The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline How to tell if old wheels (rims) are still good?

Hi Guys,

1953 3100, original wheels/tires replaced sometime in its past by a previous owner. Stock front end, 235 engine, 3 speed transmssion, torque tube driveline.

My question: Is there a way to tell if the wheels that are on the truck now are still good enough to mount new tires to, without actually removing the old tires? Front Driver's Side Wheel, Rear Driver's Side Wheel, Front Passenger Side Wheel, Rear Passenger Side Wheel.

The pics show that whatever paint that was applied is now coming off. So, I was thinking about media blasting/powder coating them if they are still deemed usable. However, I don't want to take them off of the truck and the tires off of the wheels without knowing, unless that is the only way to find out.

Also, as I've learned, just because a previous owner did something, does not make it right. Since I haven't driven the truck yet, I don't know if the wheels will fit right or interfere with the steering. A follow on question is how do you tell if the wheels will work right or not? Is there a measurement that I need to take to find out?

The back side of the wheels are a little rusty, but not to the point that there are rust through holes.

In the first pic, you can see the tire size the previous owner used is P235/75R15. I've read numerous threads about wheel/tire size combos. I have to admit that it is quite confusing to me. From just the appearance in the truck, these tires seem to really fill the wheel well and might actually be too big. In the previous threads, this tire size seems to be a common size that many people use. So it must work, but I'm wondering if there is a combo that works well in the half ton trucks and looks a little more stock. I did get the original spare tire with the truck. That looks positively antique compared to the larger tires that are on it now.

Also, just out of curiosity, does anyone know the approximate vintage of the wheels and/or tires?

Like I said, lots of confusion, a few questions and hopeful for some clarification and advice. Thanks in advance!

If you was to really clean them up, you may find a date code stamped somewhere on the wheel, other that, it's just a guess. To tell if they are road worthy, you would have to dismount a couple and look at the inside bead area and the back sides. Wheels are fairly thick steel and can take some rusting without much danger of coming apart. Powder coating companies will bead blast and coat the wheels in many colors for a reasonable price, so it might be worth while to have them cleaned, inspected and recoated, probably for less then the $100.

Tire size is up to the truck owner, 235/75 is pretty big for a steer tire, but works well for the rear of most any truck. OEM tires are narrow and tall, which make for better driving speeds due to the hight and rear axle gear ratio. Tall skinny tires will steer easier then shorter fat tires, same with air pressure, more makes for easier turning at slow speeds.

Have you been here and looked at the GM information packet on this truck?https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html
It will help a bunch when speaking information.

To tell if a wheel is spaced correctly, check for brake drum/rotor clearance, tie-rod clearance at full left and right turn, frame and/or fender clearance in the rear.

Joe

Hello Mike,
As far as interference with steering or fender. You need to either drive it or jack up front and check to see that tires roll. Then rotate steering wheel lock to lock and observe clearance while on jack stands. Probably no problem with that wheel and tire. If that tire fits the wheel, the wheel is "normal".

As far as safety, or structural reliability of wheel. If wheel has hub cap clips instead of nubs, it is an older wheel. There are riveted two piece and welded two piece wheels.
You describe some surface rust. That is no problem. If wheel has no bends at lip, that's good. There is no way to find breaks, cracks, separation, etc. without blasting and visual inspection. Normally those wheels do not have any trouble. If they are a "cheaper/newer wheel" way out of a normal wheel, maybe need checked. On the other hand, newer wheels are D.O.T. certified for a specific use and load rating.

A little confusing: You do want to have them blasted and painted only if they are viable, but do not want to dismount tires if they are not viable. So the questions is: What are you going to do if you decide they are not viable before dismount? or are you saying you want to be sure they don't interfere with truck components first? If the rubber is still good and there is no interference, then I guess you will run them as is?

Places like Discount Tire will not get involved in a tire that is old (I think 10 years). They will dismount them but will not mount them. If your tires are old/worn/cracked, you would want to throw away anyway, so why not have them dismounted and have a good place like Discount give there opinion on the rim. As a matter of course, they would not mount a tire on a rim they deemed dangerous or damaged anyway. A roadside tire shop, with a guy with a short cigar, would not care.

