The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1954 Chevy Truck Rims 15" X 5" 6-Lug w/Clips

I said that I would follow up on this post, so here is what I was able to determine concerning the 3-clip verses 6-clip wheel differences. First, although again somewhat embarrassing, I determined that the wheels on my truck are 15" x 5" and not 15" x 5½" as I had previously thought. I actually determined this when I was checking the backspacing on the 15" x 5½" 3-clip rims I recently purchased. The 3-clip rims have a 3-13/16" backspacing and the rims on my truck have a 3-5/8" backspacing. (The tires are on the rims but that is no excuse, I still should have done a better job of checking.) So apparently, my truck did not come with RPO 273. Instead, it came with 15" x 5" wheels that were, as best as I can tell, either from a 1947-1949 Chevy Truck or possibly from a 1948 Chevy passenger car (RPO 287 and 288). This information came from the GM Vehicle Heritage Center-Archives-Vehicle Information Kits (VIK). Of course, the wheels could have come off a GMC Truck, but I was unable to find a way to research that information. The only options offered on the 1954 3100 Truck at the time of purchase were 16" x 4½" or 15" x 5½" wheels, certainly not a 15" x 5" wheel.

I purchased the 15" x 5½" 3-clip wheels from a nice gentleman on this site and they, as far as Chevy trucks go, appear to be from a 1957 Chevy 3100 series, and they have a 9/16" offset as shown on the 1957 Chevy Truck VIK. Again, they could have come off a GMC truck, but I have no way of researching that information.

If I had checked a little closer on RPO 273, I would have seen that the 15" x 5½" wheels have a 0 offset and my wheels have the 9/16" offset. (Or close since I measured a 5/8" offset)

My original intent was to prove that the only difference in the 3-clip wheels verses the 6-clip wheels was the number of clips. I do know from closely observing the center portion of all the rims that they are the same and it appears that the only thing that changed is the size of the clips and the number of clips. (The holes are still there for the other 3 clips.) I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the engineers at GM probably decided sometime around the 1955 2nd Series to widen the clips from ½" to ¾" and reduce the number of clips from 6 to 3. This would be a 25% savings in material costs, not to mention a savings in labor, all while producing a better product. The ¾" clips are much sturdier than the ½" clips, and the 3-clip design seems, at least to me, to have more holding power for the hubcap than the 6-clip design. The reason I mentioned the 1955 2nd Series is because that is what was stated within a previous link back to this site. I actually have no way of knowing this since at least two individuals have informed me that the 1954 3100 trucks had 3 clips. My truck did not have its original wheels, so I really have no way of knowing. Maybe someone else on this site can verify the number of clips that were on the 1954 3100 truck wheels.

I guess my days of saying my truck came with RPO 273 are over. Instead, I will be running some very nice 15" x 5½" 3-clip wheels on the rear with 15" x 5" 6-clip wheels on the front. (With a 9/16" offset.) The good news is that the wheels will accept the original 1954 style hubcaps and while the 3-clip wheels are not original to the truck, they are at least period correct and appear to have more holding power.

This has been a learning experience and I am enjoying the adventure. These wheels will be a perfect companion to my 1953 Harrison Heater (not original to the truck) and the 1954 Studebaker hood ornament that came with the truck when I purchased it in 1976. I was going to have the wheels blasted and powder coated, but I recently read that powder coating is not a good option, so I guess I will be painting them. If anyone is interested, the look I am going for is in the picture below. It is also not original to my truck since the stripes were not on 15" wheels. I also attached a picture of my method for determining offset and backspacing.

If anyone wants to weigh in on my observations, please feel free to do so. I am certainly no expert, as evidenced by the comedy of errors above.

Thanks

PS I need to add that I also have a 15" x 6" 6-clip wheel that does have a different center with longer clips. Therefore, I am not advocating that all of the center portions of the wheels are the same, clips are the same, or slots are the same, only on the wheels that I observed in my post. I was originally trying to do an apples to apples comparison from what I had purchased to what is on my truck. However, as you can see from the saga above, I was unable to do that.