48-50 F3 Widowmaker Replacement

[jboren]

Those of us with the 48-50 F3's know it is a bit of a pain to try to retain the original Timken 4.86 rear with the 14" drums. Normally modern 16" wheels will not clear the 14" drums. I found 8X6.5 1 1/2" offset adapters on evilbay for about $65 for the pair. After installing them I think a 1" would have also worked. Unless you are just looking for it you really don't notice it and it lets me safely drive the truck. I also replaced the original standard 1/2-20 lug nuts with "bulge" 1/2-20 bulge lugs all the way around. They fit the modern wheels designed for 9/16-18 lugs. The adapters come with 9/16-18 studs and lugs. These do a much better job of centering the wheels since the wheels are lug centric vs the 1/2-20 original lugs which were really too small for the modern wheels.