The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks wheel and tire fitment

hey guys. i have a 65 fleetside longbed that will soon need tires and i was wondering what was the factory wheel width and what is the widest wheel and tire combo i could comfortably fit without rubbing. The truck is stock height

Here's a couple of links that might be helpful:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=363311

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=359641&highlight=biggest+tires

Factory rims were 5.5". with a 6.70-15 tire as base equipment. That works out to a 215/75/15 in a modern radial. You could get away with a 225/75/15 on that rim, 235/75 would be pushing it for stability. As far a max size, I've fit 32x11.50x15s on them without any trouble. Might be able to squeeze a 33x12.50, but that might get tight in the rear fenderwells. You will need a wider rim for those, at least an 8" for the 11.50s, 10" for the 12.50s.

My '65 Short Step had 30x10.5x15 on the rear and 235-75-15 on the front when I got it a year ago and they fit the stock (lowered) truck with no issues.

I currently have 33x12.5x15 tires on 15x8.5 wheels (3.38 backspacing) on the rear but I did some radical modifications to the bed. https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...=Hot+Rod+John&Search=true#Post517710

The 33x12.5x15's will not fit inside the wheelwell on a stock short stepside truck unless you:
1.0 Narrowed the rear axle about 3-1/2 inches on each side or,
2.0 Purchased custom offset wheels.

John

i have 205/75/15's on my 63 stepside c10. they are ground off to wide white wall. they look pretty small compared to what most trucks are running.

That's definetly undersize. Load capacity is too low.

thanks for the info. i checked what is on there now and i've got 235/70/15. they look way too small for this truck. i guess i need to splurge and get a wider rim when i get tires. are there any factory steel wheels that are 8" wide that would fit?

The Blazer Rallye is 15x8, and is very easy to find.

yes i think you are right longbox. the heaviest think i have hauled in that truck is a dresser for my wife. it's not my "haulin truck" that's my 64 c20. the only reason i got them a couple of years ago is they were $5 each at the used tire shop.

the 235's are quite a bit wider than stock though right? why go wider just cause it's popular right now? maybe a little better braking but uses more gas and harder on the front end- so i've been told.

The width difference will be negligeble on that frontend with 235s, they're anly mabe an inch or so wider. There's several advantages; 1, it looks better, 2, handling and braking will improve ue to the larger tire footprint, and probably the best reason, availability. The smaller sizes are going obsolete very fast, especially the 205-225 sizes in light truck tires.
Where the problems with the frontend come from is when a wider wheel is instaled, as they offset has to be further to the negative side to keep the backspacing the same. This can shift the wheel centerling to far out, putting axtra stress on the bearings and balljoints, plus it alters the scrub radius, which affects the alignment angles during turns. 235s won't be a problem on that frontend, as it was used as a factory fit on the virtually same suspension on the later trucks.

what years were the blazer rallys available. i will try to call around the junkyards to see if any are available.

'73-'91 on Blazers, '74-'91 on Suburban, and '74-'87 on K10 pickups. They're also still available new from Kelsey-Hayes, which was the original manufacturer.

thanks for the info anf help guys. i'm off to the junkyards