Hah. Fred will go out and look at his trucks pretty soon and come back with a correction.
The stock front end on my 3/4 ton is the same as yours, piloting on the bolts. The late '70s IFS I put in is the same--the front hub sticks through the rim a bit, but there is maybe a 1/16" gap all the way around. Much less weight on the front than on the rear under heavy load conditions.
Now for the surprising part, at least to me. The rear rims don't actually register on the hub, either. They're close but they don't touch. I just looked at the rear end I took out of my truck, which had stock rims, and at the rear end from a 3/4 ton parts truck which also had stock rims on it when I got it, and it's obvious that there was no contact between the inside of the hole and the outside of the hub. The rear end that came off my truck has a heavy coat of paint on it, and only a few high spots were knocked off. Just guessing, I'd say the hole in the stock rim is maybe .020"-.030" larger than the "pilot" on the hub.
I can recall having an awful time getting brake drums off the hubs on 1/2 ton trucks. They do register on the hub surface, and after they've been on a while they do *not* want to come off. But I don't recall ever having to break a wheel loose the same way on the 3/4 ton trucks I've had. The wheels are always loose as soon as the last lugnut is loosened.
I'm amazed. I always took it for granted that the rear wheels registered on the hubs on trucks with full-floating rears.
Joe
