Modern 16" wheels

[GeorgeLeonard]

I know that I should be able to find this answer in the archives somewhere, but I just cant- too much mumbo jumbo about backspacing and offset etc. Can anyone suggest a modern set of 6 lug wheels which will fit my 1966 short stepper with standard suspension? I want to fill up those wheel wells and maybe gain a little height. While youre at it, maybe suggest a tire size that wont rub as well. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Back in the 70s, when it was the fad, I took my 69 C10 long bed fleetside to the tire shop and they slapped on 15" white wagon wheels with 31x10.5x15" tires and I was king of the hill for about 5 seconds. I loved those wheels and how they looked. Why does tire buying have to be such a chore now?- too many choices! Can someone make this simple for an old hotrodder looking at life from the downward slope?

[1restorick]

For my truck I bought Mickey Thompson Classics in 16" x 8". Then I used General P255-55 16" tires directional UHP tires. It was an inexpensive set up and provided both good clearance and handling. Here's a photo:

[jocko]

George, are you wanting 16's solely for the purpose of filling up the wheel well or do you just plain want 16's?

You could probably equally fill up the wheel well with 15" wheels as compared to 1restorick's approach (which looks very nice, by the way...) with 235-75-15's on stock 15" steelies or perhaps 255-70-15's on rallies (or a slightly wider steelie or any 7-8" wide 15" wheel)

For comparison - here's 2 pics of just that - 1st is stock 15" steelie with 235-75-15 and 2nd pic is truck rally with 255-70-15 (in other words, any 29-30" tall tire will fill it like the pics below).

[fryer1979]

I really like the look of your second picture there Jocko, if I were to keep mine stock (or close to it) that would be my choice.

For a more "modern" look, I like the wheels 1restorick posted. Clean simple, nice.

[CaptHutch66]

Not sure if you are just interested in a 16" but here is the Foose Legend 6 in a 18"

[GeorgeLeonard]

Jocko, I think youre on to something here. The stock steelies with 235/75x15s look good. But the 255-70-15's on rallies look better. Where does one get the rallies? Are they stock wheels from later model Chevy pickups?

I keep thinking about those old 31/10.5x15s on my '69 from the 70s. How wide a wheel would they have to have been on to work properly? Could they have fit on 15"x8" wheels?

No, I dont have to have 16 inchers. I just thought that might be the quickest and most economical way to reach my goal. But now I see that I can do that with 15 inchers.

Where can I get those 15" rallies? Thanks for your help.

[Clyde65]

73-87 1/2 ton had the ralleys, there are 6.5", 7" and 8" and you can also get some custom in 10".

[SulphuriousSam]

Are those trucks above all at factory ride height?

[CaptHutch66]

Mine is. I'm about to drop the front 2 1/2" and the rear 4" but still stock height at the moment.

[jocko]

sulphurious sam, my blue 66 is stock ride height also.

george - Clyde is correct for finding originals. you can also purchase new/restored rallies at:
http://www.petepaulsen.com/Catalogof...AIN_WHEELS.htm (note they have 15x10 also...)
or at wheel vintiques (pg 23 of the catalog)
http://www.wheelvintiques.com/index.php/products/
or on ebay (just one of several sets available):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/15-x-...item3cbab2771a
Some center cap emblem options: http://www.webxtremes.com/chevycentercapdecals.htm
Note there is a copyright or some sorta crap going on with getting original replica center caps in the aftermarket - but they are out there. I bought mine off ebay and had to call a few times to talk to the guy but he came through. Here's a link to some he has on ebay right now, but call him and ask if he has any with the 2wd emblems, he can probably hook you up for a few extra $:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHEVY...item3366a73eea

As for your tires - they would probably work on 8" wide wheels, but as mentioned above, some mfgrs offer 15x10 if you really need em that wide.

One note - the 255-70-15s on the rallies in the pic above were dang near impossible ot find in blackwall. I actually went from rallies to the steelies because I wanted a poverty cap setup. I like it much better than the rallies, but do still plan to powder coat my rallies (and ditch the white paint in the process) in case I stick on some disk brakes. If I do run the rallies again, I will mount 255-70-15 BF Goodrich Rad T/A's on the rear and 235-70-15s on the front. (in the pic, it's 255-70-15 whitewalls all the way around)

One more note - here are the caps I bought from the ebay guy (I HAD to ditch the oddball spinner cap setup that came on the truck, just not my taste). Note that they are plastic(!) (the ones I bought on ebay) and after I bought them, I will never go back to the steel originals. Ok, maybe, I do still have the originals and I'm gonna hang onto them, but I like the fit of the plastic ones much better and they are easy to care for and much less expensive than the original metal ones, if you can even find them.

