The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop duel 18' rear wheel set up

I have an original '53 3800 1-ton with 17" split rims and 7,000 gvw. I have a chance to get a set of good 18" dual rims, this would then make my truck look like an 8,800 gvw. So the question is do the duel wheels fit my original hub? Or would I have to change the hub or maybe the whole rear end? I would just be doing this for the look I would not load the truck as I know the springs and brakes are also beefed up for higher gvw's.

The 18" wheel shares the same bolt pattern as the 17", so it will fit the hubs, but the offset is much larger. The front hubs were different on the 1-ton trucks with the dual wheel option to account for the increased wheel offset, but the rear hubs were the same. Are you planning on using duals in the rear, or just using the dually wheel as a single (mounted as an outer) for the look? Either way will cause fender clearance problems if your truck has a pickup bed. If using a single dually wheel, you may be able to compensate with a narrower rearend, but it's probably not appropriate to use a single high offset wheel as it would put unusual stress on the hubs. It would be better to modify the 18" wheel to match the offset to the 17's.

I thought the front rims would be different than the rear rims on a duel rear tire set-up. Are they all the same?

Yep, all six wheels on a dually (or seven with a spare) are the same for interchangeability.