Help! Can you identify these Ford Hubs?

[Laurence7]

This is a bit of a long shot, but I'm hoping someone out there might be able to help me.

I've got a bike-engined race car that uses the front wheel hub (or 'drive flange') from a Ford model, on all four corners of the car. I'm trying to track down which model the hubs come from, as I want to refurbish a spare set of hub carriers and fit them with new hubs.

The hubs have a four-lobe profiled shape (ie, not circular), 22 splines and the usual 4-stud pattern on a 4.25" PCD, but here's the important point; the stud holes are plain (for serrated studs) not threaded.

I believe the hubs may be from an early Fiesta or FWD Escort, but the ones I've looked at so far have had threaded stud holes.

The dimensions of the hub I need are as follows (see also pictures below):-

Bearing journal diameter: 35mm / 1.378"
Bearing journal length: 32mm / 1.260"
Seal journal diameter: 45mm / 1.772"
Seal journal length: 6.7mm / 0.264"
Bearing to flange face offset (approx): 21mm / 0.827"
Stud hole diameter: 12.7mm / 0.500" (plain, not threaded)
Stud pitch circle diameter (PCD): 108mm / 4.252"
Stud flange thickness: (thick part) 9.525mm / 0.375"
Stud flange thickness: (thin part) 7.1mm / 0.280"
Spline major diameter: (approx) 25.5mm / 1.004"
Spline minor diameter; (approx) 23.7mm / 0.933"
Number of splines: 22

Does anyone have any ideas which Ford model these hubs were fitted to?

(...and for extra points, the Ford part number !)

Thanks

Laurence

[Mr2Mike]

Looks very much like Mk1 Fiesta XR2 drive flanges.

EDIT: Someone on eBay is selling some new/old stock parts, though not a give away price.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Monday 10th May 15:01

[Laurence7]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

Yes, the mk.1 XR2 items on eBay do superficially look similar, but the seller (who I contacted a couple of days ago) tells me that the stud holes are threaded, unlike the ones I'm after, which have plain stud holes.

Mmmm... the search continues!

[Mr2Mike]

Ford used studs/nuts from the Mk3 Fiesta on according to a friend who worked for Vospers a while back. Thing is I don't think any of the later cars used that style of drive flange.

Is it possible these have been converted to studs? This was a common modification on competition Fiestas as wheel bolts are such a huge PITA when you are struggling with holding a wheel in the right place and trying to thread a bolt in!

[Laurence7]

Mr2Mike said:

Is it possible these have been converted to studs? This was a common modification on competition Fiestas as wheel bolts are such a huge PITA when you are struggling with holding a wheel in the right place and trying to thread a bolt in!

That's a good point Mike - they may well have been converted to use with studs.

Even so, the hubs that I'm after (ie, the ones in the pictures and as dimensioned) have a different flange/bearing offset and I think are perhaps more lightly built than the Mk.1 XR2 hubs.

So, the search continues to continue...

[Hooli]

What convinces you they are off a FWD car? are you using the complete Ford hub assembly with CV & so forth?

Reason I ask is they kinda remind me of Sierra rear hubs from a drum car. I recall they used nuts so would have been fitted with studs.

[Mr2Mike]

I have drum-braked Sierra rear hubs for the de-dion axle on my locost, but they don't look anything like that, just a plain round design like the ones shown here. They certainly aren't from an English/Atlas/Koln live axle either.

[Laurence7]

Hooli said:

What convinces you they are off a FWD car?

Good point Hooli, they may not be from a FWD car, though I'm led to believe that the CV joints used on the car are those used on Fiesta XR2 1.6 1986-89 and Ford Orion 1.4L.

BTW, the car in question is an example of Radical's first model; the Radical Clubsport. When they were first brought out, they were supplied with the hubs as shown in the photos, but as time went on, and perhaps as the supply of old Ford hubs dried up, Radical turned to bespoke hubs, which can still be bought from them, but they're... expensive!

I'm just an ordinary bloke trying to have a bit of fun on the track - not a city banker playboy with Steve McQueen prententions and a bonus to burn. Hence my quest!

Ouch! I think I touched a raw nerve end

[Laurence7]

Any more guesses?