New rims for a 72 K20

[LaraWilde]

G'day folks,

I recently took a road trip in my '72 Cheyenne over 9000 km across the top end of Australia. A lot of kilometers and extreme temperatures (48-50 degrees celsius) meant that I blew 3 tyres. I only carry 2 spares so now I am stuck on the other side of the country.

My rims are 16.5's and so far I can only find 4 tyres in Australia and they will cost me just under $3k AUD.

So I figured that I don't like my rims that much and it will be cheaper in the long run for me to convert to 16" rims which will allow me access tyres a lot easier.

The question I have is has anyone put new rims on their 72?
What types of rims look good? (photos please)
My wheel studs seem short on some F250 rims I tried - will all rims have this problem?
Can I use any 8 stud rims or do I need to try them on first?
Can anyone recommend a good mail order joint for me to import them from?
Do 17" rims look better?
Any other tips?
I only want to do this once so I want to get it right.

Thanx for the help lads.