'63 GMC panel van needs new rims. Which modern rims fit?

Hello, I have just brought a 1963 GMC aluminium body panel van and before I can tug it home it needs new rims and tires. It is currently on an 8 bolt pattern and with 18 inch tyres.

Ideally I'd like to find a set of eight 17 inch rims as it's a dually one ton van and I'd like two spares. I'm not too familiar with GMC stuff being a British guy living in Canada but I'm up for learning as much as I can.

Here it is in all it's unrestored glory...


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I would guess a modern day eight lug GM wheel would fit. You may not find 17's to use a dual wheels, though. You will likely find 16's and 19.5's

 

I'd probably go for larger sizes then as I would like to raise the gearing a little. The research I have done shows it's very low and with a V8 i can't see it not being able to pull better with bigger tires.

Acording to the VIN it originally had a big block GMC V6 but someone has dropped in a V8. Still trying to identify exactly which motor it is.

 

I'm sure there is a wheel that would fit it and if not there is sure to be an adapter out there. If they can get superdutys running on big rig wheels I gaurantee there's something out there for ya. If you know the wheel bolt pattern good chance you can dig around in the junk yards or use their knowledge to help you out.

 

The patterns changed thru the years. Why are you changing rims? You can buy whatever tire size suits the truck. More pics please!

 

The pattern should be 8 on 6-1/2". This is common with everything 8-lug, except the Super Duty Fords, which are 8 on 170mm. Just be sure to double-check the center hole size.

Late model Dodge DRW trucks can be found with 17" wheels (17x6").

 

Wow, I'm kinda surprised to see that old 47 2nd-55 1st style grille on as late a van as 63.

 

I'd like to keep the rims original but they have rusted to the point of being dangerous. Whilst the tires hold air they are rotted and cracked and 18 inch is an odd ball size from what I understand. I'm planning on restoring it and road tripping North America with it so I want a common and easily available tire size if possible.

Aside from the rims being shot it's in very good condition. Don't you love aluminum bodys!



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you don't have a 63 I think. it's a mixed parts thing, the wheels and grille are 47-55, the gauge cluster is 55-59, the steering wheel too. the 8-lugs you got there are are 8 on 4-1/2 (or 4-1/4, not 100% sure). find yourself a 1947-59 1-ton gmc or chevy truck and get the wheels from that, and you're good. tires aren't hard, go to a semi truck place and they can order them for you (it's what I did, $650 incl mounting & balancing)

 

I'm only basing the year on what the previous owner told me. He really didnt know much or are about it as he sold it for 50 bucks. Thanks for your info tho, I'm looking to peice together all I can about it. My main question is what drivetrain it's got, the V8 is a retro fit I think... I have trawled the 6066gmcguy website for info but who knows what is actually in the thing...

As for mixed parts it may well be, the grill style is different from other vans of the same era I have looked at and the pedal arangement is different too. The gas pdeal sits almost infront of the brake pedal with the clutch pedal beside it, never seen anything like it.

How can I measure the bolt pattern myself, reliably?

 

the 17" wheels on the old GM one tons are split rims.

 

Since it is an even number of lugs, simple measure from the center of one to the center of the one directly opposite it.

 

I looked at a blue one ton with single wheels on the rear and it had split rims, this one doesnt have split rims which is good

Thank you

 

If your going to travel in it, why not upgrade to more modern suspension?
Disk Brakes etc. could be real handy.
Not to mention the modern tire/rim options.

 

If I were to guess, I'd say it originally had a GMC 248 straight 6 in it. if you have a vin number someone can decode it.
you won't need to upgrade your brakes and suspension, this is fine. just re-upholster your seat. and like I said, tires and wheels aren't too hard to find.

