The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Where to find 8 lug 15" wheels

I'd like to replace the wheels on my '55 3600 with some new non split rims. I can't find any 15s with the 8 lug pattern let alone something that will allow me to keep my original nipple hubcaps. I thought maybe going to a 16 would work but have new 15" tires.
Any ideas? Thanks

16" Ford wheels work good. Dodge and late model GM may not fit. Some members have use Dexstar trailer wheels with success. You can buy hub cap clips and mount them on the late model rims

http://53truck.ez15loan.com/howto/hubcap-clips.htm

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...Main=135997&Number=920156#Post920156

hey drdarby
I went to etrailer and bought 16 inch dexstar rims with 8 lugs, they are 16 by 6. I put on radials 215/85 and they just clear the tie rods without rubbing. you may want to go with this setup instead of the 15 since it will give you lower rpms owing to the taller tire. i am not sure if there is a taller tire that will fit without spacers. I am in the process of checking to see if baby moons from hunbcap mike 11 7/8 will fit, if they do then you can use the decals to put chevrolet on them otherwise you would need to use clips to put stock hubs on the dexstars. the good thing about the trailer wheels is that they work and they are not expensive

Trailer wheels are not designed for heavy cornering loads, but a Sunday afternoon drive in the country, they should do just fine.

You might find a wheel shop to cut the centers out of yours and weld into a 15" hoop, its a fairly common operation.

Joe

If you look at the load ratings of the Dextar wheels, I wouldn't be afraid to put them on a 3600lb truck. They have a 3750lb rating per wheel, I think they'll more that do the job.

I've heard the idea that trailer wheels aren't made for cornering, etc... quite a few times. Have you ever seen tandem trailer axles binding when going around corners? Or how about swaying while going down the road? Seems to me they do quite well with cornering and side loads.

http://www.dexstarwheel.com/products.pdf

Last night I was looking at the GM Heritage Center online. I am searching for 17" steel wheels. Anyway, in the process, I think I saw some 8 lug 15" wheels. Keep in mind it was late night fogginess. You might look through the specs of their suburbans. The years '89 through '91 show 8 lug 16" but I may also have seen a 15" 8 lug as well.

the 16 inch wheels (trailer dexstar) i got for my 3600 work real well. the 15 inch rims that are available at the site I mentioned will fit that sites moon hubs(but not the 16in wheels) the decals for "chevrolet" can be obtained from multiple sites, i just put mine on today with the decals and they look great... the stock hubs won't fit without clips...

I may have a cheap solution, wondering if this works. I bought a set of new take off wheels and tires for my 94 C2500. It has nice stock steel 8 lug 16s on it now with newer tires and the bolt on center caps. Im hoping they will bolt onto the 3600 and since they dont have hubcap bumps around the centers maybe I can add hubcap clips and be done?

Last I checked, no "new wheel" manufacturer makes a 15" 8-lug. The smallest I've seen is a 16" wheel, which I think is standard for 3/4 ton now. You might ask around in the One Ton forum about wheel options, since "where to find 8-lug wheels?" are a common question there.

15" X 6" with the correct bolt pattern are often found on older 3/4T and 1T ford vans. When looking, stay 1997 and earlier as 1998 was a change year.

Just a note here, There are 2 common bolt patterns for 8 lug wheels, 8 on 6 1/2" (160mm) and 8 on ??? (170mm.) The 170mm wheels started in 1998 and by 2003 all 8 lug factory wheels were 170mm. Ford wheels are all over the place in diameter, with 16.5 being the most common, 15" next and 16" the hardest to find. With Dodge, 16" is the most common I've found, with a smattering of the others. Chevy common sizes are 16" and 16.5 and it seems rare to find any thing else. All stock offsets seem to be 3 1/2" to 4 1/2" no matter whose wheel it is, except for some Dodge "mudders" I saw. The center hole size is all over, too. Most of the 8 lug (Chevy 3/4T) wheels I have seen seem to be lug centric so it doesn't matter as long as they fit. I'm in Raleigh NC, so all this applies to areas about 100 miles from home or less. Your mileage may vary!

