[37ford4dr]

I will be upgrading my brakes on the 37 ford 4 door to disc brakes and i'm trying to figure which bolt pattern on the rotors is the best? any thoughts? i will not be using stock wheels on this and plan to run some new style wheels although i'm undecided which ones? is there more wheel choices with a particular pattern?

[smallblocker2]

I'd say there's the most choices with the 5 on 4-3/4in bolt pattern. It's GM's car pattern since the 60's, and small trucks and suv's and vettes. And GM has released some good looking wheels, in all diff. sizes and offsets. Plus there's a much better used wheel selection, due to the quantity of GM owners.

My 2 cent

I collect GM wheels. I can roll a diff. set of rims every day of the month. Though I like stockers the best.

[pepi]

I am not sure anyone could say one bolt pattern is better then the next for the street. I would however think either 4.50 Ford or 4.75 GM mainly because most wheels are designed using these sizes. I would look at the rear end as a guide because when the drums are removed the wheel studs are affixed to the axle and unless you are planning on changing the rear or having custom axles built you are pretty well already committed to that bolt pattern. Check out speedway motors. Look at the brake kits good information there. You can order a catalog just for street rod parts online. One other thought to pass along, changing to disk brakes could require a possible master cylinder change also

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by 37ford4dr

I will be upgrading my brakes on the 37 ford 4 door to disc brakes

I read in another post by you that you wish to keep the stock suspension and wishbone. You need to match the front rotors wheel pattern to match the rear wheel pattern.

40 Ford hydraulic brakes are a easy upgrade to the 37 rear........and the 40 has the 5 on 5.5 wheel pattern. As far as the strength .......the 5 on the 5.5 pattern is the strongest.....

The 5 on 4.5 pattern ( Ford ) .....is the smallest bolt circle but has 1/2 20 thread wheel studs. The 5 on 4.75 pattern is stronger .........but only has 7/16 ths wheel studs. SO these two are about equal...... The 5 on 5.5 pattern is the widest....and therefore the strongest and it uses the 1/2 20 wheel studs.

The down side of the 5 on 5.5 wheel pattern is the limited choice of custom wheels. Ford cars discontinued the 5 on 5.5 pattern in 1948 and the wheel pattern was mainly used on Ford pickups.....hence the lack of choices. The other two patterns fit almost 75% of all American made vehicles made prior to the early 90's

[37ford4dr]

thanks Deuce...stick with me buddy this will be a fun project once i get all the details ironed out and i certainly appreciate that others have done this already and i look to them (you) for good info....this is my first no holds barred ride....i have done lots of restorations over the last 32 yrs and recently modified a vette but this project will be trully a custom ride. thanks bob

[Triaged]

I would go 5 on 4.5 because it is a ford. If you use good studs you shouldn't have to worry about breaking them.

Personally I like 5 on 5" but it narrows down your choice of wheels.

It might also be fun to do something "different" like use the VW Wide-5 pattern (you would be surprised how popular that pattern still is).

[hotroddr]

I had the same question last year, ended up a coin toss. Since then I have learned two things that may apply. First was regarding the TCI chassis I ordered; if you request chevy spread you get smaller discs and metric studs, if you select Ford pattern you get larger brakes and studs that match the rear. Second was that I chose nostalgic looking steel wheels, they arrived with both patterns anyway. Bill

[37ford4dr]

Originally Posted by hotroddr

I had the same question last year, ended up a coin toss. Since then I have learned two things that may apply. First was regarding the TCI chassis I ordered; if you request chevy spread you get smaller discs and metric studs, if you select Ford pattern you get larger brakes and studs that match the rear. Second was that I chose nostalgic looking steel wheels, they arrived with both patterns anyway. Bill

interesting thanks

[bracketeer]

I use the GM bolt pattern because of wheel selection. And the Ford stud because it is thicker and stronger.

[37ford4dr]

Originally Posted by bracketeer

I use the GM bolt pattern because of wheel selection. And the Ford stud because it is thicker and stronger.

how do yuo do that ? just drill out the chevy rotors and press in ford studs?

[xntrik]

I would let my selection of rear ends dictate which pattern. If you go Ford rear ends, why bother redrilling rear axles?.... just go Ford in front also.

[hotroddr]

I just stumbled on another difference between the Ford rotor assembly and the chevy assembly; apparently the Chevy gives 1/2" more fender clearance per side. Bill

[37ford4dr]

Originally Posted by hotroddr

I just stumbled on another difference between the Ford rotor assembly and the chevy assembly; apparently the Chevy gives 1/2" more fender clearance per side. Bill

what models are you specifically refering to? i can tell you that if you were to put the 77 vette caliper/rotor on you would have a nightmare getting the right back spacing on wheels.

[hotroddr]

I ordered a TCI frame last year and had a choice between Granada rotors/calipers and 82-87 Camaro rotors. TCI was zero help- they won't volunteer any info and I wasn't smart enough to know what to ask. I happened to be speaking with a guy yesterday that really knows frames, (he just left Rod Factory after 12 years) and mentioned how I think I made a mistake by not getting the Granada setup. He said that with my 36 and the 2" drop spindles, I would have had clearance problems. Looks like I stumbled onto the right choice for my application. Bill

[farna]

I WOULD NOT go with the 5x4-3/4" old Chevy pattern! You can't get a lot of wheels for it. Plenty big 17"-21", 8"-12" wide, but nothing smaller. That pattern has only been used on full size trucks for years, and you're limited if you want a 14" or 15" wheel, especially if you want a 7" wide wheel. I couldn't find anything less than 8" wide when looking for wheels for my Jag rear axle (guess what pattern it uses!!). I needed a deep offset as well Couldn't even find stock Jag offset, except for specific, limited choice Jag only wheels...$$$!! I have the Jag axle in my Rambler wagon.

I ended up buying Weld DragLite wheels. You can get them in nearly any offset and width, and it's a dual pattern wheel with 5x4.75" and 5x4.5" in it. So I left the Rambler hubs (late model AMC discs, actually, use the 5x4.5" pattern) up front and didn't get the special hubs for the rear (can't just redrill the Jag hubs, machining required to clear the seal). I run 205/70R15s all around, will switch to 215s in the rear when I need new tires. Of course with the same all around rotating is possible.

Another good deal with the 5x4.5" is you can easily find a space saver "donut" spare from a Jeep Cherokee or Crown Vic. More of htose around than full size Chevy cars with a donut -- assuming the last of the rear drive Impalas and Buick Roadmasters used 4x5.75". I'm thinking about buying a 4" DragLite wheel and putting a VW bug 15" tire on it for a compact spare. Would be as light as a steel wheeled donut and probably safer.