Going from 6 to 5 lug.

[Frijolito1988]

Hey guys, I have 15'' rally wheels , 6 lugs. I hope to be changing to 5 lug soon and my question was. If i get a 15'' rally wheels with 5 lugs from say Craigslist. I should be able to switch the tires , center cap and beauty rings from the 6 lugs I have right now ?

This is my current set up, and for the time being I think the cheapest way is to just get 5 lug rally and switch everything over. Will i be able to do that ?

[WIDESIDE72]

I see no reason you could t use your 15" tires. I also believe your trim rings will swap but your caps have six holes not five.
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[SS Tim]

The center caps are either 5 or 6-lug. If you are going from 6 to 5 and buying the same wheels whats the point???

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by SS Tim

The center caps are either 5 or 6-lug. If you are going from 6 to 5 and buying the same wheels whats the point???

Cheap disc brakes (?) thats why i did it to a 69 swb chassis i have. (I actually just swapped the crossmember and rear axle from a 72 lwb chassis i already had.

If having to buy everything it worth looking into aftermarket 6 lug disc brake set ups.
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[dhughins]

How do you change the rear to 5 lug cheaply? I changed front about a year ago and wished I had went ahead and done the rear while I had the money. Now I have 5 lug front and 6 lug rear and not the wheels I want. My choices for rear are new axles ~$300, or find a 71-72 rear end which I've been looking for locally with no luck. I would stay with 6 if I could go back.
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[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by dhughins

How do you change the rear to 5 lug cheaply? I changed front about a year ago and wished I had went ahead and done the rear while I had the money. Now I have 5 lug front and 6 lug rear and not the wheels I want. My choices for rear are new axles ~$300, or find a 71-72 rear end which I've been looking for locally with no luck. I would stay with 6 if I could go back.
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Have you checked your local craigslist or the parts board for local sellers? Even if the rear axle isnt specifically listed for sale, most of the time if someone is parting a 71-72 1/2 ton they might be selling the rear axle. I happened into mine by buying a truck for the parts i wanted and parting the rest. I have a 5 lug 3.07 open rear axle for sale dor $150 but iys in central texas. It on the parts board.
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[Indyuke]

@ dhughins. What year is your truck? If it's a late 1970, all you'll need is just the 5 lug axles, not the entire rear end. GM went to the wider rear end with 6 lug in 1970 before switching to 5 lug in '71.

[CC69Rat]

67-late 69 / 70ish the 6 lug axles are 30.5" long if you measure from the end of the splines to the mounting surface of the wheel / axle contact point.

70 (late, late .. ) and 71-72 used 31 5/16 at this same measurement. (just an easy ay to spot what year the axles were / are if you see them at a swap meet or somewhere like that ..) Most of the 'shorties' wil be 6 lug.. but my 70 GMC had the wider rear end housing and was still 6 lug. So, they are definitely some exceptions out there. I thin GM just used whatever they had laying around for the 70 model year.

Looks like your truck is a 67. You have the coveted shorter rear end housing (im betting anyway) I'd convert it over instead of swapping the whole housing to 71-72 (just to keep the more narrow track width so you can run wider wheel / tire combo)