The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Tires and rims

The tires on the 52 3100 that we just picked up are shot. Two are flat. They indicate they are 6.5 16. I've been searching around to find out what I need to replace them with. For now, mostly interested in finding something used to get it rolling again. Couple of questions.

1) Since these are tubed tires, do I have to replace with tubed tires or can I go tubeless? I plan on using the existing rims.

2) I would like to take care of rims now. I was thinking about having them sandblasted then powder coated or painted. This isn't going to be a show truck. Hoping to be just a daily driver. Budget is a big factor. What's the best plan of attack?

Thanks in advance!

1. Tubed tires will of course work. Tubeless will work if the wheels/tires will hold air. The rustier the inside, the more likely you will need tubes.

2. Blasting and powder coating or epoxy/urethane painting would both be good.

If budget is a big factor, tubes and bias-ply tires will most likely be the easiest on a budget.

I got truck radials installed by a Goodyear Truck Tires dealer for around $150 each on good-shape powder-coated wheels (they did not need tubes).

Thank you Tim. What would be the correct "color" to powder coat/paint the rims? The truck was originally a dark green. Is the rim color supposed to match the truck color?

Is your truck running and driveable? The cheapest (just to get it rolling) is probably a used set of wheels and tires off Craigslist. Then once you get the truck running and stopping and driveable, you can figure out your exact plans for it and get the right tire/wheel combination to fit your end goal. You would hate to by new tires for a project and if like me, it takes a fwe years to finish and now your tires are a number of years old, maybe have some overspray on them, and are starting to deteriorate!

You might check with Les Schwab. Not sure if they still offer the service but they sandblasted and powder coated my rusty stock wheels inside and out. Can't remember the exact cost but it was between $25-30 per wheel and they came out perfect. That was less than most estimates I got for just sandblasting. Still look like new 7 years later. They shipped them up to Oregon to do them so don't know the cost from AZ if they still offer that. Its not something they advertise, you have to ask.

Ron and Ryan, you might consider checking with a local tire shop that specializes in eighteen wheelers. Most of these shops provide bead blasting and powder coating for the wheels of the big rigs and will do your rims for you. If they don't do it, they can probably refer you to a local shop that does. Some shops do the work in house, others send it out.

I have paid a low of $7.50 per wheel to a high of $25.00 to get this done at the big rig tire shops. They can also provide commercial heavy duty metal valve stems, which are much better than ones found in 'car' tire shops.

The shop that did the wheels for $7.50 had one color--white. That's what I wanted anyway. The $25.00 shop had a choice of various standard colors, all for the same price. They were also willing to do a custom color for an additional charge.

Good luck,

Matt

No, not running. I am looking around on CL to find some tires and rims just for that purpose. I found some 6 lug 16 inch rims for a 41 Fleetwood. Will they work? Is any 6 lug pattern usable?


Thank you! I'll keep them in mind if I can't find anything locally.


Thanks Matt! I see you are from AZ. Which shop(s) are you referring to?

(Ebay link deleted)

I contacted the guy because I am looking to replace a couple of tires. His tires are 10 years old, so not road worthy in my opinion. It may be a nice option to make a roller for you.

I just saw that you live in Gilbert...me, too.

I haven't had any rims done locally since moving to AZ. I've had them done in NC, NJ and PA in the past.

It is a fairly common practice for a company that has a large fleet of trucks to have rims bead blasted and powder coated as part of normal maintenance between tire changes. Very few companies do it in house for their own fleet. They send the powder coating out to a local shop, usually a large commercial truck fleet tire dealer, whether they do the actual tire work in house or not. We always kept an inventory of fresh powder coated rims on hand to use with new tires and would send the old rims out for blasting and powder coating. That kept the inventory fresh and rotated.

I always used whoever was doing the work for my company's fleet at the time. I'm not sure who does it in the Phoenix area, but I'd call around and find who is doing the work for some of the large local fleets (Basha's, Fry's, etc.). Swift Transportation is a national hauler based in Phoenix, so you might try to find out who they use.

Another advantage of using one of the big rig companies is that they have the equipment to mount and dismount the larger size tires. You shouldn't have the issue with 16", but I run 19.5" on my '57.

Echoing what Tim stated above, I run 8R19.5" tubeless radials and have had no problems with the factory rims once they were blasted and powder coated. I have also used Specialty Tires of America's tubeless bias ply tires on factory 17.5" rims with no problem.

