where to buy left hand thread lugs?

Hi all,

looking to mount some wheels on my old Studebaker - they used the same
lugs as Chrysler did. (1/2-20 RH and LH.) I am using for now at least
a mix and match set of wheels, two Ford and two MoPar. Apparently the
Ford wheels used a lug nut with a 13/16" hex and I am hesitant to use
the smaller 3/4" hex Stude/MoPar lugs on them in case that might cause
a problem. In my friend's garage I found *five* chrome lug nuts,
1/2-20LH. That solved my immediate problem, but I would like to run
the same hex size on all wheels so I only have to carry one lug wrench.
I'm trying to find five more of these nuts and am coming up dry! Year
One has them for $25 for five, Summit Racing sells Gorilla lug nuts for
under $5 for four, but when I tried to order them they want to charge
me *more* in shipping and handling than they are worth! Jeg's doesn't
carry them apparently. Anyone know where I can get these for less than
an arm and a leg, or is there a parts store chain that carries Gorilla
products?

thanks!

nate

 

Do it the easy way. Press out the studs and install RH studs so you
can use standard chrome wheel nuts. Even locking nuts if you want.

 

The hex is irrelevant; the cone dimension (where the lug nut contacts the
wheel) is what matters.

Marked up a zillion percent. These are a perfectly standard Dorman item.
Find your local Dorman (orange drawer) stockist. 1/2"-20LH standard lug
nut, 13/16" hex, 60° seat, Zinc finish: Dorman 611-031 (matching RHthread
611-016).

If no local stockist, get them from www.rockauto.com .

DS

 

Yeah, I know, I guess I was skipping a few steps mentally there... but
the point is that it is the 13/16" hex ones that I want.

Cool! how did you find that though? the keyword search on Dorman's
site seems to be fairly useless, although it does show me good numbers
for the 3/4" hex version when I search for my vehicle. However I did
manage to take your part number and find that it was used on old Jeeps
and IH which is good to know, it may prove useful someday. I don't
remember my dad's old Scout having LH lugs though... maybe it had
already had its first brake job before he got it?

That said, I would prefer to use something like the chromed ones that
were used for, say, Rallye wheels as I can get the RH versions all day
every day at my local Crap Boys for the same price as the factory ones
and I would prefer to use those, especially with the cop car hubcaps
which can let water in. (I don't have any hubcaps at all for the
moment, which is another good reason to use chromed ones) Having grown
up in PA, I'm just a leetle bit paranoid about things corroding. Yes,
I use stainless fasteners and anti-seize on nearly everything I touch.
I thank myself every time I have to disassemble something for the
second time I only wish the guy that had owned my car before me had
been similarly inclined - cheap, non-heat treated bolts, hot engine,
and lots of time do not make for easy disassembly. Thank goodness I
managed to save a decent set of drill bits from the scrap pile at my
last job :/

nate

 

I'm almost there, but I don't have the tools to swage the drums and
hubs back together.

nate

 

I'd take that task to a machine shop.

 

Dorman catalogue on the shelf behind me.

Dorman's entire site is useless.

 

Its getting harder to find them... hence I'm gradually converting all my
Mopars to right-hand lugs and nuts :-/ Except the '49, since it uses
*bolts* not studs and nuts. Don't want to change axle hubs....

However, if you want to use left-handers, Year One has them:

http://yearone.com/serverfiles/headline.asp?hid=118AA5072

 

Nate said:
And I brilliantly responded:

Sometimes it doesn't pay to post until the brain wakes up....

 

Why? I generally do it right on the car.Hammer, punch, wrench and a
few washers, a good gob of grease and a little bit of time is all it
generally takes. Change the studs one at a time.

 

I HAVE seen "conversion studs" that thread into the hub LH, with red
locktite, and take RH nuts.I've also seen the hubs drilled and studs
pulled in. (In fact I've done it). It is the simplest way to get away
from LH Lug Bolts on early Mopars and Hudsons. (I think they were left
hand - I put studs in the Terraplane instead of bolts anyway)

 

My first reaction is "eww!, I don't want to depend on loctite quite that
much!" My 49 is so rarely driven that I have no problem leaving it set
up for bolts. If I were actually going to put any miles on it, the FIRST
thing I'd do would be to lose the tapered rear axles anyway. You
shouldn't have to break out a BFPuller just to change rear brake shoes...

 

yeah, those are problematic on Studes too. Apparently when you pump a
lot of HP through them they tend to split just inside the hub...

nate

 

I put a '63 rear end in my '53. Almost a bolt in, except for the drive
shaft.

 

It SHOULD be a bolt-in... they're both the same basic rear-end design
which went on to become the "8-3/4" of the muscle-car era. IIRC, given
the right housing width you can just swap axles, not the whole housing.

 

The 53 had the old sliding trunnion "U" joints and the tapered shaft
axles, as well as "center plane" brakes. Car also had driveshaft
parking brake. Replacement had normal integral flange axles, Bendix
brakes, cross and roller type "U" joints, and provisions for parking
brake on the rear. I think it took me about 3 hours to switch it over,
on jack stands - then I had a driveshaft made by a local shop. Shaft
was not true- shook something awfull - so I had to true it up myself -
weekend before I left for the East Coast with it - so I could not take
the shaft back to the "butchers" that made it for me.

Wish I still had that car - 1953 Coronet Sierra wagon - Hemi with
Overdrive. Was the only one registered in Canada, and it apparently
returned to California last year with a 6 figure price tag.

 

Just as a follow up, I never did find an inexpensive source for them,
but I just won 20 of them on eBay for under $20 with shipping. So I
will probably never need to look for any of them ever again

nate

 

The driveshaft P-brake and ball/trunion U-joints were used through '62.

Replacement had normal integral flange axles, Bendix

Sounds about right- not a HUGE project, but not quite bolt-in either. I
didn't mean to type that it should literally be a bolt-in, I left out
the word "almost," as I was meaning to agree with you entirely.

 

I was thinking the "Leftorium" but NAPA will work.

Bush