I recently was given a standard RWD '54 Advance Design 3100 pickup having a PTO 4-speed and closed axle. She's a functioning, and relatively original work truck, not a Sunday toy. Her original wheels were probably 16" X 4 1/2" split-rims shod with 6.50-16 tires & tubes, but somewhere along the line were replaced with a set of 15" tubeless wheels - but still old-school, with cap tangs & original caps and rings. It is past time for tires, and I would prefer to run a set of tall & skinny 235/85-16s. These are 32" O/D and would shave 100 rpm off the existing tire diameter, improving cruise speed. The narrow tread patch, better ground clearance, improved performance in mud and snow, and E-load rating of the new tall/skinny tires would all be a plus too. There are many commercial-duty tire styles to choose from in this specific size.
The question is how to do the wheel conversion economically. Correct new bare steel wheels would cost at least $250 apiece by the time shipping, tax, paint, and new-style caps/trim to fit them are added.
A buddy mentioned that there are later model 1/2-ton Chevy 4x4 wheels in 16" diameter that also have 6-lug centers, but we are unsure of the widths, offsets, and lug diameters of those later wheels.
A 6" wide wheel would be the ideal, but 6 1/2" or even 7" would work - nothing wider.
Does anyone know if/what/which year model wheels might work?
Original wheel specs for reference:
Lugs: Six 7/16-20 studs on 5 1/2" center.
Offset: 9/16"
Center hole dia: Unknown, but must be smaller than late 4x4 hubs require.
I would guess the original setup was probably lug-centric?
I'm not concerned with period authenticity so the later alloy styles would be fine, and If steel, I don't mind the later cap and trim styles.
So, what works? What is common and cheap?
Thanks you guys -
Best,
Phil
