split rims

[serge]

Have the chance to buy 4 original 16.5 rims for my 70 C20. They are split rims.
Know nothing about these other then I hear they are dangerous to change.
Would anybody like to share some pros and cons?
Thanks,
Serge

[yuccales]

It may be getting harder to find tire shops that want to work on them. I had them on my 20, but traded them for a set of cheapo white spokes. There's just something about that outside ring MAYBE coming loose that spooked me.

[cdowns]

the few tire shops i've been in recently all have signs posted that they will not touch split rims

[Stocker]

As stated above, most shops won't touch them. You could probably find a heavy truck tire shop that would be willing to. They are only dangerous if you don't really know how to handle them.... but when something goes wrong it can be fatal. And you need to use a liner and inner tube (remember those?) with a split rim.

16" split rims were OEM on my K20. I gave them away about 30 years ago and haven't missed them at all. The only reason I can think of to use split rims is if you are doing a 100% original restoration (show truck). Even then, I'd use a different wheel.


Oh btw -- welcome to the boards!

[truckster]

Advantage: You can change them yourself.

Disadvantage: You can kill yourself doing it.

Split rims are one of those relics from the past that really don't have any value to modern drivers. Kind of like a hand crank coming out below the grill.

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by truckster;

Split rims are one of those relics from the past that really don't have any value to modern drivers. Kind of like a hand crank coming out below the grill.

Never thought about it that way........................well said!

[jocko]

unless you're doing a 101 point resto on a truck that had split rims originally, I'd just walk on by. And I might walk on by even if you were doing a 101 point restoration - unless it will just sit in a truck-lover's museum. Also, I think splits were 16" and the all steel wheels were 16.5"ers. Never have seen 16" split rims (doesn't mean they don't exist). There are tires available for 16.5" non-split rims if you're concerned about tire selection.

[liftlawssuck]

I must be in the minority here. I think split rims are cool. Kinda nostalgic look that says "I'm not afraid". But at the same time I would swap them out for newer rims. You have more options for tires and with the new tire machines it's a piece of cake to change. It's like anything else. Once you get to know it and respect it they are not dangerous. I changed my fair share at the garage I worked at. The key thing is rust. You can't have ANY around the groove in the rim where the ring locks into. But I agree with the above find a newer set.

[N2TRUX]

Pass! They are not anything you want, and its hard to find tires to fit.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Pass! They are not anything you want, and its hard to find tires to fit.

100%

[da-burb]

I would feel guilty to sell anybody split rims. Please drive the 2000 miles and take mine for free!

[motorcritter]

I haven't seen them worked on in a shop since the 70's. When I work for Kelly-Springfield (in the 70's) they showed us, more like made us watch, a movie reenactment of a loose split rim catastrophe. The head came right of of the human-sized dummy. Needless to say, I opted not to work on them. I was still young and wild, and a head full of last night would've probably eliminated any tomorrows for me. The last shop I worked at, a Firestone outfit, wouldn't even roll a split-rim equipped vehicle into the shop, let alone write a service order. We couldn't even check or set the air pressure.

A fine bit of yesteryear, best left to memories. A set of regular steelies or some nice alloys are pretty much the norm.
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[vectorit]

I grew up with my Suburban while it ran it's OE lock ring wheels, and every time my Dad had to get it serviced at the local Firestone shop they would groan.
My Dad always complained of having to pay a premium, and I always complained of having to wait in the customer lounge for hours

I would love to be able to run the 1968 OE wheels, because I have always endeavored to restore my burb to 1968 vintage.

Instead, I have powder coated a set of 16" steel wheels black just like the 1968 OE lock ring wheels where from the factory. Someday I will even go as far as to do a little pin striping on the wheels, so that they "look" like the old lock ring wheels.

They are truly dangerous, and you should look for a set of 16" steel wheels that best match the dimensions of the OE lock ring wheels.

Here is a accident report of a man killed while pressurizing a lock ring wheel on a excavator (yes lock ring wheels are used on heavy equipment as well).

http://www.health.ny.gov/environment...ce/07ny137.htm

[71sierragrande]

Originally Posted by truckster

Advantage: You can change them yourself.

Disadvantage: You can kill yourself doing it.

Split rims are one of those relics from the past that really don't have any value to modern drivers. Kind of like a hand crank coming out below the grill.

Cmon, I want the hand crank back so I dont have to carry around that pesky starter and battery!
Back to the rims...When I was in the army all the wheels were giant split rims and we had some dumb 18 year olds working on them that are lucky to be alive.(Myself included)

[Stocker]

Can't pass up the chance to tell this lil story (again).

