TR2/3/3A Rear Hub Stud Removal

[Tropical TR]

The rear hub studs for what I believe to be the original wire wheel configuration had the heads and several protruding threads peened over on the back of the hub. I'm converting to solid wheels and need to install the new studs. The old stud removal ended up not being clean. Some of the hub holes on both sides are now damaged to the point that new holes need to be drilled, or maybe I should look for other hubs.

Question is, if I enlarged the stud holes on the current hubs, is there a structural reason why one cannot use press on studs like on the front? Maybe too much torque back there when under power?

Regards, Walter

 

[TR3driver]

Should work fine, most modern cars use press-in studs and I've never had one come loose. Once the nuts are installed, the head takes most of the force anyway. And the front brakes probably exert as much or more torque on the stud circle (under hard braking).

However, when I tried the same conversion many years ago, the hub just sheared off the knurls on the stud, instead of deforming to match them. The result was very unsatisfactory, as the studs tended to fall out when changing a tire. You might need to file some starter grooves or something in the hub to get the process started.

 

[Tropical TR]

Thanks, Randall. But why would they originally have used press on studs only in the front?

 

[CJD]

I would imagine the front hubs were supplied from a vendor other than Lockheed, as the rear end was...just guessing, though. Either way works well from a functional standpoint.

 

[TR3driver]

Thanks, Randall. But why would they originally have used press on studs only in the front?

I don't really know. Originally the front used screw-in studs as well, but they changed when the hub was redesigned for disc brakes. Evidently, whoever worked on the rear axle design (which also changed at the same time) didn't feel the studs were worth updating. Or maybe they wanted to go on using the same brake drum.

Hmm, come to think of it, that may be a problem with switching stud styles. The brake drum fits snugly over the flange on the screw-in studs, so I'm guessing they take at least part of the force of braking. Without that, the two 1/4" screws may not be strong enough. If they break or wear loose, you may get an annoying clunk when stopping after backing up and again the first time you stop going forward. Over the long term, it might eventually tear up the studs, drums and/or wheels.

Might be a good idea to fabricate a spacer to go in there and fill the gap; or perhaps you could find some drums with smaller stud holes (like the Datsun alloy drums).