The C50

[jumpsoffrock]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Are there no 20" truck tires (and tubes) available these days ???

Local to me at the time, the cheapest I could find was $1400.

....oh right, and I would still have a set of wheels that could kill me or someone else.



Wasn't worth it. Rather just get rid of the truck. Instead I bought wheels for a little more money.

P.S. Often times it seems the products are available, but not the people to actually conduct the work on these widowmakers.

[1976gmc20]

I would still have a set of wheels that could kill me or someone else.

Lots of things could kill you.

Because a few people were careless those wheels got a bad reputation. They are not that hard to change if you are already doing things like swapping out engines. Just need to know what you are doing.

I guess I need to keep my eyes out for nice old medium duty going for dirt cheap in my area

[greywuuf]

People seem to be missing the point here. Not all two piece rims are widow makers. The particular split in the middle no way to inspect while assembled prone to rust while assembled Firestone. Wheel ARE. If serious rust occurs inside while your find sits in a field....the simple act of inflating the tire CAN KILL YOU. You just can not see if they are seated while they are assembled. The two piece with a ring.....not so much not as big an unknown...people USED to drive around with one piece solid steering columns and single circuit brakes too....if something better is available.....why risk it?

[jumpsoffrock]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Lots of things could kill you.

Because a few people were careless those wheels got a bad reputation. They are not that hard to change if you are already doing things like swapping out engines. Just need to know what you are doing.

I guess I need to keep my eyes out for nice old medium duty going for dirt cheap in my area

Yes, I would agree, but there isn't anyone around--who knows how--to show me how to work on them, and it sounds like a gamble. Experience trumps many things, maybe even RH 5º wheels, but when that experience--an I mean HANDS-ON, person-to-person educating--isn't anywhere to be found....what can I do?

Originally Posted by greywuuf

People seem to be missing the point here. Not all two piece rims are widow makers. The particular split in the middle no way to inspect while assembled prone to rust while assembled Firestone. Wheel ARE. If serious rust occurs inside while your find sits in a field....the simple act of inflating the tire CAN KILL YOU. You just can not see if they are seated while they are assembled. The two piece with a ring.....not so much not as big an unknown...people USED to drive around with one piece solid steering columns and single circuit brakes too....if something better is available.....why risk it?

(I'm, sorry for hi-jacking this thread)

I did plenty of research and it simply stated: Any Firestone RH 5º is what is considered the true widowmaker. Those are what were on my truck.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by jumpsoffrock

Yes, I would agree, but there isn't anyone around--who knows how--to show me how to work on them, and it sounds like a gamble. Experience trumps many things, maybe even RH 5º wheels, but when that experience--an I mean HANDS-ON, person-to-person educating--isn't anywhere to be found....what can I do?

Well I could show you how but have no interest in traveling to California

I had a 1965 GMC but another logger that had a bit newer (67-72) Chevy showed me how to do them without wearing myself out too much. There is a bit of sledgehammer work involved.

I dunno ... maybe I should try to do a write up about the process ???

But I have no way to do pictures because I don't own a medium duty any more.

You just can not see if they are seated while they are assembled.

True you can't "see" but if the two parts are loose then they are okay.

The two piece wheels have three conditions: not at all together (this should be obvious!), partially on/off, and fully together. Only in the partial on/off condition will the two parts be tight (you have to beat them apart or together). If you can't rattle or rotate the halves then they aren't fully together.


Some guys used to use a safety cage or chain wrapped around the wheel/tire when inflating but I just used a clip on air hose most of the time. When using a regular air chuck, I kept my body away from the wheel and just my hand and forearm in the "danger" area. Still, I never had one fly apart and I was fixing flats almost weekly.

[junkmandan3]

Multipiece rims for tube type tires have been around almost 100 years and are still the preferred rim in some foreign countries for extreme duty work .

A split rim is almost non existant anymore , but has a solid lockring and the rim has a split from bead to bead and were used on trucks and trailers in the '40s era . .

The so called widowmaker came about in the early '50s for medium duty trucks and is made in 2 halves , like 2 pie tins back to back.

Common tube type rims with either a single split lockring , or a 2 piece lockring, whereby the solid ring slips under the outer bead and a split lockring holds the assembly in place . Tires mounted on the rim utilizing the 2 piece lockring have a tendency to rust more, in other words the solid ring under the outer bead will rust bond to the bead .

Common sense will tell you when a tube type tire is removed from a rim, the rim should be cleaned up, rust sanded off, lock ring grooves inspected on the rim and lock ring itself should be cleaned and repainted. A lock ring can be twisted out of shape by mishandling, then might not want to seat properly . All your major truck tire vendors will sandblast and paint your rims for 20-25 bucks each [Ohio prices] and save you from a dirty job .

Look in your GM manual in the tire and wheel section to learn about precautions to handle the job safely, so we won't read your name in the obit section .
Tube type tires,especially bias type tires can give good service on an older classic, and are not prone to tear up the vehicle.................if they fail . Use inflation pressures based on the weight of the vehicle as charted in your tire and wheel section of your manual .