Sorry this is wordy, trying to explain it all in the first post ...

By now most of you have a passing knowledge of Festus, my '81 F100. The goal continues to be keeping him as stock as possible, and so far it's successful.

When I adopted him in 2011, he was sporting Michelin M+S (Mud & Snow) tires on the rear, size 215/75R15. The front street tires didn't match those or each other, and one was pretty well worn; so I purchased a pair of interim El Cheapo Deluxe tires at Tire Barn, and kept the better old tire for the spare. The front tires are also 215/75R15. Surprisingly, those big Michelins don't do that well in the snow anyway. Last two shots show better detail of the M+S during the chassis painting in 2012.

So, a few things to consider. As an '81 he has the 5-bolt rims, and having been 'round and 'round through various forums (including this one), we are sure that these rims are 5x4.5. As a farm truck, upgrades weren't a big priority in his first 30 years of life - so I feel confident that these wheels, in Wimbledon White to match the body, are what he was wearing when he left the factory.

The '81 Ford sales brochure can be found here, as tracked down by a FTE member (I believe it was Gary Lewis):
Auto Brochures

Bottom panel of that brochure gives many specs for the '81 models, including the F100 in the first column. (You have to squint.) The green arrow indicates Wheels, Type - Rim Size, followed by (5) 5-hole - 5.5 (not 4.5).

Bottom column, blue arrow points to: Tires, Tubeless, followed by P195 ... radials.

Now that's a small tire. If you look through the rest of the (gorgeous) brochure, check how these trucks look with those little donuts on 'em.


And here's Festus with different rims and slightly larger tires - and they STILL don't look quite right. (That's just mud in the pics, I haven't been driving against any curbs.)

I have no intention of putting a lift on him - but the question is, given all that space in the wheel wells, do you feel that a 235 would fit and ride well? I'd like a beefier tire and a beefier look.

 

I have a 1981 F100 that came with I think 215P tires on factory aluminum rims which

are 5.5 5 hole rims. I have 235P tires on it now which look a lot better and ride and

perform well.

 

Excellent news, brother, thanks.

I've been suspicious of those Michelins for a while. Getting new tires has always been on the list, just not far enough up until recently.

So here I am rooting around the bowels of the internet, and I can't even find a Michelin tire that looks like that. Maybe they're for a tractor.

 

Does yours have the tag on the drivers door jamb? It should state the tire size it came with.
I have 235/70 R 15's on my 84.

 

Good call. It shows 215s, alright, front and rear. Crikey, they look small..

 

Those tires in the rear are old snow tires. I don't know if they even make them anymore. They are not the all-season mud and snow that you can get now, they are pretty much a dedicated snow tire. In old days people rounded up a extra set of rims, and would mount those snow tires on the spare rims. In the fall they would swap them out and in the spring do it again. They had a softer rubber compound in them that had better traction in cold weather, but wore very quickly in the summer.

Those things are so old and hard now, they would probably be good for going to the dump and other places where you might pick up a nail or something.

 

Excellent info - man oh man, the things you learn on this forum.

Maybe I can sell them to a tire collector ...

 

Willey - This thread explains which trucks got the 4 1/2" wheels.

 

Thanks for finding that thread, Gary, I couldn't locate it. Pretty sure that's the one I had stuck in my head.

Yes indeed, 5 x 4.5 are what Festus is wearing...

QUOTE: Power brakes from 4600 to 4700 GVW had a 4 1/2 bolt pattern

It's also interesting that in a world of typos, errors, and omissions, that wheel size isn't listed on the extensive sales brochure.

 

My 1981 F100 has power brakes and 5 x5.5 rims and also has the 5000 GVW.

 

Yes, that fits perfectly with what was said in that thread:

• Manual brakes: 5 1/2" bolt pattern regardless of GVW
• Power brakes from 4600 to 4700 GVW had a 4 1/2 bolt pattern
• Power brakes from 5000 to 5100 GVW had a 5 1/2" bolt pattern

 

More interesting data condensed from that same '81 brochure, if anyone hasn't seen it.

It appears the dog dish wheels/caps are referred to here as "Deluxe wheel covers".

p.s. Dig the name of color #17: "Fawn Glow". Put that on your title/registration, I dare ya.