Fitting modern wheels to older car

Hi Everyone-this is my first post,

I recently purchased a 1949 Plymouth and Id like to put some modern wheels on it. But when I pulled a wheel to have a look at it, I found that it had a "locating pin" (not sure that is the correct word for it). Can that be ground or cut off since I dont know of any modern wheels that would have a hole for it? I also observed some rivets on the hub that would prevent a modern wheel from seating on the hub properly. Any idea what I can do with those?

I know that this can be done because I have seen '49 and '50 Plymouths with modern wheels. But just in case I am stuck with the original wheels, does anyone know if tubeless tires can be fitted to them? I dont know when tubeless tires were invented but I think it was some time after my car was made.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

George Leonard

Good questions. I think the locating pin was only there to help you when you installed the wheel and served no purpose once it was torqued down. The rivits should not be a problem either unless they really stick up far and contact the new wheels before the rest of the wheel. You could check this by putting a little dab of white grease on each head, putting the wheel on, torque it lightly, then see how much transfers, if any.

When you say modern wheels, do you mean as in mag wheels, or are you referring to steel wheels? As for the tubeless part, look at your rims inside to see how they are put together. If they have rivits they might leak around there, or maybe not, depending on how tightly they are put in.

Shoot us some pictures of the surface of the brake drum where the wheels touch, and also the backside of the wheels so we can have a better look.

Don

Oh, and welcome to posting!!

Hi Don and thanks for your reply,

Actually, Id be more than happy with some steel wheels of the Plymouth/Dodge rallye wheel variety. Ill have to get out there and take some pictures as you suggest. Wish I had thought of that before I put the wheel back on!

The locating pin should be easy to grind off. The rivets could be another matter entirely. If they do hit the wheel before seating onto the hub, could I just use a washer or series of washers to shim the wheel away from the hub or is that just asking for trouble?

George Leonard

No, I don't think you would want to do the washer routine. I've been looking on the internet trying to get some better answer for you, but no luck so far. I bet one of our Mopar guys will have some good info once they see this thread.

Usually wheels are not perfectly flat on the surface where it touches the drum, but there are voids where maybe the rivits would tuck into? We'll see what the others think, I know some of these guys know Mopars very well.


Don

Most Mopar steelies will fit a '49 if you grind the pin off to the same length as the rivets, the wheels are indented between the bolt holes and miss the rivets. Mags can be a problem with the Pilgrim's wheel bolts not matching the wheels.

As noted, you can hacksaw the pin off and install Ford steelies with no problems.
Did that to my 51 Plymouth.

The stock 50 Plymouth coupe I owned up to about 4 years ago ran the stock wheels and ran tubeless with no problems.
BF Goodrich radials fwiw.
Watch the size on the front tires because the lower A-arm pivot can rub on a larger tire when the steering is hard over on the stops to left or right.

Ford pattern (4 1/2" bolt circle diameter) Mag wheels can be installed with the rivets in place.

Set up a way to mark the rivet location onto the mounting surface of the mag wheel, bolt it on then remove and drill a shallow hole in the backside of the wheel so the wheel flange can go down flush on the brake drum flange.

Some guys like to grind the rivets off, but if you're careful in transferring the rivet location drilling the mag wheel works better imo.

Your new wheel should have about a 3" backspace measurement.
7" wide mags should fit the front ok and you can mount a 3" backspace 8" wide 15" diameter wheel on the back.

The Plymouths have quite a bit of rear fender well room and in fact an 8" slick fits in there just fine.

I ran an 8" slick on a 7" wide wheel back in the day on the 51 and doing some measuring on the 50 coupe it looks like a 10" wide slick on an 8"-10" wheel would fit ok if you chose your components carefully.

Thanks for the great reply. I guess that just about answers all the questions I have for now. Thanks again.

George Leonard

BTW George, welcome to CHR. This place is great for getting help to all kinds of situations. Let's see some pix of your 49 when you get a chance.