Im going to be working on a 55 chevy 3/4 ton truck for my brothers son (not old enough to drive for a while), shortening the wheel base etc. to except a short bed. He can do what he wants to it later, when he gets older, if he decides he wants something diffrent but I would like to make it cool enough like it is(on a budget) that he will like it as is. It is a possibility that down the road we may want to convert to 5 lug etc,etc. if we cant pull this 8 lug look off. ........but anyway I bought a set of plain 16 inch 80s model steel wheels to replace the old rusted 16.5s and was thinkin whith the rite paint color and some smaller than truck size, p***enger car size tires and some kind of dog dish or full hub cap that we might could pull off a simple fix that others might want to use as well. any ideas (PICS?) etc.? Thanks in advance
just some plain wheels with some tall truck tires look awesome on them! like NAPCO! jack that ****er up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5LYTkRjdno&feature=player_embedded this one looks the best! http://youtu.be/jW6G88aYfBE
Thanks johnny,I may go this route and make a heavy duty lookin 2 wheel drive short bed 3/4 but Im hoping to also see more wheel,tire and maybe regular stance options if anyone else would care to share what they have or have seen,on any 8 lug truck.
The 80s wheels look ok, they're kind of like the 60s-70s wheels, but they were 16 instead of 16.5. The original 3/4 ton wheels in 57 were 17.5 or 19.5" If you get the truck driving, you might discover the original rearend is a bit too steep for what you want. I put a 3.73 rear from an 86 suburban into my 57 single wheel one ton truck, unfortunately it's a bit too wide. I'm planning on running the 80s type wheels, but I'm going to raise the truck up even more so it'll hold that heavy slide in camper I have for it. I put a 59 fleetside 8' bed on mine. But the 80s 16" wheels won't fit the front, they are offset too far in, they hit the steering linkage. I'm not sure what to do about this yet. more info on mine
uh,oh I didnt realize that, these are actually off a late 70s to early 80s (not sure of the actual specific year)3/4 ford van. I have noticed that the wheels or spindles or hubs etc do stick out further on these than the half ton. I cant remember if the axle and or spindles are the same as half ton on these???
Measure the back spacing on the wheels, I think they need to be less than 4.5" or something. I have a ford wheel, and some chevy wheels, and they're all inset just a little too far. I was thinking of running wheel spacers on them, or maybe bending the steering arms in a little bit. As far as I know all the parts on the 3/4 ton are different than the half ton. The 3/4 ton parts are the same as the single wheel one ton like mine.
Wheel Vintiques sells some 16 inch, 8 lug wheels with a 4 inch back space that will work. I recently paid $75 (each) for mine in raw steel.
Hmm, I just measured mine and two of them are very slightly diffrent with the two of them with the slightly bigger center hole for the back having a 4 inch measurement from the mounting surface to a straight edge layed across the outer lip of the rim. The other two have a slightly bigger outer edge lip and it is 4 1/4. Maybe I can put the backs on the front and squeeze by. It will be a day or two before I have the truck here to try it,but we will see I guess.
A 1/2 ton axle will bolt right in that truck. I would put a Stock 1/2 ton axle & brakes in it, Have the hubs redrilled to 5 on 5.5 & put a '57-'64 Ford 9" in it and run Early Ford wheels. Or vice versa & re drill the 9" to 6 lug Or Just leave it a 3/4 ton, Lift it up a Bit & hunt for some U.S. Slot mags that are 15" 8 lug ...... They sold them in the '70's for the 4x4 guys... hard to find Could also go buy the Cheap white 4x4 steel wheels in 16" & run MOON disk's on them. Plenty of things you can do on a Budget, All kinds of guys removing the Stock stuff for newer parts ... Like GM clips & such
What did they put under those early chevy 3/4 tons? Were they Dana 60 front and rear? Early 12 bolt stuff?
They used the Chevy rearend that had the removable cover, and removable third member, it was used into the early 70s. Not much available for different gear ratios, this is a truck rearend, made for hauling heavy loads slowly. Front end was a dropped I beam. 2 wheel drive.
Well, I put the wheels on today and they were very close to the steering linkage but they fit. My dad had a used set of 215 60 16s that we put on the wheels and I think they are gonna work out and look o.k. on the truck,I will hafta take them back off the truck and mask off the tires to paint the wheels now and figure out some hubcaps but they do work
That's good. There are probably several different offsets used on those wheels over the years, and all the 8 lugs were the same bolt pattern until not too long ago.
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