Hi,
I'm a new member to the site but a longtime viewer. I recently saved a 1968 f600 grain truck from the scrappers and in the process of restoring it. Was wondering if I could get some advice for the wheels on this truck. It has what I believe are the widowmaker rims with the locking ring in the center and have a almost new set of firestones in dayton wheels and would like to change them to the budd or would I be better off to switch to tubeless 22.5 Wheels?

On a side note I just got 22.5 wheels off a junk 69 uhaul f600 with 8.00x22.5 tires that were toast. Could I find anymore of these wheels? Thanks for your input and advice in advance!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98312821@N04/9186862231/

 

IMO go with the 22.5 tubeless.

You just got a set with bad tires? Did you not get 6?

Thread with info, some links:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...y-69-f600.html

The tires on the Daytons will be tube type, and that will lead you to needing a set of wheels anyway. No one will mount tires on widowmaker wheels anymore. And not many will deal with the lock ring wheels either, even though they are fairly safe.

More than you want to know about split vs. lock ring wheels:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...f600-hubs.html

Not sure what you have as far as truck tire places near you. Anyway, search for "6 on 8.75" bolt pattern wheels for more info. IH and GMC/Chev also used that pattern, including military trucks. Most will be split ring wheels, 22.5 tubeless are a little harder to find.

 

Thanks for the links, those are a big help! The truck I pulled the 2 tubeless wheels off of had 8.25x20 widowmakers on the back which i thought was kinda strange to mix them. So thats why im trying to figure out which route to go. I live in southern ohio and am starting to hit up the local truck junk yards to see if I can find some more of the tubeless. I will check more into the IH/GMC wheels too.

 

Isuzu also uses that pattern, but I think only on 19.5 wheels, too small in diameter for your truck. They do have 22.5 wheels, but I do not know if they used a 6 on 8.75 for them, probably 10 lug.

This outfit has wheels, but you'd have to call them to confirm what exactly they are. Check your center hole diameter also.


Stud Pilot / Budd Wheel Ends, Hubs & Spokes | Wheel Ends, Hubs & Spokes - Heavy Truck Part Results

 

The U Haul wheels are most likely 6" wide. The 8 x 22.5 tires are hard to find (I have two decent used ones that I will never use), but a 9R22.5 tire is available. I see used 9R22.5 on Ebay every so often. I see 22.5" Budd wheels for sale once in a while, so you can keep looking if you want to go with 22.5"s

The 9R22.5 is close in diameter to the 8.25 x 20, so they are a replacement.

20" lock ring Budd wheels (non widowmaker)are still out there - it just takes some looking to find them. Sometimes the places that sell used military trucks and stuff have them in our bolt pattern - I picked up six 5 or 6 years ago.

Good luck

 

Well while I was out working on a dozer today I stumbled across an old truck junkyard and found 5 more budd wheels for the truck, 2 that match the uhaul 22.5 tubeless wheels I already have and 3 that are the old style with the large curled lip on the bead edges. That way I have a spare tire wheel then too. I about fell over when the guy told me $30.00 a wheel and didnt hesitate long. Now I just have to figure out what tires im going to do. Thanks for the comments!

 

I am more into the mechanical side and never dealt with the tires much so could anybody throw out some advice for the tires that I could put on these 22.5 wheels? I have 4 that measure 6.75 from inside lip to inside lip and then 2 that measure 7 from inside lip to inside lip that I was planning on running on the front. I have seen in past posts 9r22.5s are the normal but could I run 10r or 11r 22.5s or what would the metric conversion be? As this truck spends alot of its time offroad I would like to find some agressive tires for the rear. Thanks!

 

9R 22.5s are the standard replacement for 8.25x20s. Even at that, I think they are a little taller than the 8.25s. 10s and 11s are going to be a bit taller and could cause clearance problems. Metrics go either way depending on size.

Page 9 here has 9, 10, 11 and some metric. Page 22 gives specs on the tube type sizes, including 8.25 x 20.

It's a long download, but lots of info.

http://www.trucktires.com/firestone/...ckdatabook.pdf

Speaking of mechanics, what trans and axle do you have? Single speed axle? Post your data plate info (& vin if you want) and the trans and axle codes are on the data plate. It should be on the driver's door. See if the VIN matches the VIN on the title also. (people change doors and leave the old plate on there....)

 

On the 22.5 wheels, 6.75 and 7.5 are common widths. 9 x 22.5 tires will mount on either, as will 10 x 22.5 tires.

 

Another thing. If you are going to clean up and paint your wheels, check with a local tire shop that handles commercial tires and large trucks. Some offer a wheel refinishing service. Back in April, a Kauffman Tire shop quoted me $25 a wheel for shot blasting and powder coating 22.5 wheels. I had 10 done - well worth it and they look almost new. And if you want new valve stems, they can do that, or you can buy them online and install them yourself.

 

Make sure those are steel valve stems if the dot is involved in your life.

 

Thanks for all the info and help on the wheels. I found some 9r 22.5 steering tires for front from a fedex truck and some really nice 10r 22.5s that were takeoffs of a damaged schoolbus. They fit and work great. Wish I could find someone that could use the 8.25x 20 tires I took off, I hate to waste them two of them are brand new and the other two are about 60% and have alot of life left. Oh well guess they will get shoved to the back of the barn for a while. Thanks again.