how to tell a disc from a drum wheel? (1 Viewer)

How do you tell the difference between hub cap style drum brake fj40/55 wheel and a disc brake wheel? I seem to remember something about the rivits on the backside of the wheel being different.

Hopefully gonna go shoping for some this or next weekend and to be honest I can't say I trust the guy that has the Cruiser parts farm, a few years ago he sold my buddy some chevy hub caps claiming they were land cruiser

Disc brake stock wheels are of a welded construction, and the drum brake stock wheels are riveted..Your hunch was right on.

Happy hunting!

Good luck!

-Steve

backspacings different

What is the difference in backspacing?

I dont know about the backspacing, but the welded wheels started earlier than 9/'75-the advent of the disc brakes.

I have a wheel with the date code stamped in it that say 10/74 and it is the welded style... So keep a look out for the wheels that have the centers welded to the outers, not riveted. Although the riveted wheels would make perfect donors for a set to be widened...cause the rivets are going away with the old outer shell, and the rivets are what makes the wheel unuseable in a OEM disc application, as they rub on the caliper.

Oh, and all wheels will have the mfg. date stamped in them. Look on the outside of the wheel opposite the valve stem and the last few digits read either 10 74 or 74 10(cant remember which) for an OCT 1974 wheel. My Feb 1976 FJ40 had it's orgininal wheels an all were stamped 76 2 or 76 1(spare)

[quote author=cruiserbrett link=board=1;threadid=13031;start=msg121445#msg121445 date=1079366938]

Although the riveted wheels would make perfect donors for a set to be widened...cause the rivets are going away with the old outer shell, and the rivets are what makes the wheel unuseable in a OEM disc application, as they rub on the caliper.[/quote]

I thought this, too, as I have collected 10 OEM disc wheels to have widened for a couple of projects. I discussed this with David Reljac (runs 8" OEM wheels) who has researched this topic as well as Henry Cubillan. David says that the non-disc (riveted) wheels will NOT work for widening. I, too , believed that losing the rivets meant that the drum wheels would work, but Reljac said "no". We never finished the conversation, so I never found out why they don't work...but I tand to take Dave at his word.

Have you had drum wheels widened for a disc Cruiser? I'm not saying your wrong, I've just heard different. If your right, that would be great as most folks can't give away the drum wheels.