The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1 Ton Wheels Again

While working on the 195? 1 Ton today, I started wondering if it might not be a good idea to go to smaller tires on the front rather than larger. It has 18s all around now, and I still want to go to 19.5s in the back, but look at these pictures of the front.

This is the passenger's side front fender and wheel. Front Wheel Well 1

A slightly different shot that shows the drum clearance. Front Wheel Well 2

And this one is a closer view of the wheel intended to show the drum clearance better, but I'm not sure that it does. Wheel

Through the hole under the valve stem you can see part of the leaf spring and part of the floor jack, which isn't holding it up, by the way. This picture was taken from slightly to the rear of the center of the wheel.

How about 17.5s for the front, for that steam roller look? Would it be any harder to find them to fit the bolt pattern than 19.5s?

do you have the wrong fenders on it....off a 1/2 ton?
the 1 ton fenders stick out a lot more and have a bigger opening...

I have never heard of 17.5 wheels. Are you sure about that? Do you really intend to say 16.5 which is really a 15" tubeless? I'd measure the tires against each other before deciding. I also agree that the fenders don't look correct.

I talked to a local tire salesman and he mentioned the '17.5' tires. I thought he knew what he was talking about. Maybe not. You'd understand if you spent some time in the area.

The tires on it now say 7 x 18, so I'm pretty sure the wheels are 18".

This is that weird truck with the 1950 title, 1953 engine and 1952 3/4 ton cab. Could they have put the 3/4 tone front clip on it too?

I've got a 1951 1 1/2 ton, and the fenders are definitely a lot bigger. Should 1 ton fenders be the same, or was there a size between 1 ton and 3/4 ton. Come to think of it, did the 1 ton non-dually have different front fenders than the dually?

I forgot, 53MoneyPit, that you are from around here.

Just to muddy the waters a little more. The brake drums appear to be about 14 inches in diameter at the widest part.

I put 17.5 tubeless tires on a 48 1 ton front end kept 18" on rear don't remmember where I got the tubeless rims for the front.

18"tires were available on the heavy duty 1 ton trucks

I would think that it is heavy duty. It looks a lot like a 1 ton duallie dump truck. I'm just not sure where the front fenders came from. The cab has a VIN plate in it, but . . .

Fenders on a 1 ton are the same as a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton.
1.5 and 2 ton fenders are larger, and the same.

17" tires are standard for an AD 1 ton single wheel truck.
18" wheels are normal for an AD dual wheel truck.

I have had 19.5" wheels and 8x19.5 tires on the front of my 1 ton, with the correct small front fenders. They just fit, and looked great in my opinion. They also rode much smoother than the 7.50x17 tires I had before.

Grigg

"I put 17.5 tubeless tires on a 48 1 ton front end"

Really? That is a new one on me but I certainly am no tire or wheel expert. What were they original to? I am really curious now.

I think the 61 F350 I had came with 17.5" tires.
I was glad to get rid of them, as the 17.5" tires are a little difficult to find, and expensive.
Was able to sell the wheels as someone wanted tubeless even at that cost.
They were not the right bolt pattern for an AD truck though.

Even if you found 17.5" wheels with the correct 8 lug pattern, I think the 19.5" wheels will be the more economical option, and better chance of finding a tire if you need one while on a trip.

Grigg

the 17.5 wheels I put on bolted right up no problem. local tire dealer had tires in stock reasonable price guess maybe they weren't selling and wanted space. Still can't remmember where I got the wheels did a lot of scrouging and it's been 20 years. they were similar in design to the rear wheels not like the lighter pickup wheels on the single wheeled 1 tons.

The thing that started me thinking about it is that I have the '73 1 ton duallie parked next to the 3800 right now. The '73 has 16 inch radials on it and they are about 28 inches in diameter. '73 next to 3800. Note that the 3800 front tire in the picture is flat. The rears on the 3800 are about 32 inches inches diameter and the fronts about 33. All six are 7 x 18.

The 3800 front tires are about 7 inches from rim to tread. I guess that doesn't really make any difference. The big issue is the overall diameter, and I think Grigg gave me a figure on that once.

Another thing that makes this an issue is that both front fenders have been dinged up more than a little. I can pull the edges out some for now, but I don't want to take them off yet. It also looks like the passenger side front wheel is pushed back a little. I haven't been able to get under it to measure yet. 3800 PS Front Fender It really looks to me like I'm going to have clearance problems at the rear of the passenger's side fender if I don't do something.

It's interesting about the 17.5 tires though. Since you say they are an expensive option, they're out, at least for now.