Posted by Clint Dixon [172.69.6.199] on Tuesday, September 08, 2026 at 18:52:21 :
In Reply to: 16" to 20" wheel conversion posted by Pat Hogan [104.22.14.66] on Sunday, September 06, 2026 at 15:16:39 :
There is a LOT of misinformation out there on the subjects of facial tissues and old truck rims (among a lot of other things).
Most people refer to any facial tissue as a "kleenex". That is as incorrect as someone referring to any old truck rim as a "split rim".
Yes, some facial tissues are actually Kleenex Facial Tissues and some old truck rims are split rims, affectionately known as widowmakers. Since you mentioned "split ring rims" you are already a lap ahead of the majority of the pack.
The problem with Ford wheels is that Ford, back in the day, made use of at least two different stud patterns on steel dish wheels. One would be the larger pattern you mentioned that you found (possibly a proprietary Ford pattern), and the second being the smaller 5 x 6-7/8" Budd pattern on the Budd produced wheels. These smaller patterned Budd wheels were apparently an extra cost option, generally replacing more common spoked wheels of the time period.
I owned the truck pictured here many years ago, well after it had been modified by my Grandpa's cousin. He outfitted it with 20-inch split ring Budd wheels with the 5 x 6-7/8" Budd stud pattern which, of course, matches the stock 16-inch Budd stud pattern found on many of our Dodge Power Wagons.
I never researched them far enough to determine if he simply moved the rims outward on the centers so they could no longer be dualed, or if he actually replaced the rims. In any case, the original rivets mounting the rims to the centers had been removed and replaced by weld beads. The truck is shown wearing 8.25 x 20-inch tires. The rims were of the split ring type.
They guy that I bought the truck from was a Ford collector and he confirmed that the wheels could have originally been from a Ford AA model truck, and that Ford continued to offer the 20-inch Budd wheel up through the 1940's with progressively wider rims as time passed.
While owning this truck I found that ground clearance was increased slightly and that the 7.50 x 20" tires that my Grandpa's cousin originally had on the truck would probably have provided better traction than the 8.25 x 20" tires that the owner I bought it from had added.
The difference in gearing calculated to fall right in the middle between the extremes of running 9.00 x 16" tires with the common 5.83:1 gears verses 9.00 x 16" tires with the hard to find 4.89:1 gears.
Junior
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