I am new to the forum and have a question I am hoping to get some help with. First off a little about the truck. It is a 1966 F-250 Custom cab Camper special 4x2 with a 352 under the hood. I am the second owner of the truck, the original owner was my grandpa. I have been working on fixing the truck up just got finished replacing all the lifters and push rods, and bought a new set of tires and rims for it and that is where I ran into trouble.

The truck has 31x10.5r16.5 tires on it now and finding tires in that size is impossible, so I bought a set of 17" rims. I was Going to go with 16" but they would have rubbed on the front calipers (the front brakes were converted to disk). I also got 265 70 r17 tires and was told from a tire guy I talked to on the phone that they should be comprable to the 31's. Well I mounted the tires on the rims today and put one on the driver front and the tire is very close to the fender. Now If I put a set of air shocks in the front do you think it would give me enough lift to clear the tires? Im sure the shocks that are on it need replaced Nothing has beed replaced on this truck for a LONG time. Or would I be better off to go with a smaller tire?

Sorry its so long. I will try to get some pics on here of the truck.

 

First off, welcome aboard.

Secondly, is the offset on the new rims all wrong? If nothing is different between the two, the new tire/wheels should fit like the old. Were there problems with the original 31's mounted up front?
--Mike

 

The rims are zero offest rims. There were no problems with the 31's. everything I read said they should be the same size. I measured both tires and the 31's only measure 29" tall and the 265's measure about 31 1/2. Weather permitting I will put the tire back on the truck and take some pics tomorrow to show the clearance I have (or lack there of)

Edit: I guess I wasnt really specific in my op. My clearance issue is front fender clearance. I can fully turn the wheel both ways but if I were to hit a bump while turning the tire would rub the front part of the fender with the new tires.

Here is a pic of the truck with the 31's on it
<a href="http://s418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/?action=view&amp;current=Photo0111.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/Photo0111.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

pics with the new rubber. pics were taken with my phone so there not the greatest.
<a href="http://s418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/?action=view&amp;current=Photo0113.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/Photo0113.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

close up
<a href="http://s418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/?action=view&amp;current=Photo0112.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/Photo0112.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

here is a shot of the passenger front with the 31's still on it for size reference
<a href="http://s418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/?action=view&amp;current=Photo0114.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/jbkanissen/Photo0114.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

Dang, those are good looking wheels on there. Putting air shocks on the front will not work for a few reasons to include trashing out your geometry and eating through tires. I do not think new shocks will help you much either, but since you need them, start there. You can roll the front fender lip, put a body lift on the truck or go with a smaller tire. I vote for the 3rd option.
--Mike

 

Here is a pic of mine with 235x85r16 on it. A 265x75r16 looks almost the same. Either one is closer to the 31's you had on

 

I was going to go with a 16" rim but after looking at the truck the rims would have rubbed on the calipers. my neighbor suggested getting 245 75r17's for just the front and leave the backs the 265's but im not sure I really like that idea. Not sure if it would look good.

 

do you have over sized calipers? the rims on my 65 fit my 77 as well they are stock rims if a 16.5 fit the 16 should. you should be able to pick one up out of a wrecking yard and check the tire store might even have some they can put on to check

 

my experience level in this regard is about zero but i'll throw one out anyway. if nothing else works find some large opening fenders off an f350/f250. ?

 

I'll resell the 265's and maybe take a loss and then buy smaller tires before I swap out body parts on this truck. too much sentimental value

 

im not sure what kind of calipers are on it. My grandpa would have been the one to put them on. With the 16.5 rims on there there wasnt even a finger space between the rim and the caliper

 

Hoops changed on later rims to accommodate the calipers along with the safety lip to keep the tire on the rim.

Early rims will not clear the calipers.

Swapping to a smaller diameter will give you clearance, Also the neutral backspace is not helping as a stock rim is 3 3/8 backspace. Will you also be correcting the speedometer with the tall rear tire?

Garbz

 

Wow tire and rim guy I talked to must not have a clue because he said that they had 0 backspace. I really need to not trust what ppl tell me. As for the spedo I figure it should only throw it off by about 5mph or so or am I underestimating that? The truck wont be a daily driver. Just making it look good to take to some car shows and have some fun.

 

You got a nice combo there.

 

hey does anyone have a set of 16" hubcaps for my 66 f-250? thanks to all