The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 58 Viking: Will wide tires fit up front?

Hello. Very new here. Please pardon me for asking a question twice. I already posted this in the "welcome" forum, but was reading someone else's post and they were told that they should post questions in specific forums.

I am considering replacing the dual rims on the rear with a wide single rim and tire (if I can find the rims). I was wondering if anyone with a similar truck has done this. If I put a wide tire up front, it will fill up the fender space nicely, but I cannot tell if it will rub while turning.



http://twoheelers.tumblr.com/post/157317555024

Thanks

welcome to the site! Sorry I am not sure about the answer to your question on the wheels. I have not seen any wide tires on the front, and if you are thinking of the real wide ones for the rear, you may end up having custom wheels made.

Is the pic in that link your truck? If so, it has a 59 nose on it (at least the hood and fender emblems are 59 and not 58)

Thanks for the reply. I am more than likely going to stay stock with the tires and rims, just wanted to weigh my options.

The Tumblr link is my truck. As far as the year, my father thought that it could be a mash up of three different years, but I don't remember which parts were which years. Still looking for the title. Is there a definitive way to tell, and what issues will I run into? I am new to these trucks, but the 58 in this sites photo looks like my truck, it is not a Viking though. Thanks

http://www.chevytrucks.org/marvinsgarage/truckrecognition.html

Dave, that ID site you link above is incorrect, it shows 58/9 identical, as Mike says yours is a 59 .... here's a 58 - the difference in the 2 years is entirely the emblems .... the way to ID the year is the vin tag on the drivers door post

find the GM info booklet here for 59, it'll have lots of ID info for model .... and wide front tires are very unlikely to work

Bill

Hi Dave, if you look at this picture, http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p494/69B-Cuda/1955%202%20Ton/DSC_8721_01.jpg You can see the difference on the hood emblem. 58 is in the middle, 59 is the Suburban on your right. As Bill stated above, you will need to look at the VIN tag on the truck itself to figure out the actual year.

Thanks to both of you. I ran the plate on the door through the vin buster, and it came back as a 1959 6500 2 ton with a 174.5 inch wheel base made in Kansas City. The question now is if my Great Grandfather put a 69 cab and doghouse on a 58 frame. I don't suppose the frames and or motors have separate identifier stamps or plates? It will be interesting to see what the title says if we can dig it up.

Thanks again.

the 55 2nd series to 59 cabs are identical, doubt there's been any switching on the one you picture, looks pretty unmolested original as far as sheet metal, might have different drive line .... the frame should have the same number as the door tag, minus the leading model indicator, stamped on top of the frame rail near the steering box, like this 56 .... engine [and other component] number locations are shown in that GM info booklet I linked above, they're not "numbers matching", but will have date codes

Bill

Very cool, thank you.

On a side note, more in line with the original question, I am having trouble finding 9 22.5 tires. Someone recommended putting a more modern low profile semi tire that would be slightly larger, but much easier to find used. Any reason not to do that?

what ever fits, but 22.5's should be common enough [new], that's a standard truck size, before 24.5's became common

Bill

the 22.5's seem easy to find, it is the "9" number that is rarer. There are 10 22.5's that are more available, and some low profile metric equivalent that is very common. This all according to a tire guy I talked to. I a going to go scrounge a buddies tire pile, he runs lots of heavy equipment. I think he has a stack of the metric low profiles, and I know he has a new tire machine.

If you are scrounging tires, make sure to check date codes, tire mount shops are getting picky about mounting even 5 year old tires, of course, they want to $ell you new ones. Many retread places sell good caps that work well.

Ed

I found a pair of 255/70's that fit the rims. Not road worthy, but good enough to drive around the yard. Wider than the 9's,but roughly the same height. I will put them up front, and if they don't rub, and I can get the rest of the truck road worthy, I may do all 6

A 9" tread width would convert to a 230 MM tread on a metric designation tire. Here's the way the metric tire numbers are translated:

255: tread width in MM's (approximately 10")

70: Aspect ratio- - -the sidewall height is 70% of the tread width, slightly shorter profile than the original tire which was probably around 80%.

22.5: rim diameter in inches.

Jerry

I have a buddy that is a bus mechanic for the local school district. Some of the midsize school buses use 9.00x22.5 tires, some 10.00x22.5's. When the tires no longer pass state inspection, I'm able to purchase them. They still have plenty of tread left for my '57 6100 Chevy. Maybe check at your local school bus shop? Usually it's harder to find the 6 bolt 22.5 wheels than finding the tires. JP