[GeorgeLeonard]

Hi Jocko, Thanks for your help. One question: Those ebay wheels look like 4wd but they will fit on my 2wd with drum brakes, right? if so, Im going to see if I can get them.

Thanks again.

[Pop's C-10]

You have 6 lug drums..so 4x4 wheels from a square will work.

[SulphuriousSam]

I'll tell ya, I just don't (normally) like the look of this body style truck with the factory ride height. So I was going to lower mine. Seeing your trucks though I can see that it has alot to do with choosing the right tire/wheel combo I may try that for a while and see how I like it before doing something drastic...like cutting coils

[jocko]

I'm with ya Sam, I struggled for a bit too - lowered vs. stock ride height, etc. Still like the look of a lowered truck, but chose to keep mine stock. It does have a lot to do with how one fills the wheelwell, I agree.

George, Pop is correct, for 6 lug wheels, the 4x4 and 4x2 rally caps are the same part, just had different emblems on them.

[kieth]

Originally Posted by jocko

sulphurious sam, my blue 66 is stock ride height also.

george - Clyde is correct for finding originals. you can also purchase new/restored rallies at:
http://www.petepaulsen.com/Catalogof...AIN_WHEELS.htm (note they have 15x10 also...)
or at wheel vintiques (pg 23 of the catalog)
http://www.wheelvintiques.com/index.php/products/
or on ebay (just one of several sets available):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/15-x-...item3cbab2771a
Some center cap emblem options: http://www.webxtremes.com/chevycentercapdecals.htm
Note there is a copyright or some sorta crap going on with getting original replica center caps in the aftermarket - but they are out there. I bought mine off ebay and had to call a few times to talk to the guy but he came through. Here's a link to some he has on ebay right now, but call him and ask if he has any with the 2wd emblems, he can probably hook you up for a few extra $:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHEVY...item3366a73eea

As for your tires - they would probably work on 8" wide wheels, but as mentioned above, some mfgrs offer 15x10 if you really need em that wide.

One note - the 255-70-15s on the rallies in the pic above were dang near impossible ot find in blackwall. I actually went from rallies to the steelies because I wanted a poverty cap setup. I like it much better than the rallies, but do still plan to powder coat my rallies (and ditch the white paint in the process) in case I stick on some disk brakes. If I do run the rallies again, I will mount 255-70-15 BF Goodrich Rad T/A's on the rear and 235-70-15s on the front. (in the pic, it's 255-70-15 whitewalls all the way around)

One more note - here are the caps I bought from the ebay guy (I HAD to ditch the oddball spinner cap setup that came on the truck, just not my taste). Note that they are plastic(!) (the ones I bought on ebay) and after I bought them, I will never go back to the steel originals. Ok, maybe, I do still have the originals and I'm gonna hang onto them, but I like the fit of the plastic ones much better and they are easy to care for and much less expensive than the original metal ones, if you can even find them.

I have original chevy center caps on my gmc, could you give us a link to the ebay guy, I need to see if they have gmc centers for my rallyes. Kieth


here is a set of 5 x 5 8" rallyes on my gmc, need to get rid of that bow tie and go with gmc centers, anyone know where to get them. ???

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...3_ZP6N2xH-A-LB

[kieth]

Originally Posted by jocko

I'm with ya Sam, I struggled for a bit too - lowered vs. stock ride height, etc. Still like the look of a lowered truck, but chose to keep mine stock. It does have a lot to do with how one fills the wheelwell, I agree.

George, Pop is correct, for 6 lug wheels, the 4x4 and 4x2 rally caps are the same part, just had different emblems on them.

depends on the year, the 6 x 6 suburban caps had 6 lug nut holes in them, the 5x 5 only had 5 lug holes in them. Kieth

[Driveway Dreams]

I know the picture will be kind of hard to reference (especially on the trailer) but my Suburban has wagon wheels with 31x10.50/15 on the back. They fit in there surprisingly well.

[GeorgeLeonard]

Cool truck! I wish I could have those wheels and tires. I know they are dated but so am I.