I bought my K20 in 1977 with split rims and a new set of 7.50-16(D) highway tires. What the..... on a 4x4? I drove it straight to a tire shop to trade for Armstrong Rhino mud & snows. One wheel just would not balance. The guy finally gave up and removed the tire, only to find the brand-new liner still folded up inside the tire.

He put it back together, finished the job, thanked me for my business and asked me to please not come back as long as I had those wheels.

[bobs409]

Originally Posted by Stocker

He put it back together, finished the job, thanked me for my business and asked me to please not come back as long as I had those wheels.

[serge]

To all,
I'm new to site and appreciate the feed back.
Will walk away from split rims. They would look great but not worth the hassles.

[71sierragrande]

Cool. Theres one thing u can always count on from these guys: the facts. Theyve steered me back right many times. I have some 8 lug 16 inch steelies off of a '68 if you want em

[KrazyRay]

Originally Posted by da-burb

I would feel guilty to sell anybody split rims. Please drive the 2000 miles and take mine for free!

I can do better. I will pay you $5 per wheel to take them away. I have a pile of 10 of them waiting for tire amnesty to come around again.

[biggestjohn]

Having worked 9 years in the tire business, I have been in the shop when those pieces of crap let go. There is no warning, and if those POCs were not in a safety cage, my co-worker would have been dead!!! (never lost one myself, but always worried about it)

I also read a story in Modern Tire Dealer of a set of tire\wheels that had been sitting for hours outside of a shop, as soon as the customer touched them, the combo exploded, killing him.

One of the shop managers had a customer who wanted to use his air hose to fill one he had changed at home. He had the lock ring held in place with Vice Grips!! He wouldn't let him use it. The customer showed him!!! He took it to the gas station across the street, and died for his efforts!!! The wheel was in the back of his station wagon, and he WAS leaning over it!!

Then there are the story's of people getting killed just topping off the air pressure.

I also got to witness my boss take a sledge hammer to a wheel that we deemed unsafe. He had told the customer that the wheel was unsafe, and the customer got po'ed, said he was going to take it elsewhere!!! NO PROBLEM!!!!

Message for anyone considering using them......Don't touch them!!!

[flyingtim01]

I'm going to echo all the sentiments here...my uncle had a '51 3800 wrecker that I bought from him when I was younger, and I remember filling up the tires with a regular air chuck from his compressor, until he saw what I was doing. He came running out of his garage and screamed at me, gave me the 'suicide rim' lecture and handed me an inflator with a safety chuck on the end of it. He told me to stand way back, off to the side of the tire, if I insisted on airing up the tires. A few months later, he found me a set of 8 lug 16.5" rims off some van that replaced the split rims.

Needless to say, when I found the '71 K20, it had the original split rims as well, and although I loved the look of the bias ply snows it had all the way around, there was no way I was fooling around with those split rims. They went to transfer station, tires and all, and got swapped out for a set of Ford steelies & Hankooks from an ambulance, also courtesy of my uncle.

[bollybib]

I worked at a Mobil station back in the days of full serve in the late 60s and early 70s. We had this wiry little fkr named Steve that could muscle split rims like nobody's business. I remember him hammering and prying and stomping those suckers with nothing but hand tools and his body, no machine aids. He did a lot of them, too.

After I tried doing a few myself they were such a b!tch that I declined to work on them anymore. I figured Steve was the man on this one.

I don't recall any accidents (but this was long ago so I may have forgotten). Certainly none that resulted in death or dismemberment.

Still, split rims are evil and should be avoided IMO.

[RHGuyettejr]

My dad used to drive with a guy who delivered oil in the 70s, said they where driving down the road and one of the rims let go and it went through the rear passenger door of a sedan in the passing lane, fortunately nobody was in that seat. I would just run some steel wheels if it where me, I really don't even think they add much to the restoration, and you would feel bad if somebody else got hurt because of your efforts. Last I checked they where illegal in the us for use on commercial vehicles anyway. I have 16.5 inch steel wheels on my truck and there are plenty of tire options for them. Just my 2 cents.

[slikside]

There's only 1 thing that hasn't been asked/told about these things, so I''ll do it. Just in case anyone else is wondering.

What is a split rim?? Don't think I've ever seen one, that I knew about anyway.

Thanks.

[Stocker]

Split rim AKA lock ring wheel (if there's a difference, I have forgotten).