best wishes,

Les

The 1998 change was only for Ford Super Duty trucks. The single wheel vans are still 8x6.5. The dually vans and panel vans have some variations though. The Ford 16x6.5 wheel has a 4.25" backspace, whereas GM used a 4.5" and Dodge was 4.6-4.75". Sometime in the new millenium, Ford went to a 16x7 wheel and a 3.75" backspace. The 08-current Ford vans are using a rim that doesn't have the bump outs on the center ring like the earlier models. In fact, they look almost identical to our early Stovebolt rims.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techar...ck_wheel_bolt_pattern_guide/viewall.html

http://www.ricksontruckwheels.com/wheels-oe.php

I have a 46 . 3/4 ton and am also wondering about wheels and hubcaps.I have some hubcaps that I thought were original ,but they will not fit on the back.The 3/4 ton rear end sticks out to much and the hubcaps won't fit.Did the 3/4 tons have a different hubcap that is deeper?

In the Advance Desgn years the 3/4-ton caps were larger diameter and deeper to clear the rear hubs... I suppose the same is true for 46.

Have you checked our Grigg's wheel and tire Tech Tip ? Not as much info on 3/4-tons as bigger trucks but still useful info.

On my 1950, 3604 I only had three original hubcaps and they
weren't all that good so.... when the vendor finally got the
repops in stock I bought a set. I'm using 16.5" wheels from an
80's K20 Chevy to which I added the clips: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/117147209
The original hubcaps fit fine but the reproduction caps hit on
the rear hub, they are also just single layer where the
original hubcaps have an inner shell and an outer skin.
Denny G

I am using 16x6inch, 8 lug dexstar trailer wheels on my 1948 3/4 ton. these wheels have 3 nubs for hubcaps. I found that the 11 7/8 inch moon hubs from hubcapmike fit over the 3/4 ton axle and snap in place,the "chevrolet" decals from one of the other vendors were easy to do and look great. It saved me having to drill holes in my wheels for the stock hubcap clips

This sounds like what I need to do.how do I get a hold of hubcapmike

I googled it and found it.thanks for the info

The eternal quest for wheels. Can you let me know the model number for the etrailer/dexstar 16x6 8 lugs? I was on the phone with etrailer and asked them about the back space dimension. They called Dexstar and the guy at their plant measured 4" for the back space. everything i've read in this forum is telling me i need to keep the back space to 3.5-3.75" for my '51 GMC 150 to clear the tie rod ends. I'm a little cornfused.

I think I have my wheels issues solved with a set of 70s 16" C20 wheels.

hey roadpooch

I put the 16x6inch dexstar wheels on my 48 3600 with 215/85 r16 tires and it just cleared the tie rods by 1/4 to 1/2 inch. i have had no issues with rubbing after about 500 miles. I bought those before I understood what backspace even meant, I guess i got lucky. hope this helps.

I used a set of Ford 16" Econoline rims, only ones I could find that would accept the large 3/4 ton hub caps and I tried lots of rims.

thanks for the answer. guess i'll be calling etrailer tomorrow to order one to try out.

No one mentioned that the 1998/1999 change of 8 on 160mm to 8 on 170mm! Our trucks are 8 on 160mm (in modern terms,) NOT 8 on 170. The 8 on 170s WILL NOT work!

I agree with JiMerit that the Econolines are the best source of good wheels, but watch out for 16.5s which are more common, around here at least.

Les

As Whitedog mentioned earlier in this thread, that's on Ford F250/350, Econolines and GM and Dodge trucks and vans still use the 8x6.5" (8x165.1mm) bolt pattern. As far as 16.5s go, they went the way of the dodo a long time ago, early '80s at the latest on GM, perhaps around '85 on the Fords. The 16s are far more common.

No one else mentioned that the 1998/1999 change of 8 on 160mm to 8 on 170mm! Our trucks are 8 on 160mm (in modern terms,) NOT 8 on 170. The 8 on 170s WILL NOT work!

I agree with JiMerit that the Econolines are the best source of good wheels, but watch out for 16.5s which are more common, around here at least.

@ whitedog; I strongly suggest that you reread the material in your second link. I stand by what I said.

Les

I've got a 51 3600, what back spacing did you get for your truck?