> My question to the list is: What is wrong with installing the steel wheels
> and using the old steel wheel lug nuts or alternately, using the
> wire wheel
> lug nuts on the shortened wheel studs? It seems to me that if the thread
> coverage is adequate for use with the wire wheel adaptors it ought to be
> adequate to use the steel wheels.
The original steel wheel lug nuts do not have threads all the way to the
nose as the wire wheel lug nuts do, and are made from a lower tensile steel.
The wire wheel lug nuts are smaller (less contact area with the wheel),
using them will make the wheel more apt to crack in an area that is already
somewhat weak. I've actually heard of them pulling all the way through the
wheel !
Bottom line is, I think, you may be able to "get away with it" if you don't
drive the car hard. But the racers were tearing these things up even with
the lousy tires available in the 1950's so modern tires and hard driving
will almost certainly lead to problems.
For under $100 worth of studs, is it really worth the risk ?
Randall
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