'53 GMC 1 ton dually axle swap
Does anyone know what dually axle I can use to upgrade to modern wheels (16" or 17") and still be close to the original tread width? The original tread width for a dual wheeled '53 is 72.25". I have tried a 10 bolt rear end out of an 80's dually, but it is just to wide for these AD trucks. The tread width was like 85" outside dual on centers. I currently have a 14 bolt out of a '71 SRW 3/4 ton and it bolts right up to my springs. I took the single wheels off, replaced the wheel bolt studs with longer ones, and tried some of my 16" dually rims and the width was not bad. A little wider than original, but not bad. My only hang up is the 16" dually rim center will not quite go over the lip(landing) on the hub that it has to ride on. Plus, the lip/landing is narrow for one wheel to rest on as opposed to the wider lip/landing for the dual wheels. My '53 has a 36" wide frame. I think this is the starting point as far as finding a rear end that's close to accomplishing what I need. Does anyone know the frame width on an earlier GM C30 dually truck like '67 to '70? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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