Well the grill is currently removed from the truck. Did I mention I miss summer

 

Dam!!!! Your a better guy than me brother! It's a tad bit nippy to be working on that truck

 

Great looking truck!


Sheesh, working in those kind of temps, you gonna make the rest of us look bad...LOL


Bobby

 

Not sure what I'm going to do at this point for a tire wheel combo to run on the truck, as I'm not a big fan of the widow makers that it currently rolls on.

Although today I did pick up a set of 2-piece 20x10" Aluminum MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected) military combat wheels. The Aluminum wheels have a 10 on 13.1875" bolt pattern, so I would have to laser out, or machine some bolt-in adapters with the odd 5-on 8" bolt pattern to match the truck.

I have six 11.00x20 military, non-directional tread tires that are almost brand new that I could run on the wheels.

Just thinking out loud, throwing around ideas.....

 

I think those wheels would be sweet if you could make them work!

 

Wow
Those wheels would really make that truck look tough. Hopefully you can figure out how to make them work


Bobby

 

Wheels/tires can completely change the "look" of a truck. Like my wife likes to say, the shoes make the dress.

I'm going to make a mock-up adapter plate this week for the combat wheels. What is the diameter of the hub hole in the stock wheels for these trucks?

 

It's 5 7/8". Good luck with the project. Only concern I'd have, beside ensuring strong joint, would be the risk of corrosion due to the dissimilar metals. Stu

 

Thanks for the measurement Stu, much appreciated.

I hear ya with the problem with galvanic corrosion. I could make the adapters out of Aluminum. Or use something like the thin gasket, that big rig semi's use when they run aluminum outer wheels, with a steel inner wheel.

If I do end up making them out of steel (way cheaper so I'll probably go that route) I don't know If I'd really have a problem with it. The wheels are heavily painted already, and the adapter would be painted as well. I've never had problems with raw aluminum wheels on any of my cars/trucks and the wheels are bolted directly to a steel hub or cast iron drum.

 

From the sounds of things, you must have a pretty well equipped shop. I take it you won't just be hacking the parts out of some plate with a "smoke wrench" and a prayer.
Very cool


I look forward to seeing your progress with this truck. The only problem I see is that it sure makes me want to tackle one of the big trucks myself.....lol


Bobby

 

I've had a lot of trouble with alloy wheels sticking to steel brake discs. Every time I've worked on my daily driver's wheels I've had to beet the heck on the to get them off. The rear are the worst for some reason. A lot of fun on the side of the road with a flat tire and a factory scissor jack. I've had to loosen the wheel and back up and drive forward, hitting the brakes to brake the wheel loose.

 

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. You're comparing to different things. Your talking about a daily driver that sees the harsh environments that winter dishes out on vehicles. From that stand point, yes I completely agree with you.

You live in Wisconsin, from your own location title "the Rust Belt". Michigan is the same way. With all the salt / calcium-chloride that is dumped on the roads, the calcium-chloride acts as the electrolyte between the dissimilar metals, which speeds up the reaction of the steel and aluminum corroding togather. It's kind of the same principle as how a battery works, one draws from the other.

This truck (as long as I own it anyways) will never see winter, and will always be parked indoors out of the elements. It'll be driven on nice days, like the rest of my cars/truck that only see the nice summer months. I'm not quite sure how many cars/trucks I own, but many of them are fitted with Weld Racing raw polished aluminum wheels, others have different aftermarket aluminum wheels and others just factory aluminum wheels. All these are only summer drivers, and do not present the steel/aluminum corrosion issues what so ever.

Like I said, I do agree with you, just make sure we are comparing the same things.

 

For the newer daily drivers with aluminum wheels I use a light coating of anti-seize on the hubs/rotors( on wheel mating surface not the braking surface! ) . It works quite well on keeping the wheels removable without a hammer.

I don't know if that would be feasible on the big truck wheel adapters to prevent corrosion.

 

Today I had a prototype adapter plate made. It's CNC'd out of some 3/8" thick Laxan.

 

How is the offset going to work on that wheel with the adapter?