The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk More wheel/rim help

I've been collecting 16" wheels for my project for a few months now. Unfortunately, instead of ending up with a full set of one size I've ended up with a few wheels of various widths, mostly because I didn't realize that there were more than two sizes of 16", 6-clip wheels.. duh.. so now I'd love some help identifying what I've got so that I can figure out which to sell, which to continue pursuing for a whole set, and what options I'll have for tires once I do have a whole set. In the list below, the measurements are between the outer edges of each rim, and the clips are for the dog dish style hub caps.

A: (2) 5 1/4" width OD, 4" width ID, w/ 6 clips
B: (3) 5 5/8" width OD, 4 1/2" width ID, w/ 6 clips
C: (1) 6" width OD, 5" width ID, w/ 3 clips

All are 17 1/2" total diameter (16's, right?). So, my questions:

1) Are the B wheels the "4 1/2"" wheels that were original on so many AD trucks? What years are they appropriate for?

2) Are the 3-clip 5" ID wheels TF wheels from '55-'60? If not, what era are these wheels?

3) What the heck are the 4" ID wheels? I assume they were also Chevy truck wheels... if so, for which years?

Thanks all,
Nick

1948 and earlier cars and trucks (at least back to 1937) used 4" rims with 6.00x16" tires.
And, the 6.50x16" car/truck tire (if available that year) was mounted on a 4.5" rim.

In 1949, cars changed to 5-bolt 15" wheels.

In 1949, 4" rim width wheels were used on Chevrolet trucks with 6.00x16" tires.
And, the 6.50x16" truck tire was mounted on a 4.5" rim.

I do not have my 1950 books with me.

From 1951 through at least 1955-1st series, 4.5" rim width wheels were used with 6.00 and 6.50 x 16" truck tires.

This information came from model-year Specification manuals and Owners's Manuals on Keith Hardy's website.

and yes, the 3 clip wheels are from 55-60 and would be 5" or 5.5"

Bill

Thank you Bill and Tim!!

Two last questions:

From other posts, I've gathered that tire companies won't mount radials on some of these old skinny wheels, that the modern width equivalent would be 175 or 185. Is this true? If I use these old 4", 4.5", or 5" wheels, am I stuck with modern non-radial tires?

...Which brings me to a last question: Two of the 4.5" wheels I bought came with nice condition black wall tubeless 6.50-16 tires on them ("Super Hi-Way, load range C). I'm tempted to complete the set of 4.5" rims and get a few more 6.50-16 tires. If I need to do this as inexpensively as possible, do I look for some tubed tires from STA or Miller, or perhaps a local tractor supply company? What's the best option?

I had no problem finding a Cooper Tires dealer who readily mounted LT radial tires (SRM II) on my original 4.5" rims (with radial tubes).

My next set on the 1954 pickup that I am restoring will be tubeless because my set of original rims are close to perfect condition.

Some people have reported problems finding a tire dealer who would install radial tires on rims this narrow.

Tim
Remind me what size your Cooper SRM IIs are?
Cheers,
Nick

Has anyone else out there put modern radials on original 4.5" wheels? If so, what size radials were you able to put on?

Cooper:
SRM II Radial LT LT215/85R16

Thank you Tim