I was typing when Joe posted. I do not know if I conflict with his comments. My post is not a response to his great post.

If you have a more era correct looking tire in mind, check Coker Tire.

Sorry for any confusion that I created by using non-standard terminology. I'm a total noob at all of this and am just trying to bump along.

The reason for not wanting to dismount the tires from the wheels is that I don't have the cash right now to buy new wheels and tires, should the wheels turn out to be bad. The tires are old enough to be prior to the current date coding system. I would never be comfortable driving on them, but they are fine for rolling the truck in/out of the garage. If I take them off, I'm committed to at least buying new tires (for which I do have the cash) and possibly new wheels (which would cause a problem). I was really hoping for some kind of hint/tip that would point me down a path. It sounds like the only real way to figure it out is to take them off and dismount the tires, which is fine. Maybe I'll hold off doing any real restoration like activities on the wheels for now and just work towards something that is safe and that works.

This weekend, I'll get out there and test whether or not the current setup hits the tie rods or not. Either way, I think the old tires are too wide. Is there a noticeable difference between a 215 and a 235? Millimeters are such a small unit of measure that it doesn't sound like it would be a noticeable difference.

Thanks for the quick responses, the information and the conversation!

After you determine they will roll/turn properly, lightly sand the rims (with tires still mounted), get a couple of rattle cans of your favorite color and paint the rims, front and back. Painters tape and old newspapers on the rubber will keep most of the paint off the tires. You can roll the truck in/out while you work on it and feel good about getting something accomplished without a lot of expense. Later you can decide whether or not to sand blast and powder coat. Those wheels will be just fine.🛠

I think the 215 would look good on your truck. Not wide by a long shot but certainly away from the "skinny" look.

Just looking at the pictures they look to be holding air pretty well...but not an indication of actually running the tire. As mentioned these are not the old rims with the clips for hub caps. I'd certainly take a tire off and inspect. Unless you want to spend the money you may be able to use a steel wire brush and clean them and put a nice coat of primer/paint on them. I just did some originals on my 50 coupe and they are surprisingly in great shape. Luckily I do have a bead blasting cabinet to do mine. It's your call......and not to rain on Bartamos comments but I'd be careful what 'wheel jockey" that looks and gives an opinion. My next door neighbor, for 5 years, managed Discount Tire Store in Spartanburg. I would not let him, or his jockeys inspect my kids bicycle rim. But the guy I buy tires from, dealing in wheels and tires for over 20 years is my go to man. Good common sense is the rule of the day and I realize no one is perfect. (Bring them on down and blast them in my cabinet)

[quote=Gray_Ghost Is there a noticeable difference between a 215 and a 235? Millimeters are such a small unit of measure that it doesn't sound like it would be a noticeable difference.[/quote]

the 215 and 235 are the tread width of the tire. there are 25.4mm in one inch so, 20mm is about 4/5 of an inch. while not a huge difference, it is noticeable.

It has been my experience that the condition of the holes where the valve stems are will give you a good idea what the inside of the rim looks like. If water gets inside of the rim, it ends up weeping out at the valve stem holes, causing the holes to rust out before anywhere else.

Agree with 52Carl, if area around valve stem hole is good then 90% chance wheel is good. We have cut back to good metal around rusted hole, welded in patch and ground smooth then drilled a new hole 180 degrees from the old one. Worked fine.

So how does water get inside a rim?

It can come from having a flat tire and then have a period of weather when H2O falls from the sky. The Indians used to call it rain.

Joe,

I noticed something in one of my original pics, so I went out and tried to get a better shot of what I thought was a date code. Am I correct that they used a similar coding system on the wheels as they did on other parts? If so, it looks to me like K1 87. Although I'm iffy on the "8". What do you all think?

This is the same wheel, but a wider shot. If you enlarge the pic, you can see a "D" and a "7" stamped between different lug openings. Also, you can see a "5" and and "12" around the air valve.

Did I miss the DOT date code on the tire? That may help date the wheels. Moisture in the tire is from crappy air compressors and lines that have water in them.

Joe

Joe,

This is the code on the tire. The tires have the words "Sonic" and Satellite" molded into them. Not sure if any of this helps, or not, but it's whats on the tires....