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I have `53 3600, that I have just recently gotten back on the road. The truck needs new tires but I want to change from 15in wheels to 16.5's.
Would like to get information on what 8 lug wheel would swap over (from what vehicle)? Will these bigger wheels/tires fit under the wheel wells.
Will changing to a larger wheel/tire have a negative affect on the rearend, performace, braking, ride?

Thanks in advance!

The big issue is backspacing, so you don't knock the wheel weights off on the steering linkage. I found a set of white "appliance" wheels in Les Schwab's discontinued stock that fit the bill.

Product code: 03370885
Description: 34676ZR 16.5x6.75 (8 on 6.5) Superior type 34 white 8 spoke (rwd)
Price: $19.90 each

Please note that this was a discontinued item, so I may have grabbed the last of them. The wheels are wider than the stock split rims; I had to roll the fenders to clear the tires, especially on the rear. The fronts do not rub the frame or inner fenderwell even at full turn, and they clear the steering knuckles nicely. Aesthetically, they don't match the truck other than the color (I have a white grille and bumpers).

I chose to match the origial tire height as closely as possible (to keep up with slow moving buildings), so I went with a set of 35/1250R-16.5/8 radials. They're huge, and you will have tire clearance issues on the rear if you use these. If you are changing the rear gears, you can select any tire you like.

The previous owner of my rig had put ugly chrome 8-lug mags on the truck and it steered horribly (not to mention the washers used to correct the backspacing made it unsafe at any speed). By going from a 10" to 8" wide tire, I eliminated the need to install power steering. I still have the 1-ton springs under it, so going to tall rubber made a noticable improvement in ride.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

HedgeHog,
would those wheels be RV type wheels with the white color, punchouts for spokes and a very fine red stripe around the perimeter ?

Yup, those are the ones.

Cst010,

I once had 16.5 rims on a '75 3/4T truck. Those tires are shorter and fatter than tires on the usual 16 in. rims, if I remember right. I'd be really surprised if they work. For my '48 3/4T, I have 235-85 tires on 6" wide 16 in. rims which gives me a clearance of only 1/8 in from the tie-rod(?) ends, but they've never hit. I'd suggest going the 16 in. route and not the 16.5.

I wrote the following in a previous post (slightly edited).

"I finally took a front wheel off my 3/4T and did some measurements with flat boards spanning the 16 in. one-piece rim. I come up with an inside bead width of 6 in. (not 6.5 like I thought). The inside mounting surface is setback 3 3/4 in. from the outside of the bead. These rims work with 235-85R16 tires (Michelin highway treads). One of the tire shops in town said they could order them so they should be available everywhere."

Changing to the 16 in. rim and tire will help you with the 3/4 tonner's biggest complaint.......too high engine speed per MPH. A 4:57 to 4:10 rear end swap will help even more.

if your tire shop says they can order them please find out brand and part #. I have not been able to find any locally.I would really appreciate any info you find. THX!

I went through this proceture a few month ago and I found 16" rims 6" wide 8 holes, the wholesaler I got them from told me they are used on 1999 -2000 F**d and D*ge.
Spacing is correct back set gives me 3/8 of inch to steering knuckle and the 15" brake drums fit into it.

I use 15" Utility rims on my '62 GMC, and they look good. They are cheap, but they look good. I was lucky enough to get the truck with them already installed, but I repainted them.

The new wheels on the fuord and dogged are metric measurement I believe(correct me if I am wrong)