I have a 65 dart I wanted to use 15 inch wheels on, in stead of the small 13 in that were on it. I did some research and came up with these ideas that worked perfectly. If anyone is in the same boat and wants to try it, it will work... her is my solution.
I converted the front and rear end of my 65 dart to except 5x4.5 wheels. The front was the easy part. I just took the spindles from a 76 duster, they bolted right on, no problem. The next hurdle was to find a set of wheels that would work with my new bolt pattern. After much research I found that 87 to 96 jeep wrangler wheels will work just fine. The center bore is 2 13/16 in, which fit the 76 spindles perfectly. The next obstacle to over come was the rear end. I had to get 1" thick wheel spacers with a 5x4.5 bolt pattern, at first, all seemed perfect until I noticed that it was going to be lug centric not hub centric. I looked for replacement axles that were hub centric with 2 13/16 bore... no luck. So I had a local machine shop to make me 2 sleeves out of 4140 stock. The inside bore was 2.32, the outside was 2 13/16 "same as the wheels" and length was 1 3/4 in. I had the break drums bored out to 2 7/8 in to make sure the sleeve would fit against axle face snugly. I then bolted on the spacer, then the wheels. I slid the sleeves into the wheel bore until it contacted the axle face. They fit perfectly. I mig welded the inside of the axle flange to the sleeve. All of this worked perfectly. I feel much safer now that I know the rear wheels are holding the weight... not just the lugs. The sleeves cost me 50 bucks. For anyone wanting to convert to 15 in wheels for their abody darts, this is the way to go.
I converted the front and rear end of my 65 dart to except 5x4.5 wheels. The front was the easy part. I just took the spindles from a 76 duster, they bolted right on, no problem. The next hurdle was to find a set of wheels that would work with my new bolt pattern. After much research I found that 87 to 96 jeep wrangler wheels will work just fine. The center bore is 2 13/16 in, which fit the 76 spindles perfectly. The next obstacle to over come was the rear end. I had to get 1" thick wheel spacers with a 5x4.5 bolt pattern, at first, all seemed perfect until I noticed that it was going to be lug centric not hub centric. I looked for replacement axles that were hub centric with 2 13/16 bore... no luck. So I had a local machine shop to make me 2 sleeves out of 4140 stock. The inside bore was 2.32, the outside was 2 13/16 "same as the wheels" and length was 1 3/4 in. I had the break drums bored out to 2 7/8 in to make sure the sleeve would fit against axle face snugly. I then bolted on the spacer, then the wheels. I slid the sleeves into the wheel bore until it contacted the axle face. They fit perfectly. I mig welded the inside of the axle flange to the sleeve. All of this worked perfectly. I feel much safer now that I know the rear wheels are holding the weight... not just the lugs. The sleeves cost me 50 bucks. For anyone wanting to convert to 15 in wheels for their abody darts, this is the way to go.
