VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Metal rims on 1928 chevy truck

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice. I'm working on a 1928 chevy truck. It originally had wooden wheels on it. I upgraded the motor and trans and expect it to be able to keep up with traffic now. After some discussion in the forum, it was suggested for safety I change the wooden wheels for metal ones. It has 20" tires on it. I bought two disks from Gary Walace. I cleared them up and painted them. However, when I tried to install them the disk won't fit into the rim. I didn't have a problem with the rears. I added a few pic's to help with the explanation.

KevinT, when you say expect it to keep up with traffic are you talking about 55mph traffic? I didn't think the stock gearing in the rearends would allow that. The other thing would be you still need to stop. I would make sure your brakes are in good condition including all the linkages and rods with no play in clevises and pins. Also might want to look into some High strength lining from McMaster Carr which different ones on the forum have mentioned using.
As to your wheels, when you say you didn't have a problem with the rears are we to assume you have the disc rims on the rear already?
I am not sure when I say this because I am "new" to the split rims also and am having some problems with getting my rims to fit on a set of respoked wheels I bought, but are your rims out of round any? I am noticing that my rims are about an 1/8in or so out of round. I can't recall if the wheels I bought are slightly out of round also. I know I have read posts about how to go about bringing rims back into round. Some searching of the topic may yield some results.

On a different note, are you by chance switching your cab over to steel structure in lieu of wood? I would be interested in reinforcing brackets if you were.
David

Hi Kevin T,
. . I need to know a few more details such as what modifications have you made to your 28 LP so far? First thing I notice is you have a 6 cylinder under the hood. (28 engines have the starter on the Left and your starter is on the right). Have you also made transmission modifications? The 1928 LP had a pumpkin ratio of 5.43 and the 29 LQ 4.87. If you have an auxiliary overdrive transmission, the flat windshield would lack the aerodynamics to allow hiway speed even with the 6 cylinder engine. A 1929 engine has 46 HP at 2600 RPM. If you had 6.00 X 20 tires and a 4.87 pumpkin ratio, and no wind resistance, you could go a top speed of 55 MPH.
. . The steel wheels you have appear to be from a passenger car (or half ton chassis) as they have four lugs holding the rim to the green steel wheel. All the 1927, 28 and 29 ton & half trucks had six lugs holding the rim to the wheel. .
. . I have heard that the wood spoke wheels have more lateral stability. If you turn a fast corner, the thin steel wheels will bend. The Wood wheels will not.
. . If you want better brakes, here’s a picture of a 1954 axle bolted to my 27 LM. 1928 wood wheels will bolt on to the 6 lug brake drums. 1927 LM 6 bolt wood wheels are a different size. .
Good luck, Lou

Thanks, guys, for the reply.

I did change out the engine (216) and trans (T5). The front and rear axles have been changed over to more modern axles with hydraulic brakes. It originally had four wooden wheels. In the rear I changed the wooden wheels with steel disk and a five to six lug adapter. Those steel disks fit without issue on the rear rims. The front I purchased a disk brake conversion kit with five lug rotors. It's the front steel disk that doesn't seem to fit.

The disc wheel pictured is for a car or a 1/2 ton , Your wood spoke wheel shown is a 1.5 ton and that tire rim does not fit a 1/2 disc. as you found out.
you need to get the correct rim ( car or 1/2 ton ) to fit the disc.

Thanks Chevy b.

Hi Kevin, . .
. . First, do you have a 1928 LP or 1929 LQ truck? What kind of front and rear axles do you have now? What is the model number of the T-5 you have? (Green sticker on top of case or metal tab on bolt that holds tail to case. Both are frequently missing. The first 4 numbers are 1352- .) Look at web page < http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Borg-Warner-T5-ID-Tags.htm> to locate your ratios.
. . The LP & LQ had 6 bolts on 5.5” diameter holding the front wheels to the brake drums. The rear wheels had 8 bolts holding the rear wheels to the brake drums in the same pattern used on ¾ & One Ton trucks made after 1946. This 8 bolt pattern was first used on the 1921 model G thru the 1929 model LQ. The 1931 MB thru the 2002 3500HD used 10 bolts rear and only 5 of those on the front. All 1926 - 30 trucks wore 20" tires and had 6 lugs holding the rim to the wheel.
. . What size are the Green metal wheels you got from Gary Wallace? 1927 passenger wore 29 X 4.40 tires. 1928 wore 30 X 4.50 tires (AKA: 4.50 X 21” rim), 1929 wore 4.50 X 20” rim, 1930 wore 4.75 X 19” rim. All the trucks wore 20" tires and had 6 lugs holding the rim to the wheel. . .
. . If you want to use metal wheels with 32 X 6 (6.00 X 20) tires, find the wheels pictured on the 1929 LQ. If you want 4 wheel hydraulic brakes, use any Chevy half ton axle from 1936 – 54 on front. If you want a higher rear end ratio, use a ¾ ton axle from the 1980s in the rear that is semi floating and not full floating. They have ratios from 2.87 to 5.14. You will have to calculate engine HP and aerodynamics to get the ratio for best speed and mileage. You will have to use a torque arm or multilink rear suspension to use a T-5 with Hotchkiss propeller shaft to avoid spring wrap. . .
. . Good luck, Lou

First picture is a 1921 model G ad. Second is 1929 LQ ad, Third is 1931 MB.