New Member-72 C20 Cheyenne

[Hayden’s72]

New here, posting my Grandsons 72 C20, dry central California truck. It has 16.5” wheels and tires that need to be replace soon, not for wear or age, looks. The front are 9.50-16.5 and rear are 32-12.50 x16.5. Both are 8 lug and that’s where the problem lies; he’s really liking the ralley wheel type but that’s not available in an 8 lug pattern. Any suggestions? I like the wheels that are on it but the rear tires being 32” give it a rake that we want to level out and the rear are 12” wide so one can’t even put 9.50’s on them, so looks like need to go with 16” or maybe 17’s?

[Hayden’s72]

A few more pictures:

[jocko]

Welcome! Nice truck-smart grandson! Invest in a set of white steelies and factory caps and he'll never be dateless on a Friday

[35boulder]

Welcome to you both. Looks like a nice truck. Post up more pics when you can and keep us posted on the wheel selection.

[Hayden’s72]

So if we were to go with the white steelies and caps I’m assuming 16” x ? width.
What size tires would match up? It has 4:10 rear end so like to stay with a large diameter wheel-tire combination.
Anyone i.d. the transmission from the SPID code of M49; TH 350 or 400?
Has factory air, converted on purchase to 134, ice cold.
Nice part is the kid bought it with his own money, wanted something The was pre-75 as it’s smog exempt. Really tight driver, no rattles or squeaks. 32K miles, don’t know if original but very clean, not a spot of rust.

[FirstOwner69]

Welcome aboard! Great looking truck.

Here's a link to a thread with a lot of 8 lug wheel ideas.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=330740

[67_C-30]

Awesome truck!

For the record, I'd totally go with white steelies. However, your Grandson may not feel that way. If he really wants the Rally wheel look, the closest thing I know of on a 3/4 ton truck is '88-'98 steelie C2500 wheels. They are 16" and they look a lot like truck Rallys.

[Hayden’s72]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Welcome aboard! Great looking truck.

Here's a link to a thread with a lot of 8 lug wheel ideas.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=330740

Thank you!

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by Hayden’s72

So if we were to go with the white steelies and caps I’m assuming 16” x ? width.
What size tires would match up? It has 4:10 rear end so like to stay with a large diameter wheel-tire combination.
Anyone i.d. the transmission from the SPID code of M49; TH 350 or 400?
Has factory air, converted on purchase to 134, ice cold.
Nice part is the kid bought it with his own money, wanted something The was pre-75 as it’s smog exempt. Really tight driver, no rattles or squeaks. 32K miles, don’t know if original but very clean, not a spot of rust.

M49 is TH400

[Hayden’s72]

Originally Posted by 67_C-30

M49 is TH400

Thanks, I thought C20’s had the 400 and C10 the 350. The transmission pan is chrome aftermarket marked TH 350 but probably universal fit?

[jocko]

for steelies, you can run either 16.5s or 16s, either will work. Stock width is 6-7 depending on which dia you choose, but wider 16.5s were available from the factory and tended to find themselves onto the back of the camper trucks a lot..
If you go with 16.5 wheels, tire choice is more limited, but still plenty available - Firestone TransForce HT 16.5x9.50 are perfect for our trucks.

yep, M49 could be either. TH350 vs TH400 not a 1/2 vs 3/4 ton thing, more a sbc vs bbc thing - both of which were available in either size truck. I'm going to guess yours came with a TH350 originally.

Hey, that's a 576 truck - extremely cool original paint combo, by the way. Looks like this:

[Hayden’s72]

Originally Posted by jocko

for steelies, you can run either 16.5s or 16s, either will work. Stock width is 6-7 depending on which dia you choose, but wider 16.5s were available from the factory and tended to find themselves onto the back of the camper trucks a lot..
If you go with 16.5 wheels, tire choice is more limited, but still plenty available - Firestone TransForce HT 16.5x9.50 are perfect for our trucks.

yep, M49 could be either. TH350 vs TH400 not a 1/2 vs 3/4 ton thing, more a sbc vs bbc thing - both of which were available in either size truck. I'm going to guess yours came with a TH350 originally.

