The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Why no 17" traction tires?

I have the original 3 piece, 8 lug 17" rims on my '56 3600 that I would like to reuse on my rebuild in the near future, still sandblasting the frame so I'm not in a real hurry. I think the tires I took off were original to the truck, they put up such a fuss being taken off I had to make a new pipe holding the bead breaker for my Harbor Freight bead breaker, the walls were so thin I egg shaped the holes on the very first tire.

Anyhow, the tires on the front are no issue to replace, I can go with some 750-17 STA Super Transport that look like what I took off. The problem is the rear tires, they were 'traction' type tires and I can't find any. I contacted Specialty Tires of America and they forwarded me on to Universal Vintage Tire and they tell me that there isn't anyone that they know of that domestically produces a traction tire in 17", I have seen smaller and larger dia. tires. I can't find 17" in Tornel or a few other off brands I've come across either. I've checked Coker and a few more sites but nada

I have done searches on various internet sites, this one included, and on some old threads here and there people have mentioned they got 17" traction tires and named places but when I visit I don't see anything listed. I wish to keep the 17" rims to, slightly, offset the low rear end gears. I can get my old rims powder coated for about $35 each or I can buy some newer Dodge rims that go for about $130 ea., 1" wider with a shallow backspace. Unfortunately for me, right now I have more time than money.

Hi Finster. I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure that your truck would have originally come with 8 lug 17.5" rims. They were standard on the TF 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. The 19.5" size was optional. I don't think that 17" was available from the factory. Not sure exactly what you mean by 'three piece', but the stock rims would not have been split rims.

The good news if you have 17" rims is that you should have more choices for replacement tires than you would if you had the stock 17.5" rims. I think that the only option available nowadays for 17.5's are the STA's. The STA's were available until just a few years ago in both steer and traction tread, but I'm pretty sure that consistent with what you stated about the 17's, the 17.5's are no longer available with the traction tread.

I recently had a '57 GMC one ton panel van that came with the original 17.5" rims and hubcaps. I didn't want to use the STA bias plies, so I replaced the rims with 16x7 eight lugs with the correct offset and installed 235 85R16 tires. If you do the research, you will see that they have almost the exact same circumference as the original 17.5" tires that came with the truck. Like you, I wanted the taller tires to help make up for the gear ratio...and I like the stance. I think they were about 1" wider than the original bias plies.

Sharing this because if you have 17" rims, you might be luckier than if your truck came with the stock 17.5's. You should be able to find a 17" radial light truck tire that will fit the rims and match up very closely in circumference to the original bias plies. The 17" light truck radials will probably cost less, and be a better tire, than the STA bias plies. But you'll need to change front and back.

Matt

Hello Maybellene...or is it Matt?

Just going by the tires I took off, 7.50 x !7, all 4 of them.

My rims are 3 piece, kind of like the bead locks on off road rigs but instead of screwing the outside bead on there is a spring steel ring that holds the outer bead on. I have seen 17.5" tires...darn it, now I'm going to have to measure the rims.

Hi Finster. We're talking single rims, not duallies, right? If so, those rims would not have been stock on your truck.

Matt

Nope, not a dually. They may be mongrels, somewhere in it's life a owner put a flat bed dump on it. It has a second stack of leaf springs and whacky set of spring hangers that pinch bolted to the lower frame lip.

These look like " traction grip " tires to me & you can get the tubes & flaps with them.....

I Installed a pair of these on my 1 ton with the original 17" 3 piece rims & they work nicely.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cok-71017








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Thank you simplex.

17” was standard on the AD 1 ton single wheel truck, not surprised your 56 3/4 ton had them too, but I’m not sure what sizes could have been stock.

19.5” wheels and 8R19.5 tires are a reasonable choice as well, several traction tires available. Goodyear G171 is pretty aggressive, I’ve run them before, and now have some G633 tires for the GMC, they also look nice.

I have heard of guys having clearance problems with the fenders & steering radius when installing 19.5's on 1 ton trucks.

The two piece 15" and the three piece 17" were the original rim choices for 3/4 & 1 ton trucks.
{16" were also avail. but only on dual rear wheel equipped trucks}.



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Thanks Grigg. I have looked for larger rims but around here they seem as scarce as hens teeth. I was thinking about dropping down to 16 inch, I installed modern tie rod ends since the originals looked like they pulled out a couple of times, in anticipation. I found a thread here from 2010/12 with a couple of places mentioned that people had success getting these tires, waiting on replies. The truck has had a hard life, there are dents and dings in places that make me scratch my head trying to figger out how they got there. I really would like to keep the taller rims, I figure anything smaller would cause the engine to scream even louder at higher speeds.

1956 Chevrolet Trucks - Tires/Wheels Specifications

3800 Base Tires: 8" - 17.5" x 5.25" (6 ply on front and 8 ply on rear - 8 bolts)

I know nothing about these tires, but are these high-traction 17.5" tires appropriate?

56 was the first year for tubeless tires on many trucks, and I understand that many buyers weren't excited about the idea and instead ordered the old familiar tube type tires. I know in my search for 22.5 wheels on 56-59 Chevy 1.5 tons most trucks I see actually have 20" wheels, even though 22.5 was supposed to be standard.
So 17" may still be original, buy optional?

17.5, 19.5, 22.5, and other xx.5 sizes are tubeless.

My hunch is that someone had a nice set of 17" rims and tires off an AD truck and swapped them on to your '56. I'd stick with them unless you have a problem with that.

There was an earlier comment questioning if 19.5's would fit or not. I run factory 19.5" rims with 8R19.5 Bridgestone R187 radials on my '57 3600. I don't have any clearance issues. I like those tires because they have the tall, skinny stance of the original bias plies and the tread looks very similar. The tread is more of a steer tire than a drive tire, but I don't need a traction tread where I live in Arizona.

I like the 19.5's and highly recommend them, but the factory rims are VERY hard to find and pricey when you do. Seems like even the factory 17.5's are getting harder to find than they used to be.

I posted a couple pictures so that you can see the clearance in the wheel wells and the original look of the skinny tires.

Since you have a nice set of factory 17's, even if they come from another year, and two good front tires, I'd just stick with your 17's. You've got a great price on powder coating. At least that's what I'd do. And then keep your eyes open just in case a nice set of 19.5's at a good price just happens to jump out of the bushes and bite you down the road. It never hurts,,,and is kinda fun...to always be on the prowl for an elusive part or two. Part of the hobby.

Matt

PS--The rims on the TF trucks were originally painted black from the factory. I went with white when I had mine powder coated because I (meaning my wife) liked the look better. If you want yours to look more stock on your '56, go with black when you get them powder coated.

Nice rig.

It looks like the rims may have been white at some time, the insides rim, towards the axles, is white and the outsides looked like someone brush painted them black. I was thinking about powder coating the two rim halves black and the lock ring silver, just for some contrast. The place that does the coating says silver isn't much in demand but they could hang on to them and see if anyone else wants silver done to make it worth their while....if I wasn't in a hurry.

Tom

They only have a speed rating up to 112 mph.

My 46 1 ton dually has 7x18,I wonder why they messed around with such small tire size increments in the years.

19.5s are in or has been in a phase out period and are getting harder to find.

They are getting more common on larger trucks, might be too heavy for our trucks, though.

Ed

Might try Miller Tire in Ohio --- Just checked their website and only saw highway tire in 7:50 - 17 but you might call them anyway. They sure can supply a lot of odd tires. www.millertire.com