question about 6 to 5 lug conversion

[cheez22]

I have a 70 fleetside with 6-lug wheels and was looking to convert it to 5-lug. What is the cheapest way to do this? How do you do it?

Thanks in advance.

[69heavychevy]

cheapest and easiest??....i'll say wheel adapters. theres plenty of threads on the matter, trying doing a search and im sure you'll find lots of helpful info.

[Leviticus]

Originally Posted by cheez22

I have a 70 fleetside with 6-lug wheels and was looking to convert it to 5-lug. What is the cheapest way to do this? How do you do it?

Thanks in advance.

Why do you want to go to 5 lug? I actually want to go to six lug cause the wheels options are endless in the 6 on 5.5 lug pattern. I see almost new sets of 20" and 22" wheels on craigslist for anywhere from $3-500 a set every week.

I wish I could run those wheels, instead I have to grind the crap out of my rotors to run boss's or coys lol.

[ERASER5]

Define cheap. Keeping the 6 lug is cheap. Getting the parts given to you is cheap, but not likely. I would like to say "Do this and this and it is the cheapest", but it is not that simple. You are going to have to figure out a budget.

Do you want front disc brakes? I have never heard of a front drum 5 lug conversion, so, converting to front disc brakes is the first hurdle. There are many kits available. You need to look at your end goal. Do you want to lower your truck also? Drop spindles and/or drop springs are available. Some of the lower priced kits do not include all of the necessary parts, just the main parts. Also look for sales. I went for the 73-87 parts swap, but I replaced all of the wear items to get a complete brand new suspension =$$$.

Remember that a disc brake system requires a disc brake master cylinder and proportioning valve. Do you have power brakes or manual brakes? Take care of this at the same time.

The rear is different. You have a 70. You might have a "wide" rear or you might have a "narrow" rear. You can buy axles for either, but you have to measure your rear from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. Or you can track down a 71-72 rear and just swap. Is it a leaf spring or coil spring? It could be either. Check the parts section regularly.

The biggest cost saver is to READ READ READ. Doing it twice just costs too much. There is lots of information in FAQ Truck section also. And, as this is a very common question, there are LOTS of way to answer it. See! I was a good boy and did not tell you to use the search function! (That is kind of a joke around here.)

Hope this helps.

[cheez22]

Thanks for all the replies. They are all very helpful. I think I need to do a lil more homework. I want better wheels now (it seems like the choices in 5-lug are endless and kinda hard to find nice used 6-lug IMO). Later down the road, I would like to lower it with the drop spindles and disc brakes, etc.

[Tx Firefighter]

So you want 5 lug and no drop right now, the easiest and cheapest will be to do a 73-87 front suspension swap and switch your rearend to a 71-72 unit.

If you try, you should be able to do it for 300 dollars if you look closely for deals on used parts.

[Leviticus]

Originally Posted by cheez22

Thanks for all the replies. They are all very helpful. I think I need to do a lil more homework. I want better wheels now (it seems like the choices in 5-lug are endless and kinda hard to find nice used 6-lug IMO). Later down the road, I would like to lower it with the drop spindles and disc brakes, etc.

Well in Cali, almost half or more of all Escalade's, Tahoe's, Yukon's, 1500 silverado's and sierra's have custom wheels on them, then those people realize they can't afford the wheels or want different ones and sell em on craigslist for cheap. They all share the 6 on 5.5" lug pattern.

I am looking for 5 on 5" wheels right now in 18" or 20" and am having a really hard time finding a set that will fit without grinding or modding anything and aren't $2000 just for the wheels lol.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Leviticus

Well in Cali, almost half or more of all Escalade's, Tahoe's, Yukon's, 1500 silverado's and sierra's have custom wheels on them, then those people realize they can't afford the wheels or want different ones and sell em on craigslist for cheap. They all share the 6 on 5.5" lug pattern.

I am looking for 5 on 5" wheels right now in 18" or 20" and am having a really hard time finding a set that will fit without grinding or modding anything and aren't $2000 just for the wheels lol.

Sure, 6 lug is very common. Even my Toyota 4x4 has that pattern. But, just because there are multitudes of used 6 lug wheels for sale don't mean a thing to an old truck guy. Late model wheels mostly use different center bore sizes due to hub pilot arrangement and most have way too much backspacing and don't look ideal under an early truck if you do get them mounted.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Define cheap. Keeping the 6 lug is cheap. Getting the parts given to you is cheap, but not likely. I would like to say "Do this and this and it is the cheapest", but it is not that simple. You are going to have to figure out a budget.

Do you want front disc brakes? I have never heard of a front drum 5 lug conversion, so, converting to front disc brakes is the first hurdle. There are many kits available. You need to look at your end goal. Do you want to lower your truck also? Drop spindles and/or drop springs are available. Some of the lower priced kits do not include all of the necessary parts, just the main parts. Also look for sales. I went for the 73-87 parts swap, but I replaced all of the wear items to get a complete brand new suspension =$$$.

Remember that a disc brake system requires a disc brake master cylinder and proportioning valve. Do you have power brakes or manual brakes? Take care of this at the same time.

The rear is different. You have a 70. You might have a "wide" rear or you might have a "narrow" rear. You can buy axles for either, but you have to measure your rear from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. Or you can track down a 71-72 rear and just swap. Is it a leaf spring or coil spring? It could be either. Check the parts section regularly.

The biggest cost saver is to READ READ READ. Doing it twice just costs too much. There is lots of information in FAQ Truck section also. And, as this is a very common question, there are LOTS of way to answer it. See! I was a good boy and did not tell you to use the search function! (That is kind of a joke around here.)

Hope this helps.

^^^
Absolutely the best reply I have seen on this subject.
You covered everything.
I wish more people would read this.

I even saved it on my desktop for future threads.
Thank you.

[Leviticus]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Sure, 6 lug is very common. Even my Toyota 4x4 has that pattern. But, just because there are multitudes of used 6 lug wheels for sale don't mean a thing to an old truck guy. Late model wheels mostly use different center bore sizes due to hub pilot arrangement and most have way too much backspacing and don't look ideal under an early truck if you do get them mounted.

Yeah, this is true, I am just having a hard time finding a good selection of 18"-20" wheels that don't require mods to fit and don't break the bank. It must be my frustration speaking lol.