spacers for C20..? help

[joe Diego]

I just picked up some Eagle Alloy wheels (18x9) for my 1971 Custom Camper C20. I am unable to bolt down the rear hub cap because the axle gets in the way. I've been searching for the past hour but it seems there is not much info on hub/bore size. I know the bolt patter is 8x6.5 but I'm not sure if I could by 2 inch 8x6.5 spacers and call it a day. Is the hub 117mm? Do i need to buy spacers that are hubcentric? Thanx in advance.

[geezer#99]

Take some pics of your wheels and caps!
That will help getting help!

[special-K]

Spacers should not be necessary to mount aftermarket wheels (or any other I know of), which have a large center bore for universal fit. GMs run smaller than Ford and those same wheels would be sold for a Ford. There must be another issue. If the bore is smaller, it will need to be machined bigger. I don't understand what you mean by hubcap. Eagle Alloy doesn't make any wheels for hubcaps. Are you saying the center caps can still jiggle around and the wheel is properly bolted on? If that's the problem, the little crimps in the edge of the center cap are flattened out from last mounting and they need to be tweaked again to assure a tight fit. My method is toss the center caps and let that proud full-floating hub show it's manly face. The caps on the front aren't even caps, just chrome for the sides of the lockouts with the lockouts exposed. I put center caps on 2wds to be pretty and leave them off 4wds to be tough

[joe Diego]

Originally Posted by special-K

Spacers should not be necessary to mount aftermarket wheels (or any other I know of), which have a large center bore for universal fit. GMs run smaller than Ford and those same wheels would be sold for a Ford. There must be another issue. If the bore is smaller, it will need to be machined bigger. I don't understand what you mean by hubcap. Eagle Alloy doesn't make any wheels for hubcaps. Are you saying the center caps can still jiggle around and the wheel is properly bolted on? If that's the problem, the little crimps in the edge of the center cap are flattened out from last mounting and they need to be tweaked again to assure a tight fit. My method is toss the center caps and let that proud full-floating hub show it's manly face. The caps on the front aren't even caps, just chrome for the sides of the lockouts with the lockouts exposed. I put center caps on 2wds to be pretty and leave them off 4wds to be tough

Not "hubcap"... But the cover that came with the wheels that hides the axle sticking out from the center of the rear wheels. I need to add spacers so I can bolt down cap to hide/cover the axle. Before I do this I need to know what size is the hub/bore is so I can buy a pair of hubcentric 1.5inch spacers. I've searched for awhile and can not find this information.

[Mmorgan32]

The caps are pretty cheap. It sounds like it's too short. If u have the caps just put it on the hub and measure how much longer it needs to be. If u trying to use an inch and half spacer it might not work

[special-K]

I'll measure the rear hub on my '72. My experience has been aftermarket wheels are universal fit (lug eccentric). I've known Ford wheels to not fit a Chevy but not vice versa.

First of all, on these trucks you need to step away from metric measurements. I measured the Dana60 on my '72, an HO52, and a 14-bolt and they are 4 1/2". I measured the aluminum slots for my '72 center bore, as well as GM factory 16" steel, 16.5 x 9.75 steel, and earlier Ford factory 16" steel wheels and it looks like they are all 4 13/16". GM 88-98 factory wheels look like 4 3/4". I know those won't fit the front hub of a '72 K/20. Could it be you bought wheels made to fit too new of a truck? No matter, wheel wheels don't fit over hubs I see guys machining out the center bore for best results. There are modern custom 5-lug wheels that routinely need the center bore machined.

[SS Tim]

Using wheel spacers to allow a too short center cap is a really bad idea.
Either get deeper cans or just leave them off.