The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 17"-18" wheels

Has anyone found a source for 17-18" wheels that will fit a 60's truck with 6 by 5.5 bolt pattern. I have updated to '72 style disc brakes in the front from Early Classic, still 6 lug. I can only find "old" style rims, nothing more "modern".

Try checking with American Racing. Spec the wheel fitment for a '73-'87 Blazer (full size) or 1/2 ton 4x4 pickup. That fitment will work fine.

Yes, I've looked there, thanks.
Anything they've got for that model truck is either small, old news or incorrect offset.
I'm having a hard time finding the correct offset, 0 in the front for an 8" rim and
-25mm (-1") for a 10" rear. I like the look of their Marin wheel, but cannot find anything similar to that style in the 17-18" range and with the offset this truck needs.

Have you checked with thier Custom Shop? I know some of their wheels are available with custom backspacing and offsets. Might be worth checking into.
A big part of the problem is that modern styled wheels are mostly made for odern trucks, which use a different backspace and offset from the older trucks.

It is a tough row to hoe. It would seem all 6-lug aftermarket wheels that are larger than 15" diameter are being made for the newer no front offset vehicles. Pretty much have to change over to five lug if you want the old school offsets with the new school big wheel look.

Have you thought about using the newer style wheels by using a spacer / adapter to mate them to our exisiting lug set-up?

John

Yes I did. I was at a wheel specialty shop, they showed me AR's special order rims, all 5 lug and all "old".

John, I do believe you're right. After many hours/days of searching I believe that I'll have to spend more money and switch over to 5 by 5 and get it over with!
Thanks for all the replies.

Just browsing some of the assorted wheel sires with the width and offset dimensions that you specify, it looks as if it won't matter what the bolt pattern is, modern styled wheels are going to difficult to find. Since you're looking for a specific size/offset, I would suggest calling the manufacturers direct, rather than going through a dealer. As noted, most modern styled wheels, especially 17" and larger, are made to fit modern vehicles, which tend to use positive offsets and deep backspacing, namely due to the majority being FWD.

I guess it all depends on what "RWD1342", or anyone else for that matter, considers modern.

American Racing does offer some of the "big diameter" 5 on 5 wheels in their "Vintage" old school designs. These have the old school backspacing that our trucks need, the old school look, yet big diameters.

http://www.americanracing.com/browse_vintage.asp

Their Torque Thrust II's can be had in 20" through 15" diameters with the "1" backspacing.

Personally I prefer massive sidewall rubber on the tire with a 15" wheel. But then again I am stuck in the 60's. I just don't like the "big wheel with a rubber band tire" look. Reminds me of a Hot Wheels model. But others do like that look and as they say "Variety is the spice of life."

There are still some old school survivor wheels left out their, though it takes some searching to find them. I'll be hanging these aluminum slots on my '65 C10 this weekend:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2370753750103882008JrsOxX

Old school cool, don't ya think?

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2963901720103882008XdryNZ

John

I viewed 17"-18" as a good compromise between lots of sidewall and the rubber band look of 20"-22" wheels. I have seen examples of each on 60-66 trucks and think the 17"-18" size offers enough sidwall for a decent ride. Wheel venders tell me that they have plenty of choices, old school and modern, for a 5 by 5 wheel, with correct offset. I tend to believe them since I've seen plenty of examples of great looking rim/tire combinations in photos that I've found and trucks that I've seen at different shows, all 5 lug. Also, regarding AR, they will only let an average Joe contact them through a dealer as stated on their website. When I've tried to work around this with AR and other manufactures it's the same deal, "contact a dealer".

I am using american racing 20x8.5 with a +30mm offset on a 6 bolt wheel. Did have to use a few spacers on the rear and new longer wheel lugs.

One thing to keep in mind, before they mount tries to the wheels, test fit thm to th truck. Most companies will not take back wheels if tires have been mounted to them. So if the backspace and offset are wrong, you could get stuck with wheels that won't work.

Thanks for the good tips. I spent MANY hours Friday and Saturday searching the internet and came back to a wheel that I'd overlooked a few times prior. I like the Cragar Pro 17" rim with a faugh spinner. Good compromise between "old" and "new" I thought. They offer an 8" and a 9" with backspacing and offset that I believe will work, with my 6X5.5 lugs no less ! As Bill stated, I was not finding a lot of "modern" rims, 6X5.5 or 5X5 with the correct backspace/offset. I do plan on purchasing one wheel and one tire to do a dry fit of both prior to committing to all 4 and prior to mounting.
Thanks for the help, Ralph

Any pics of that rim? I too am looking for a 6 lug rim (preferrably 17") but have had ZERO luck in finding anything remotely cool. I don't want to add wheel spacers, why can't someone just make a cool 6 lug rim!

check out Summit racing,they have a gret selection of wheels.

Casey,
The wheel that I purchased is the Cragar Pro 390 series with optional 3 bar spinners. You can see them on Cragar's or Summit's website.
Ralph

So.....I thought that I had purchased the Cragar Pro 390 series wheels. Summit showed my order on back order for 3 months, but in reality the company that built the center for this 6X5.5 went out of business. And many thanks to Summit for leaving me hang until any possible wheel of this type in stock had long since sold out !

Have found another Cragar wheel, 500 series, 17X8 in 5X5 pattern. Now I am in the process of converting over to 5 lug after all. Thanks to the good guys at Early Classic, I can send back my 6X5.5 front rotors and install their 5X5 front rotors. I'm in the process of machining the front rotors near the dust cap area so that these wheels will fit. Also, going to have my rear axles redrilled for the 5X5 pattern.