QuestionWill any other make of car wheels (rims) fit a 1955 plymouth?
AnswerYour car came with either 10 inch or 11 inch brake drums, and used different wheels for each. If you have 10 inch drums, your wheel is part number 1554987. If you have 11 inch drums, your wheel is part number 1615366. The wheels are the same for 1955 and 1956, but fit no other years of Plymouth.
I can find no other car that used the exact same wheel.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that there were many cars that used wheels that will fit, as the bolt pattern, wheel width and diameter is the same for many cars. Most small Ford products, Chrysler products, Studebakers and even small Packards used the same size and bolt pattern wheels. However, before you use one of those, compare the wheel width, diameter, bolt pattern, center hole and locating lug hole very carefully. Generally, you'll find any small Chrysler product wheel will be very close to right - even up into the 70s.
Another important measurement which is often overlooked, causing all kinds of trouble, is the wheel offset. This is the distance from the mounting surface of the wheel (to the brake drum) to the centerline of the tire when mounted (which is of course half way across the rim width). This can be zero, or + or - as much an inch or even more, and if it doesn't match exactly, you'll have an evil handling car and perhaps even mechanical interference and might break something on a bump - so take your old wheel to the junk yard and go through the stack, measuring carefully.
If you select a Ford wheel, you'll have to drill an extra hole to clear the locating peg on your brake drums, but this is usually not a big deal if you have the equipment to do it.
If you want to get exactly the right wheel, you'll have to deal with one of the MOPAR used parts specialists - which you can find through the Walter P. Chrysler club and probably also through the Plymouth club. You can find them both on the web with a google search.
Dick
