The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1954 Chev 3100 Original Rims

Hello,
I just recently purchased a 1954 Chev 3100 truck, and want to purchase original sized rims and tires.
Where are folks finding direct replacement rims?
Manual shows:

Rim Size: 16x 4-1/2k
Offset: 9/16
Attachment: size 7/16x20 bolts, 5 1/2 bolt circle
Tire size and ply rating: 6.00-16-6

Rims and tires on the truck are too wide for me. I want original look with hub caps.
Thanks!

I would suggest you do a Bing/Google image search and see what you like. Here's what I have on my truck, all of which I've purchased recently from "Chev's of the 40's" and online. If you like the look I'll send you all the specifics.

I like the look - please provide the specifics - thanks!

Well, it looks like things have changed a bit. The key is obviously the wheels, and Chev's of the 40's is no longer listing any wheels on their website. If you want to pursue this, you might give them a call. The hubcaps need to work with the wheels, and the beauty rings may also be dependent on the wheel shape.

Here's the full list (with what I paid, which is likely no longer accurate):

Wheels -$456 (Bare steel Nostalgia - 16" x 6", 3-3/4" backspacing, 6x5-1/2" Chevy bolt pattern)
Tires - Goodyear Wrangler HT - $476 (Size LT215/85R-16) Tire Rack
Hubcaps - $190 (Set of 4 modified for Nostalgia wheels) Chev's of the 40's
Beauty Rings - 4x $26.25 (Item# 1279680S) Chev's of the 40's

Glad to help further if I can.

I just found a spare tire at the junkyard. Just ask for the rim with the tabs for center cap. Was yours originally 15 or 16 inch? Just curios what year 3100 changed to 16.

Chris

16 was standard and 15 was optional...actually, the 15 was I think 1/2" wider.

I had to look it up, Greg

The 15" diameter 3100 wheel was 1" wider (4.5" and 5.0").

In 47-49, the difference was 4.0"-5.0".

I'm looking at using these rims and hub caps from Wheel Vintiques.
Anyone on this site use these an their Advanced design truck?

12 series smoothie
16x6 - 6x5.5 - 4" backspace.
Chevy bowtie hub cap 1949

Wheels

Link says 16 x 4.5" and 15 x 5.5", which would be an inch difference. Have another cup of coffee, Tim

You'd be correct.

RPO 273, Tire size 15, Ply 6 - Series 3100 (3600, 3700 spare)
and
RPO 282

Source: 1954 Chevrolet Trucks Resto-Pack, RPO Page
(Original Scans contributed by Greg H) Hey that's you

Had the one inch difference correct - no coffee yet at that time (that explains the error)?
Thanks for the correction. This is one reason why I post the documentation.

I recently purchased a 55 Series 1 and have the same issue as you regarding wheels/tires. My truck is stock except for chrome Vintique smoothies that make it look like a hot rod as opposed to the desired farm-truck look. My problem begins with determining with certainty what 16" wheels I am looking for...should they look like the 54 wheels you are searching for? Should they have spring-like clips for attaching hubcaps, or should they have nubs on them for the hubcaps to snap over? I will follow your post and hopefully when you find a good answer, you will have solved my issue as well .

1954 small truck wheels had the clips (not the later style with nubs).

factory wheels were split rim...right?

1954 Chevrolet 3100 - not split rims on any of my three trucks.

Does yours have split rims, Greg?

The 54 H-M rolling chassis I bought has 15" split rims with clips and factory hubcaps. I left them on my old frame when it was sold and sipped half way across the country. I wanted to leave some "sellable items" on it because I knew the investment that was made in shipping to get it to it's new home. Afterwards, Rob told me the value of the factory 15" wheels I "gave away".

I'll need to measure the wheel bearing dust cover width and height to see if the Wheel Vintiques hub cap will clear the wheel bearing dust cap.

If anyone has used this combination I would like to know....

.

I know that I am a little late to the party on this, but here is what was on my 1954 3100 Hydra-Matic truck when I purchased her back in 1976. (See pics below.) The wheels are 15" 6-lug w/clips (6 clips total). According to information obtained from the GM Heritage Center and from the previous posts, these 15" rims were a RPO back in 1954. However, from a discussion I had from an old gentleman on E-Bay, he said that the 1954 trucks had three clips. Does anyone have an answer to this? Are these wheels not original?

As you can see from one of the pics, the dog dish hubcaps that my truck came with are the step down bowtie hub caps that came on the passenger vehicles. Was this another option that was maybe offered by the dealer and not listed in the RPO documentation? I am presently purchasing the correct hubcaps from Jim Carter, but does anyone know the answer to this? Could the passenger vehicle hubcaps have been offered? I do know that my truck is not the only truck I have seen with these. Like Awesome Grandpa, I am just now getting kicked off with my restoration efforts and I have seen several like mine. Could they have been part of the Hydra-Matic package. If so that would explain why Greg's "54 H-M Rolling Chassis" had the 15" rims. Mine are not split though, riveted but not split. Greg, do you remember what style of hubcaps were on the chassis before you shipped it off?

I know that I have provided more questions than answers, but I thought maybe these questions might be relevant to this discussion.

Thanks,
SLC

That hubcap was not part of the "1954 truck Hydra-Matic 'package'/RPO ".
That RPO 314 was the Hydra-Matic transmission.

The hub cap in the third photo above, was not standard or RPO on a 1954 truck.

Anything, however, was possible at the dealership, or might have been changed in/over the years since delivery.

Thanks Tim