The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline New Wheels

Hey Everybody,

Gray Ghost here, truck specifics: 1953 3100, 235 engine, stock suspension. Taking a break from my sheet metal work that I write about in the project journals and thinking about new wheels. The wheels that came on the truck when I got it are not originals. In fact, they aren't all the same. The truck has a pair of front wheels that are the same and a pair of back wheels that are the same. The difference between the two pairs is offset (I think). It looks like the previous owner wanted bigger tires and used different wheels to put the tire under the fenders as best he could. These wheels look solid, but I don't want to use them as rotating the tires would only be a side to side thing. Also, these wheels are 15" wheels. The truck had an original 16" spare tire, so I know that it originally came with 16" wheels.

What I'm looking for are suggestions on new wheels. I want the wheels/tires to look as close to original as possible, while using modern equipment and with my normal austere budget. I'm thinking about going back to the 16" wheels, but would certainly consider 15" wheels. Also, if I've misunderstood the tire rotation issue, please let me know. I can add pics if it would help.

Thanks!

I ordered 16" x 6" Smoothies from Wheelsmith (3.5" backspace)

They closely mimic the original appearance. Original style caps came from Wheelsmith as well.

I installed Firestone M+S 215/70R16 tires (under $100 each on Amazon).

They look correct. They're easy to steer without power assist, and they rotate the right number of revs for the speedo to be accurate.

If I were to do it again I think I would order 16x5" rims which are even closer to the original size of 16"x 4.5". As it is, these rims allow a wider tire if I so choose (I don't and won't). These rims could accept a taller tire as well such as 225/85x16 which would be about 3/4-1" taller.

These might give a better look at the tire / rim combo

Otto,

The wheels and tires look great! I went to the wheelsmith website and they don't list prices, which scares me a bit.

Hi Mike,

The prices for the four wheels and caps that I purchased went up about $200 between last August and January of this year.

The grand total, including $175 shipping, cost me $1523.00. The caps were $60 each (up from $40) The wheels were $217 each plus $60 each for powder coat.

The wheels are available in bare steel so you can paint them yourself, powder coated any color, or chrome.

Bare steel is the cheapest and powder coat was $60 per wheel. The truck was originally mariner blue so the original wheels would have been the same color. Wheelsmith cannot match an original color in powder coat so I chose black powder coat as a default because they go with anything. I figured $50 each for powder coat is a lot less than it would cost me to paint them properly myself and the finish is a lot more durable.

I'm very pleased with the quality.

All the wheels are made to order based on the specs you give them.

I chose to purchase these wheels because I didn't want to waste time and money looking on ebay for four 6 lug Chevy wheels of unknown quality. Anything I found was rusty, dented, possibly warped, and 60 years old. For peace of mind and top quality, I bit the bullet and bought these wheels.

Give them a call and see what they're charging now.

Otto,

That's too bad for me, my budget can't handle that kind of a hit. I guess I'll have to keep looking or accept that rotating my tires will only be a limited, side to side thing.

The wheels that were on the truck before these were 15" short and fat. The tread was about 8 or 9 inches wide which made it nearly impossible to steer at low speed. They looked absolutely awful.

I reluctantly took the hit but once the wheels and tires were mounted the "hurt" went away. They make a massive difference in how the truck handles and increases my enjoyment of it immensely.

You can see how horrible the truck looked with the crappy 15" wheels and tires.

Stock up on Ramen noodles and buy some new wheels! Hahaha!

Huge improvement! I also want to replace my tires and wheels. I running 235-70R tires on 15 x 7 or 8” rims. It’s a bear to steer at low speed and I believe the offset is screwing up the steering geometry. The wheelsmith rims look really good and I may consider buying them when the times comes.

It sounds like you have the same size rims and tires that were on this truck. They looked terrible and handled worse.

These wheels and tires make driving the truck much more enjoyable.

Sadly, you are describing what I have. The truck is sitting on 235 75 R15 tires that just don't look right. It may be because the tires are ancient and bulge at the bottom, but they also look too wide. While I don't really like the ramen suggestion...I may have to consider it. I was really hoping someone would know of something similar to the Dexstar wheels, but built for trucks, not trailers. I know some have used the Dexstar, but I'm a noob in this area and really don't know if it would be dangerous to use trailer wheels on my truck or not!

Have you looked here?

Wheel Vintiques

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be substituted for Ramen noodles if necessary.