 

If you're going to put a lot of miles on this thing, "road tripping all over North America in it, I'd pay close attention to the rear grearing and consider either adding an overdrive, changing the ratio and/or also maybe swapping in a complete late model 1-ton truck rerend that already has approprite gearing. The reson is that most of these step-vans were intended stricktly for 'in-town. door to door' delivery work, rather any sort of extended highway use.and unless they specially optioned otherwise (possible, but very rarely done) they have a really low rear gear ratio.. For wheels and tires, I'd probably go to with 245-19.5's as these are a commonly available modern commercial truck size and will give you a bit more height and a lot better ride and handling than the stock 17 inch wheels and bias tires. I did a quick search looking for 19.5 wheel interchange and tire omparison information and the first site that came up was for an outfit called Rickson. (http://www.ricksontruckwheels.com/) See also this refferance to them too, posted on a Dodge Ram truck list - ( http://dodgeram.info/tech/mods/tires/19wheel.htm) I don't know anything about Rickson, but the info on their site should steer you in the right direction.

By the way, someone mentioned they don't think your truck is a '63, due to the seemingly odd mish mash of other, older GMC truck parts. Your vin number will give the definitive answer,as to the year, but this mash-up of various-year older parts was not uncommon for these step-vans. Just for example, the later GMC Grumman-bodied step vans used 1962 Chevy ii dash clusters and '68-69' Chevy truck headlight bezal and marker light, right into the 1980's! Also if the truck
originaly came wiith a GMC V6, those things didn't even come out before 1960.

Mart3406
========================================

 

You should take a wheel off and go shopping at your local truck boneyard. I'd say that something off a newer step van should be fine. Does it have rear dualies? Any old bread route truck would be a good donor.

FYI on truck wheels: Anything in inch increments (16", 17"...) is split-rim tube type. Anything with a ".5" in it (16.5", 17.5", 19.5"..) is a one piece wheel and tubeless.

Bob

 

---------------------
Not so, at least with 16's,. There 's lot's of both single
and dual wheel, *non-split rim* 16 inchers out there. Until
just recently, 16's were the standard rim size for almost
all 3/4 and 1-ton trucks.

Mart3406
=====================================

 

As long as the brake parts arent too hard to find I'll keep it standard, I'm not bothered about ride quality, as long as it's reliable. I did consider it but I'd like to keep as much as possible original, new rims aside.

The VIN is : 3P93642650419B

I looked on the 6066 GMC guy VIN decoder and it says it should have come with either a straight or V6. I popped the engine cover and it most definaltey is a V8, what model I'm not sure yet. I'd be grateful or any pointers on IDing it.

Indeed, the van came with a SM-420 transmission and I believe it still has it. The gearing is very low on this transmission and the rear end is geared anything from low 4's to high 5's. Once I have it on new rims and tyres I can tug it home and begin to properly sort it all out. I like your idea of 245-19.5's too, this should help raise the gearing a little.

And yes it is a dually but I'd like to run it with single rear wheels only, I won't be putting anything like the weight it's rated for in the rear.

 

The stud diameter is the problem. 1970 and older have smaller diameter studs than the later models. I had my hubs drilled to accept late studs, been doing this conversion for years. Late model wheels are plentiful. BTW, I really dig your step van, very cool. There is a documented '63 Chevrolet step van nearby, will post some pictures soon.

 

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Just found out from the owner it's a chevy 327 V8 motor in it. His son cooked the original I6. It's sat for 12 years so be interesting to see if it runs once the tow truck brings it back later this week. Thats first on the list and then take off all the paint and strip the interior. I'm going to leave it as Aluminium and just paint the GMC and chevy logos.

I'd like to see those pics, I love how they look.

...

 

2003 and newer dodges have 17" wheels and come in aluminum and steel for duallys.

The rear axle is the very stout HO52. It came with limited gearing of 4.10, 4.56, and 5.13s. The axle is a drop out style like a ford 9" so swapping gear sets is pretty easy. These axles are pretty common as they came in near every 3/4 though 1 ton GM truck and van from 1947 to 1972.

 

I do have several of those center sections with 4.56 ring and pinion.

 

The wheels must register on the hub properly so that the studs aren't taking the load. Dodge wheels have a larger center.

 

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Is this a 'double bump' head on my 327?

 

Another guy on this site has pics of the same van same plate who owns this thing? The other guy goes by smiffy 6 four

 

He is my Dad. We brought it as a project to do together.

 

That explains allot cool.

 

thanks for your help, i really appreciate it. I'm learning alot from everyone here on the HAMB.

I hope to get stuck into it tomorrow as the tow truck is booked to bring it all home