I know there is a lot of information on this site and others regarding the infamous widow maker rims. I just purchased a 1963 C60. I have never owned this large of a bolt before, so bare with me and my knowledge gap. The rear were brand new and the wheels are a three piece design which are in good shape. The fronts on the other hand are old. Please see the attached pictures of the front wheels. They appear to be the widow maker design but do not have the RH-5 marking anywhere. They have Firestone Accu-Ride stamped on them with a part number of 25647. The tires are 8.25-20. I cannot find any information on this part number. Can someone identify this wheel and let me know if I can use it or not? The tread looks ok on the tires so I may roll on with it, but if I need new tires I want to know if I need to budget for new/used wheels as well. Thanks!
When time to replace tires, it is always good to go to 22.5's, since many tire shops won't do split rims, so in the meantime, keep an eye out for a set of 22.5 rims, might be on a like truck.
Ed
'37 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires. '47 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle. '54 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed. '55 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
Hy again smokinjoe3, to me your pictures indicate the Widowmaker RH5 wheel, two dead giveaways the boxlike structure running around the inner area of the wheel and no evidence of a split or removable ring on the outboard side of the wheel. As EdPruss said start looking for some 22.5" wheels with your bolt pattern, they may take a while to find, good luck with the search.
Just got off the phone with Alcoa. They are going to be manufacturing steel 10x8.75 lug 22.5 wheels later this summer for $259 each. Just throwing that out there. I'm keeping the back tires on. They are 8.25x20 but are brand new.
The simplest way to identify the RH-5's is that 2" wide flat band near the center of the wheel barrel. Your photo makes it a little hard to see that area, but it looks a lot like those wheels are the dangerous ones. There's very little likelihood a wheel that's been running safely for years will fail suddenly, but you'll have a hard time finding a tire shop that will service them once it's time to make a change or get a flat repaired. Jerry
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