In reading all of the options for "correct" wheels and tires - I really don't want to spend the money on obscure tires for these obsolete 3-piece wheels. I'd much rather have a modern all-terrain setup. Something like a 8x170 pattern.
So can I change just the (forgive me if my terminology is wrong) 'spindle' on the front? It looks like it is just bolted to the brake drum. If so, I'd just do that, and swap in the rear axle from the busted-transmission '00 F250 in my driveway. Or would it make sense to just go ahead and swap the front too, to something with discs?
Plan for the rig is more of an occasional driver / work truck, not a garage queen.
The "spindle" is the entire shaft that the hub spins on, all the way to the pivot on the axle called the "kingpin". That 8-bolt circle you're looking at is an adapter that holds the outer wheel bearing and spaces the wheel center out to the right width to be compatible with the dual rear wheels. No, it cannot be removed without some very involved (and expensive) machine work to fabricate a wheel mounting flange with a different lug bolt circle. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. Ernest Hemingway
That bolt pattern is referred to as 5/10, 5 studs on the front and 10 on the rear, 10 on 7.25” circle. Wheels to fit these are rare 22.5” and common 19.5”. Dana 70 and 80 rear axles come with this pattern. 19.5 tires look slightly small to the rest of the truck, but are available.
One can fit modern disc brake spindles and hubs to 2 ton front axles, read Grigg’s articles on that subject here.
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.
Yep, I've read Grigg's extensive research on the subject - I just felt that outer adapter was something that was either ignored or not considered.
As my truck has all-original engine, trans, axles, brakes, etc - I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea of an axle swap. I'm just not really jazzed about spending $1500 on six 8.25-20 tires, since they're not really what I want anyway.
With a little (OK- - -a lot) of creative machining, adapter rings could be added to those hubs that would accommodate the 10 lug Budd wheels found on modern big rigs. A bunch of the butchered-up later model trucks at the Lebanon Tennessee show over the weekend were running wheels with that style of center on pickups. They looked ridiculous, but "Different strokes for different folks!" Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. Ernest Hemingway
