The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun New dual rims that fit over the drums

I'm need to replace the old split rims on my 49 one ton with dual rims. I love the dually look and want to keep it. I don't have the money right now to replace the rear drums so I am looking at a solution to get a set of rims that will fit over those drums. I've done a little research and looking over at Wheels Now and have found this rim. Wheels Now The bolt pattern is correct and they are hub piloted which I want but since my frame is at the body shop right now I'm not sure if the rim will clear the drum. I'm also not sure which measurement the "offset" is referring to. Any advice from a fellow bolter?

I'd advise you to avoid buying any wheel without first trying one to see if it will actually fit, even if the measurements say they might. I doubt 16" wheels will fit over your rear brakes.

Wheel offset is given as the distance the mounting surface is shifted from the centerline of the wheel, lots for dual wheels and little to none for most single wheels.

Second is the lock ring wheels aren't the end of the world, don't be unnecessarily afraid of them.
There is a little info on the different types of wheels here. The RH5 wheels are the ones to stay away from and I'm nearly certain your's aren't.
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/wheels/

One thing that's nice about the AD 1 ton dual wheel trucks are the distinctive 8 hand hole 18" wheels, if you run modern wheels you'll lose that.

Grigg,

I completely agree, I love the eight hand hole rims and if I can still work with those rims that would be ideal. Do you have any idea where I could find tires for those rims? When I was driving this in high school my boss was kind enough to buy me two new tires for it. I think he was concerned with me running around on 15 year old rubber. He took them to the local Jack's Tire and Oil which is a truck tire shop and they said they only had two tires left in the whole country. Those would be the ones my boss bought. If there are tires that will fit those old rims then I'd love to keep them.

Thanks for your help.

You gan still get tires, do a little searching. One place to try is Miller Tire.

$188 each at Summit

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cok-72816/overview/

Order this item and get free delivery and handling on your entire order! Oversize fees also waived on this item. Valid on orders shipped in the contiguous United States.

Estimated Ship Date: Today

When you look at rims, sometimes they give offset and sometimes back spacing. Offset is the distance from center and backspacing is the distance from the back of the rim.

Rims from an 80's GM truck would be a place to start. They have the 4.56 center like you need. They have 5" offset on a 16" rim, whereas yours is 4 9/16" on a 5 inch rim. So, they're going to be inboard more than the oem, which may create some clearance issues up front.

On the back, You may have some clearance issues with your brake drum size. One fix would be to use drums/backing plates from a 3/4 ton truck. The other fix would be to use Drums/backing plates from a 14 bolt axle.

http://ricksontruckwheels.com/wheels-oe.php

This is great help. Thanks Whitedog for sharing your knowledge with me. I've never swapped out drums or backing plates. How much of a job is it?

52Torpedo, thanks for finding these. I can't believe they do free shipping.

Getting your old drum off can sometimes be painstaking. Especially if your adjusters are frozen. After that, I would suggest pulling your axle shafts out and removing your hub. Unhook your brake hose, unhook your parking brake and then remove the 4 bolts holding the backing plate on. To re-install, do it in reverse.

If you go with the 14B drums, you'll have to upgrade to 9/16 studs. Not to mention there is a few different depths of drums out there. You'll have to find what works for you.

Here's a good article on the Eaton/14B brake swap. There are some differences in the Early vs. late Eaton hubs too. The later axles were slightly wider than the ones found in AD trucks.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=536119

Your best/easiest swap is to find a 12" brake setup from a 3600 truck.

Whitedog, thank you so much for the info on switching out the drums. I think this is the option that I want to go with. Just to forewarn you, I may need to rely on your expertise a little more throughout the process.