mock up wheels

**Frank S** · Nov 13, 2023, 11:34 PM

I'm doing a Resto mod extreme on a 1996 Ford F super duty by swapping out the cab for a cab from a B61 Mack. Only I am knocking the Mack out of it along the way. The ford is a Unicorn among vehicles in that it has 10-hole wheels on a 7 1/4" bolt circle. and only came with 16" rims. from 1984 through 1997, there is only a couple other vehicle that ever used that bolt pattern. The General Motors P30 Motorhome chassis from 1977 to 1982 but they used the 19.5" rims Also unicorns today.

I happened to have several 19.5 rims, but they were all 8 hole 6 1/2" BC pattern.

I can order new Aluminum rims to fit the truck, but they are 14 to 36 weeks lead time to get them. Steel rims are junk yard items only.

I needed at least 2 rims to use for mocking up how I want the truck to sit. So here is what I have done.
I dismounted the tire, chucked a rim in the 4 jaws, on my 22" lathe, bored the pilot center to match the 16" rims then welded up the bolt holes used the smaller rim to locate the bolt pattern transfer punched the holes and drilled them with a mag drill.

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Took the Pulley from an old water pump and modified it to serve as a center locator.

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truck with small wheel

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truck with larger wheel

mock up wheels-img_20231113_134719fmw.jpg

I may go ahead and make all 6 rims to have a full rolling chassis, but I don't intend for them to be used for highway use. Right now they are just tools to aid in building the truck

**DIYer** · Nov 14, 2023, 05:18 AM

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Mock Up Wheels to our Autobody category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Mock Up Wheels by Frank S

tags: wheel

**KustomsbyKent** · Nov 14, 2023, 07:38 PM

Can we see more pics of the truck cab swap project? it sounds interesting!

**Frank S** · Nov 14, 2023, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by KustomsbyKent

Can we see more pics of the truck cab swap project? it sounds interesting!

Right now it is a lump of coal and knowing the way I lose interest in long term projects when I do get it running it may look more steam punk than how I Invision it. but that in itself is fine, I guess. Soon I will be starting a running thread in the Wheels forum. Maybe tomorrow.

**odd one** · Nov 15, 2023, 05:02 AM

I want to know what kind of magical clock that you have that you can find time for all these projects? I have to assume very understanding wife, kids out of the house, much of this you are getting paid for.......but you still seem to get quite a bit accomplished.

**Frank S** · Nov 15, 2023, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by odd one

I want to know what kind of magical clock that you have that you can find time for all these projects? I have to assume very understanding wife, kids out of the house, much of this you are getting paid for.......but you still seem to get quite a bit accomplished.

At 69 years old, it always feels to me like I'm never getting anything done. I stopped wearing a wristwatch over 45 years ago, so I have no concept of time. Most mornings I wake up before the sun comes up Fix breakfast for us get my morning farm chores done then walk to my shop and try to get started. When the sun goes down on these short November days it is time to wash up go to the house fix supper for us then sit by my computer and work on my engineering drawings for an ongoing project while usually splitting my attention on writing in one of my 100s of books which I'm sure will never be published as long as I am alive, or diving down a rabbit hole researching something for hours. My wife will usually wake up to get her some milk and cookies sometime during the night and tell me it's time to go to bed, otherwise the sun might come up before I realize how late it is. I might have only completed a couple of drawings or made the changes I needed to do in several others and written fewer than 2000 words when she tells me to come to bed. I've been this way all of my adult life and for many years before that.
My wife is 78 and no longer feels comfortable operating a lathe the mill a drill press or other machines and I won't let her use an angle grinder. or the table saw so he likes to help out by sorting hardware and picking up around the shop or disassembling and upcoming project. 15 to 20 years ago we used to get a lot of things done together.

**Philip Davies** · Nov 17, 2023, 12:25 AM

What topics are you writing on, Frank?

**Frank S** · Nov 19, 2023, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Philip Davies

What topics are you writing on, Frank?

Philip, I have an eclectic collection of genres I have written. When my daughters were very young, I wrote many short stories. ballads if you will. about the old west. for them. or children's comic fiction. at the same time, I wrote science fiction and fantasy during that period those stories leaned towards the Late teen young adult theme.
I have a collection of western novels started. fictional history. political satire, mature sci-fi, general fiction. Historical documentation of the trucking industry. which entails countless hours of research. Stories about mining. country survival, militaristic conquests. Like I said eclectic/ I have in the past co-authored a series of short stories using a pseudonym maybe some were published and maybe not. I have little interest in any of my writings ever being published I do them more for relaxation and therapy to help me recover some of my vocabulary from near asphyxiation caused by a CO2 concentration which happened in 2010 while in Spain.