Hey, that's a 576 truck - extremely cool original paint combo, by the way. Looks like this:

Thanks for that picture, never seen that color on a truck but had a 56 Belair 2-door Post in the same with black and yellow interior.
Will verify the transmission, thanks all for information. Kinda moot point, plan is an overdrive in the future; 700R4.
P.O. gave up nice original steering wheel, egg crate grill, extra dash bezel.

[sleepertruck72]

Welcome ! nice rig but no squeaks , rattles or rust ? Wheres the fun in that ?

[HO455]

Sharp looking truck. Looking good in the green. The original colors are cool too! Thanks to Jocko for posting the 576 truck. I've never seen that combo. My 67 C10 Burban is an M49 with a T400.
Welcome aboard!

[stsalvage]

In my 1972 in all 4 trucks i have one came with the th400 but the rest are th350.

There are 2 styles of 3/4 ton trucks there is a light duty with will have the 373 gear in a dana rear end and those are cool cus the drums slide right off.

The heavy duty ones you have to pull them apart and have to pull the axles out to get the brake drums off Spicer rear ends they can be a headache.

If your looking for a tire that will get good gas mileage and a comfortable ride Look up on tire rack reviews is the Michelin RIB tires 235/85/16 I've had 3 sets over 15 years with over 200,000 miles on them they suck in the snow or icy roads But that truck looks like a dry time of driving truck.I like the factory Ford rims that my hub caps pop on and off have a look the tires are the same on my truck they are so smooth plus when you have any weight on them they ride even smoother Make sure you front end in aligned and new Moog bushings are in stalled


Now if your kid is not going to do any hauling any heavy weight you can do thias and get a set of your ralleys to work

By converting your 3/4 ton over to 1/2 ton by using a set of CCP spindles that will take a 3/4 in Ball joint that use the 1/2 ton brakes.

Then you may have to find a rear end that is 1/2 ton. The tricky part is finding one with a 12 bolt coil rear end.If you have leaf spring then there are tons of them out there.

Before you start looking at 700R4 or the 4l60e or the 4l80E do some pricing.

I have one that will cost the same amount of money but this thing will turn your th350 or th400 in to a 6 speed its call a gear vendor there 2500.00 to 3000.00 an it bolts on to the end of your rear tail shaft is and you can set your shift pattern any way you like Plus they use them in top fuel Drag car's so they can handle 1000 HP

[brown7373]

Sorry for poor definition. I used the steel wheels and added center caps and trim rings. I did this in 1991 and had to modify the backs of the caps to get them to let the wheel sit flush.

[Hayden’s72]

Originally Posted by brown7373

Sorry for poor definition. I used the steel wheels and added center caps and trim rings. I did this in 1991 and had to modify the backs of the caps to get them to let the wheel sit flush.

Nice; sweet ‘Burb.

[demian5]

Beautiful truck. My son has a 86 c20. Here are the pains of the 8 lug. This truck came with 16" stock steel with caps. Looked great, tires wore out. My kid got a great deal on some later model aluminum wheels with caps, still needed tires, oh and how about a set of lug nuts with the right seat for the wheels? Oh yeah, want to run the caps with the screw on nuts? You get the idea, cheap wheels required new lugs and some gently used (not new, im not loaded) tires. It looked great too with the polished rims and caps.

16.5 are out of my discussion because of cost and availability. If they were not, I would suggest 16.5 x 9.75 steel wheels (camper specials I think) with stock caps. That is such a good, classic look.

Anything beyond that is up to your budget. A good set of 16" or 17" rims and tires are determined by your budget.

If you buy take offs from a later model truck, plan on getting a set of bolt-on spacers because the offset puts the wheels in pretty far, and in some cases, causing contact with the body and suspension in full lock. And the wheels can be so thick, that the factory studs give you only a few threads to screw on...

98 and earlier ford wheels fit (i think as they went to some dumb 107 lug pattern or something after that) as well as almost all dodge.

Good luck.

[brown7373]

I bought that Suburban (an 89) in 1991. It had alloy wheels, and they were a real pain. The lug nuts had a shoulder that pushed into the hole in the wheel before it could be tightened. A 216 inch wheel and those big tires was HEAVY and you had to play with the wheels to get the nuts lined up to go into the wheels. And the truck shook like crazy at speed. So I got rid of the wheels wide tires and got the steel wheels and correct size heavy duty tires. I was pulling and enclosed trailer with a 1964 T-bird convertible in it, which meant I was pulling over 10,000 pounds.