Vintage wheels for Comanche

[NC Tom]

Just looking through wheel threads and wondered if anyone has gone back, in stead of forward, in time with wheels? Are there any vintage wheels that even fit?

[Eagle]

What's your idea of "vintage"? To me, this looks like you're asking about the ten-spoke "turbine" wheels from the mid-80s XJs and MJs.

[DirtyComanche]

I'm assuming he means smoothies or the old dish steel wheels from the 50s-70s.

 

Yes, there's some out there that fit, but unfortunately most are in 5x4.75 or 5x5 patterns as the 5x4.5 pattern wasn't super common prior to the 80s.

[schardein]

Most people consider the wheels on our Comanches "vintage".  Like Dirty commented, the 5x4.5 wheel pattern isn't very common prior to our trucks.  All years of XJs, YJs, and TJs interchange as far as wheel lug pattern. 

[Jeep Driver]

Very common, Ford and Dodge, Toyota too. 

 

I actually considered these-

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/usw-455-5810400?seid=srese1&cm_mmc=pla-google-_-shopping-_-srese1-_-u-s-wheel&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn-bWBRDGARIsAPS1svsE0InD09nNtxSl6LRlgWg6PvIDm4SqOy2ogxIk3gR4E-wKEFCjqsMaAudgEALw_wcB

 

But, I'm no longer interested in 15" wheels. 

[Eagle]

6 hours ago, Jeep Driver said:

Very common, Ford and Dodge, Toyota too. 

 

 

Don't forget AMC ...

[cruiser54]

7 hours ago, Eagle said:

 

Don't forget AMC ...

NEVER forget AMC!!! 

 

Ever see the photos I took at an AMC owner's convention in Sedona, Arizona?

https://imgur.com/a/spPds

 

 

[Wes brown]

Studebakers used this wheel bolt pattern also.  

[fiatslug87]

On April 21, 2018 at 5:11 AM, cruiser54 said:

NEVER forget AMC!!! 

 

Ever see the photos I took at an AMC owner's convention in Sedona, Arizona?

https://imgur.com/a/spPds

Hey Cruiser, what's that in the 14th picture? Looks similar to a Sox & Martin paint job.

[cruiser54]

14 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

Hey Cruiser, what's that in the 14th picture? Looks similar to a Sox & Martin paint job.

It's an SC Rambler. factory built. There were 2 or 3 paint schemes, all red, white and blue.

 

High output 390 in a rambler American body, 4 speed and posi rearend. I remember seeing them new in the showrooms as a teenager. 

[Pete M]

holy crap I need this wagon in my life!  

 

[Eagle]

9 hours ago, cruiser54 said:

It's an SC Rambler. factory built. There were 2 or 3 paint schemes, all red, white and blue.

 

High output 390 in a rambler American body, 4 speed and posi rearend. I remember seeing them new in the showrooms as a teenager. 

 

Looks like they had several of them there. 13.6 second quarter mile, right off the showroom floor. (Yes, back in 1969 13.6 was fast.)

 

My brother had one. What the photos don't show, because the hoods are raised, is the "mailbox" hood scoop. They had a large, squarish hood scoop mounted above the air cleaner can. IIRC, it had an inlet flapper that was held closed by engine vacuum. Opening the throttle lowered vacuum, which allowed the flapper to open and get more air through the carburetor. Thwey drove surprisingly well. I borrowed my brother's once, showed up at an autocross on cheap Kelly-Springfield street tires, and beat several Corvettes.

[budwisr]

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

 

Looks like they had several of them there. 13.6 second quarter mile, right off the showroom floor. (Yes, back in 1969 13.6 was fast.)

 

My brother had one. What the photos don't show, because the hoods are raised, is the "mailbox" hood scoop. They had a large, squarish hood scoop mounted above the air cleaner can. IIRC, it had an inlet flapper that was held closed by engine vacuum. Opening the throttle lowered vacuum, which allowed the flapper to open and get more air through the carburetor. Thwey drove surprisingly well. I borrowed my brother's once, showed up at an autocross on cheap Kelly-Springfield street tires, and beat several Corvettes.

They were considered to be one of the fastest muscle cars from the era. There were a total of 1500 built and two different paint schemes. There always are quite a few that show up at the Kenosha Homecoming shows.

[NC Tom]

On April 21, 2018 at 8:11 AM, cruiser54 said:

NEVER forget AMC!!! 

 

Ever see the photos I took at an AMC owner's convention in Sedona, Arizona?

https://imgur.com/a/spPds

 

 

Amazing pics! Thanks. Can I assume that even if the bolt pattern is the same, the hole for the hub would not be?

[Eagle]

11 hours ago, NC Tom said:

Amazing pics! Thanks. Can I assume that even if the bolt pattern is the same, the hole for the hub would not be?

 

Yes, that's correct. The Jeep wheels are "hub-centric." That means the center hole is sized to fit precisely around that raised center section of the hub, to help carry the weight of the vehicle. There are other vehicles using the 5x4.5 pattern wheels that aren't hub-centric. Ford Ranger/Explorer wheels, for example, use the same bolt pattern but don't have the same center hole diameter. Many aftermarket wheels have a larger center hole and aren't hub-centric.

 

Back to your original post: What's your idea of "vintage"? Are you looking for something that, at one time, was OEM on a Comanche, or are you looking for something that looks like it came from the 1930s or 1950s?

[NC Tom]

On 4/26/2018 at 11:22 AM, Eagle said:

 

Back to your original post: What's your idea of "vintage"? Are you looking for something that, at one time, was OEM on a Comanche, or are you looking for something that looks like it came from the 1930s or 1950s?

 

Yes, sort of. I've just been thinking that it would be fun to build a restomod that calls back to the earlier Jeep trucks like the J10 and Commando. The body style of the Comanche is a good mix of modern and classic. I don't think it would be too difficult, or expensive, to build a Comanche that looks older than it actually is while still being a Comanche. Maybe I should start my own build thread.