Good luck,

Matt

Blasted? Powder coated? Tight budget? Daily Driver? Whoa there partner. None of that goes together. I've had more than a dozen old trucks and more than a dozen old cars. I have never powder coated a rim. I just paint them myself, you know, with a spray can or two, just on the outside. We are in Arizona you know? 6" of rain per year, no snow, no salt, no rust, just dust. You CAN NOT touch up powder coating.
A bucket sand blaster is cheaper than having rims blasted. Do it outdoors and wear a breather and hood. Mask off the tire and paint. Geeeze!
Tires: make sure you don't get more than 10 year old used tires. No tire place will touch them if you need mounted. Maybe it's 5 years. You don't say if your rims are original (hub cap clips) or later additions. You don't say if your rims are good or bad regarding rust, etc.
Chevy 6 hole pattern is universal. No problem there. 6 lugs on a 5 1/2 diameter hole pattern. The rest of the rim is another story. The center hole must fit, the widths and the offsets are different. Your's will be the best to use. I always switch to 15", so keep in mind your rollers can be 15". As long as they fit the drums and clear suspension parts. If you go disc in front, maybe 16" is better.
P.S. If this is a case where you just need rollers and the highway is a year or more away, why not get the flats fixed? Rollers are just for moving around the yard. If they only hold air for a few days, fill them up again.
If you don't have a big compressor, get one. Best investment on the world. Here is a blaster example minus %20 coupon.
http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-abrasive-blaster-kit-37025.html

And another: http://www.eastwood.com/blast-out-of-a-bucket-abrasive-gun.html

Budget method? No compressor? = Wire brush on a drill. Good exercise. The fun of restoration for a DD is doing as much as you can yourself and it saves money. You are already thinking the opposite. Having things done, Expensive!

Thanks Matt! We'll have to get together sometime.



Thanks bartamos! That's what I'm looking for. Direction, guidance, reality check, etc. I haven't ever had anything powder coated before so I was just assuming it was a much more durable finish. I saw something in the Roddin and Racing publication for Glendale Powdercoating. They had a price of $160 bucks for 4 rims. Not sure if that is just blasting, caoting or both. Going to call later. It just seemed that if I could spend less than $150 and basically have to never worry about the rims again, that would be the smart move. I have entertained getting a small blaster for home use, so I may look into that some more.

And the rims are original, with hub cap clips. Have 3 of 4 of the caps too. However, one of the three has a different size/shape "Chevrolet" on it.

$160 get's a lot of DIY tools to keep..... for something you don't need. Paint them. Just my "too sense". Just trying to help some fellow AZ boys. I guess "on a budget" is relative if the budget is 20K.
I will say:
1. I'm on Social Security.
2. Lots of time as opposed to a working man.
3. Like to do stuff.
4. Lots of room.
5. Not in a hurry.
6. Blasting is messy and can be dangerous to breathe.
7. You have two guys to do the work and a possible hand-me-down tools situation. More reason to buy tools.
8. I have fuddy duddy ideas sometimes. (google that)

Very true! If I end up spending $20K, I will ....

1) Have a lots of time on my hand...
2) Will have plenty of room...under a bridge somewhere
3) etc...

I may have to weigh this out now that I think about it....(kidding of course...I Love you Mrs Hill Boys!)

I had Glendale powder coat do my front bumper. They were very fair on the price and were very nice people. In my case, I think always, it includes both blasting and coating.

Great information bartamos. Thank you for sending the posts and the attachments regarding the blasters. Steve

Took the wheels over to a local tire shop and had the old tires taken off. Two of the rims have some rust on the inner portion of the rim. Hopefully, that cleans up. Neighbor stopped by and saw the truck. Told him what we were doing and he said he would take the rims in to a friend and have them sandblasted and powder coated for free. I guess they do a lot of "horse trading" as he termed it, and this guy owes him so he is hoping to at least get some of his debt offset. We will keep you posted.

On the subject of color. The truck appears to have been Forester Green. My son isn't sure if he wants to repaint or go the "patina" route. In any event, any thoughts on what color to do the rims? He was thinking just black. Seems like that would go with any color route we choose.

I would paint the wheels the original color. Reason is if it is decided later on to repaint the truck then they will match the truck so the wheels will not have to be repainted again another time.

Well, thanks to my AMAZING neighbor, got the rims blasted and powder coated for free. Well, I bought him and his wife a $50 gift certificate for Joe's Farm Grill here in Gilbert. Went ahead and broke open the piggy bank and put on some new tires also. Not the cheapest route, but one that we are both happy with.


Baby's got new shoes!

Up close

Up closer

Got them on the truck after work. Will be rolling the truck out of the garage this weekend for some more pics and a proper bath.

Looking good. Jeffrey

He is Ryan spraying off a few layers...

Bath time