a wider wheel.

Anyone know the widest wheel that can go on the back of a stepdown and still come off the car? I hate how far inboard the wheels set when looking at it from the rear of the car.

Tallent R

In reality its how far OUT the front ones sit . This was one of the reasons its such a stable car
Roger

TwinH

I have used Rally America before and got great service. My 49 came to me with Hudson centers
redone with 15x6 hoops. No problem with the 6" rim and 235/75R15 in the front and no problem rubbing in the back though getting the wheel/tire in and out of the wheelwell is about
as tight as it gets and I normally deflate the tire to ease this.

Tallent R

The limiting factor for clearance back there is the shock absorbers useusaly. You can unbolt the botom of rear shock and the rear end will drop down farther. This allows more clearance to get a tire over the brake drum and past the body side rail. This will present a problem if you need to change a tire out on the road however ,not as easy as in the shop,
Roger

nick s

rambos_ride
so 1/2" width difference - what was the point of that?

I wonder if Alex has a technical bulleteins that explain why?

Thinking of no-power steering and bias-ply tires of old..1/2" probably wouldn't make a hole lot of difference.

dan, having driven the next heaviest bodied car, a Hollywood, for many years with the narrow tires and upgrading to the 7.60s, I can attest that the 1/2" makes a whole world of difference in ride amd handling. for the few month's of 48 convertible production, like the other body styles, 7.60 and 5 1/2" was an option on the convertibles. By the time the 49's were built the factory realized the need to make them standard. Its not that the 48's were automatically given the option as my 48 was shipped with the 5" wheels.

nick s

john venezia
I am new to this sight.I am in the process of finishing a 47 p.u I have wire wheels on the trock that look like 30s ford.I dont believe they were stock issue.Any help would be appreciated.Thans John

John, Hudson offered wire wheels for some years in the 30's and again in 54 but not 47. correct for your 47 would be a 16" typical steel wheel with small canter caps.

RL Chilton

Nick-

That's what I thought. I know it's only a 1/2", and I tend to be too OCD with a lot of things, I just figured that slightly more tire on the road would only be a good thing.

Unfortunately, I only have the two 5-1/2" wheels. Do you happen to have a couple you would part with?

Browniepetersen

I am wondering why no one has brought up the issue of split rims and going with the 48/50 Mopar rims?

RL Chilton

Brownie-

Those will fit, but I believe the clips for the hubcaps would have to be riveted onto the Chrysler rims.

Ken U-Tx

Yes on the clips. Or you can buy a set of new Chrysler Kelsey Hayes lookalike spoked rims and put Hudson center caps on them.

RL Chilton

Ken-
Are those Kelsey Hayes lip laced like the originals?

Ken U-Tx

Sorry, to correct myself, the rims used by Hudson and Chrysler were actually produced by Motor Wheel Co. The new ones as far as I can tell are the short spoked style, not the longer lip laced style.

46HudsonPU

Can Rally America make 15" X 5.5" (or 6") out of my 16" Hudson rims?

Just curious at this point - last option (dead last), if I can't obtain some decent 15" X 5" Hudson rims...

Ken U-Tx

Yes, they can.

Browniepetersen

I put 49 new yorker rims on my 52 Hudson. I just powder coated them, installed SBR tires and drove off. That was about ten years ago....

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