The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk '54 3600 wheels & Tires

Howdy,
I recently purchased a '54 3600 with original 7 X 15 tires.
In the interest of speed and ease I want to buy some plain steel wheels and taller tires. My questions is what is the max combination that will fit and work well? The service manual lists 7X17 as an option. I'm thinking Sears or some other tire center as a wheel and tire source. Does anyone out there have some advice for me? Store, wheels, tires etc. I hope to keep this as cheap as possible for now. I'll use the original wheels when I resore the truck but for now I want a good summer driver. Somebody out there must have had the same motivation.
A second question for a later project.. does anyone have specifics on changing the gearing on a 3600 without retrofitting an entire new rear end. Does anybody make a replacement/better ratio gear set?

Welcome to the Stovebolt!

Task Force trucks were available with a 19.5 inch wheel that will fit your truck. You might look for a set of those.

The Eaton rear under your truck was available under 3/4- and 1-ton trucks until about 1972. If original your gears are either 4.57 or possibly 5.17 (an option) to 1. Later trucks had a 4.11 gear set, and rarely a 3.70 or about that. I haven't heard anyone say they found the 3.something gears recently, so the 4.11 is probably your best bet.

Alternatives are switching rears.

Were the 19.5s on alot of trucks or were they an option?And what type of tires came factory on them around 59?
Thanks

If you want to keep it cheap and still sweet, stick with the originals, especially if you plan to use them in the long run.

I did not find purchasing new rims and wheels cheap by no means.

Before you invest $$$ make sure new rims offset will clear your tie rods.

I purchased 6x16" trailor wheels which worked fine, but I don't know if they had sizes that big for your desires.

Good luck with your project.
Keep us informed so we can all learn from your experiences.

I've seen on here that pacer trailer wheels fit well, and that ford van wheels can be used with a 1/4' spacer (don't forget longer wheels studs if going that route). For tires, a 215/85/16 or 235/85/16 would be very close to what was original in size and appearance. make sure you go with a D or E load range to keep the capacity correct. If you go to Sears (I work for them), the Michelin XC LT4 is the best tire we carry, and is available in both sizes. They can also get tires from Goodyear in the old bias ply, but they are rather expensive, Coker may be a better route if you want to stay with bias. I've heard alot of guys having good results with Cooper, we don't carry them, though.

cletis, Woog, not trying to advertise, just passing along info as the question was asked about Sears.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I looked into the trailer wheels and found a few good options that were not too expensive. I'm cheap though and continued looking around the local junk yards. I found a set from a ford truck that had been driven from Oregon to Maine and very little since. From a short distance away the tires look new. Close inspection shows very slight wear and supple crack free sidewalls. Four nearly new tires and wheels for $200 sold me. The wheels are chrome plated which is not what I really wanted but they should accept black paint with a bit of prep. 235/85 R16 Michelin XCX/APT tires are as big as I would want to go. I tried them on with the truck on jack stands where it will remain until my brake parts arrive. The wheel well looks full. I'm curious to see them on the ground. I was warned about tie rod clearance for good reason. I have about a 1/4 inch now. No front fender clearance problems. The tires need to be inserted into the rear wells at an angle. Once in they lift easily onto the hub and fit well with no clearance issues. Total tire height is now 31 inches

Thanks again. I'm sure I'll be searching seasoned opinions again soon.
JOSH

For anyone else that wants to try Ford wheels, they went metric in 1999 and they won't bolt up. JB, you were lucky to get the earlier ones instead.