Decided to post a few pictures of my new wheels.
17x8 upfront with 18x9.5" in the rear.

Engine swap is done and drivable.
Still planning a 4 link swap in the rear
And to get the AC up and running.
And to do the interior.
Upfront is a heidt's superide II. Imagine my surprise when I went to bolt up the new wheels and realized the pattern was 5 on 4.75". Someone installed the GM rotors instead of the Granada front rotors. Now, I've got new rotors and wheel bearings upfront.

I'm really liking how the wheels look.

Cheers,

Doug

 

Anyone interested in the old Boyds billets? They are tasteful and spoked and 15x8".

Doug

 

These are the old wheels:

 

Nice looking truck, I like the paint! Those are nice wheels and so are your new ones. What is the bolt pattern on the old wheels, 5 x 4.75? And what are the cables for around the hood and valance?

 

Hi,
Thank you!

The Boyds wheels are drilled for both Ford and Chevy bolt pattern, so they fit both bolt patterns (ten mounting holes in each wheel) (as opposed to 5 elongated holes).

The cables retain the hood latch pins. There are hood latch pins extending up in to the holes in the front of the hood.

Not sure why someone eliminated the normal hood latch. The pins are cleverly done, but I'd prefer a normal latch. .... maybe one day

Appreciate your interest in my truck and the comments.

Doug

 

I really like your new wheels, and they look good with the them of your truck! Good choice.

 

Sharp truck! The new wheels really make it. I've always liked the Salt Flats, and think they look better in person than in pictures. It's a step in the right direction from the Boyds.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures of your truck with the new wheels. They are one of about 5 styles of wheels I have been considering for some time. I like the salt flat style wheels. There are several sorta similar looking wheels around and they look good. It's a tough decision when you are going to put about $1200 -$1400 into them.

I also like them polished for the bling look. Tough choice.

 

Hi Fellas,
Thank you for the kind comments. I drove the truck on nearly its maiden voyage down to the Del Mar Nationals hot rod show back in April - I live about 6 miles north in Leucadia, so not a big trip... still I had a blast bringing my kids there.

It gave me a great opportunity to take a look at many different wheels on vehicles and to talk to vendors who sell them. I spent $1318 delivered for these sizes. It was about as cheap as I could get in this look, with a quality wheel. Some of the billet competitors are lighter and as much as 3 - 4 X. There are minor variations on the look, some which I liked slightly better, but not at 3X.

If anyone wants me to take some measurements or share the sizes or even try the on their truck, let me know. Glad to help.

My offsets were very close to zero. Back spacing was 3.75 on 17x8 upfront.
Back spacing on the rear was 4.5" on 18x9.5 in the rear.

I like the big lips the smaller backspacing creates.

cheers,

Doug

 

DW SD,
I like the look! I'm planning on Salt Flats with grey centers for my 48 F1.

What size tire did you use on the fronts?

I'm assuming you are using the Ford 5 x 4.5" bolt circle. I'm going with 5 x 5.5" because that is the bolt pattern of my Dodge D150 rotors on my Dakota IFS. The Salt Flats is one of the few wheels that American Racing will drill to 5 x 5.5".

That is a good price. From which vendor did you buy?

Philip

 

Hi Philip,
Yes, I ordered the 5 x 4.5". I did not realize that my front rotors were initially GM @ 5 x 4.75". Interestingly the GM and Ford rotors (granada vs. camaro, monte carlo, etc) share the same wheel bearings, but with just a slightly different bolt pattern.
I carefully measured the rear wheel pattern and made the assumption that the fronts were the same.
Imagine my surprise that they were different! Thankfully the swap took about 90 minutes and a few bux.

Tire sizes are: 225/40/17 and 275/35/18
I could have run as much as 305 on the 9.5" rim with plenty of room inboard, I think, but I balanced price vs. availability vs. quality. I bought the BFGoodrich Comp 4s for about $700 out the door installed. 18" and 20" would have been significantly more for the tires.

They came from Jack Genova in Kansas City. jack32@kc.rr.com
913 262 1747
He did say my specific pricing was if I "acted now". I'd expect he can get that again. Just have your ducks in a row when you are ready to order.

Part of me thinks I could have gone with 18" and 20" sizes and been quite happy. At some point, they become cartoonish looking. Mine (to me) runs no risk of that.

The wheels give me an opportunity to run a modern tire and the safety which comes with it, which was my goal.
And I'll sell the Boyds for a little bit to offset some of the cost.

All in all, I'm extremely happy!

Doug

 

By the way, the wheels' packaging indicated they were proudly made in America. Jack told me they build them in Southern California. Given that they arrived in 2.5 weeks I believe it.

I did see a sticker on the center cap was made in China.

Doug

 

I updated the rear suspension by installing a triangulated four link with double adjustable coil overs from Viking. The ride is considerably improved as is the hookup. I had some axle wrap before.<br/><br/>Lots of work for this conversion, but seems worth it.<br/><br/>I like the new stance, too!<br/><br/>Doug








Here's the 9" from behind with the new disc brakes installed and some old harnesses which were canibalized to limit the extension travel.

 

That is one sweet truck! The wheels still look great. How do you like the Superide II? I would imagine it drives like a dream. It took Heidts a long time to build it for the 48-52 trucks after having it for the 53-6's for years. A bit pricey, but I think it would be worth it if going the direction of IFS. Congrats on the new rear setup. It can only compliment the ride, I'm sure.

 

Hi Wayne,
Thanks a bunch. I like the Superride II. It came with the truck. I'm not certain that what was installed wasn't the one for the 53 to 56. It appears to have been in place a long while. (I've owned the truck about 1 1/2 years). It was properly and cleanly installed.

If I were doing it on my own, I'd probably have found a IFS that is based upon the Corvette C5 or C6 setup, which would allow use of their big brakes, etc.

That said, I cannot complain. The ride and handling are really good!

Appreciate the positive comments!
thanks,

Doug