The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 65 short - 5 lug or 6 lug ?

hello:
i have a 65 short step all original with 6 lug. i have identified a set of 73-87 era 15X8 6 lug rally rims which i would like to purchase for the truck. before i go ahead is there any advantage to switching over to 5 lug configuration? is it worth it?

thanks

As far as I know, the only advantage is the look of the 5 lugs and the bigger range of available aftermarket wheels for the 5 lugs.

-W

I agree with Woogeroo.

I contemplated swapping to 5 lug on my '65 because of wheel selection. I now feel the swap to 5 lug is over rated, IMHO. A big part of the character of these old trucks is kept intact by not changing something just to make it like the "newer" stuff.

I just kept searching until I found some 6 lug wheels that I liked. Found some old 15x8-1/2 aluminum slots. Sure, it took some searching but that's part of the fun of this hobby.

thanks guys-
will it matter if i sommeday want to switch to disc brakes?

You can buy 6 lug rotors if you decide on disc brakes,the 4x4 wheels you're looking at would be compatible for disc brakes.My buddy with a 64 just went thru the same thing,put 75 spindles on,bought 6 lug rotors and had to change his 64 factory wheels.

I also agree with Woogeroo and Hot Rod John. I just had to make that same decision on my 61. I went with 5 bolt because I had a later model posi rear available that was 5 bolt, so I bought the 5 bolt spindles up front. Convenience thing on my part but thats the only reason. Not much gained otherwise........

I have 5 lugs on mine and prefer them.I bought the truck that way. I have a newer rear axle too, a Tom's Kick A$$ axle. It's less work changing a tire too,lol.
Joe

I switched my 1960 GMC 1/2 ton over to the 5 lug/78 front suspension mainly to eliminate the very expensive (obsolete) ball style front wheel bearings. I started adjusting wheel bearings back in the 1950's so I know the proper procedure, but the quality of the new replacement ball bearings just didn't hold up (4 sets at almost $100 a pair) and as many years. The later roller bearings have been in place for over 10 years now and work fine. I'm not sure if 65 still had ball bearings, but anyone reading this thread with the earlier model may want to consider this.

thanks guys-
is the conversion from 6 lug to 5 lug difficult / expensive if i have my mechanic do it?

i found a beautiful set of 15x8 5 lug 73-87 truck rally rims with caps and rings for $100. i also found someone selling a set of 15x8 6 lug rims in good condition for $350, way too much if you ask me. might it be better to convert?

thanks

P5861 wrote: "Is the conversion from 6 lug to 5 lug difficult / expensive if i have my mechanic do it?"

Yes it is expensive.

If you like truck rally's there are plenty of six lug chevy truck rallys around. You can even buy new ones from Pete Paulsen.

http://www.petepaulsen.com/Catalogofwheels/Rally%20Wheels.htm#PU

John

Fyi, if you do choose to buy 6 lug Corvette style rally wheels make sure to verify before you buy them what size hubcaps they take. I had 5 lug Corvette style rallys on my truck with the 5x5 bolt pattern in front and they took any standard derby, disc brake or police cap. Before I had my rear axles redrilled to 5 lug, I bought a matching pair of 6 lug Corvette style wheels for the back. Imagine my disappointment when they showed up and none of the regular caps would fit. They needed a special larger cap that only comes in the police style. If that's what you want it's not a problem but if you're expecting to use passenger caps you might end up disappointed.

If you buy any of the stock late model 6 lug truck style rally wheels their matching caps will obviously fit.

no in particular i was referring to the "truck" rally typical on the 73-87 trucks.

thanks

There is a relatively inexpsensive way to conver to 5 lug on the '65, do a spindle swap. What you'll need are spindles from a '73-'87 1/2 ton 2wd, balljoints for the same application, and I beleive the outer tie rods have to swapped as well. The swap is really a bolt in, the balljoints have to swapped due to the differences in the stud lengths from the drum spidle to the disk version. You should be able to get splindles at the salvage yard. The rear is a little trickier, but can also be done 3 different ways. 1 would be to swap the entire axle assembley out for the 5 lug version. The other way would be to swap the axle shafts themselves out using shafts for the later truck. They will need to be shortened and regrooved, though, as the 6 lug alxe is about 2" narrower. The third way would be to use aftermarket replacement shafts, but that can get pricey. With either of the last 2 options, you would keep the existing axle housing and brakes, only the shafts and drums need to be changed.

thanks for the detailed reply longbox-
Considering there is a lot of other necessary work I will need to do on the truck maybe I will put this off for a later date. I like the look of the 15X8 73-87 truck rally so for now I will keep searching for a reasonably priced set hopefully without the centering tabs.
thank you