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All of the tires say tubeless and should not be used on a 16.5 rim. I have 7.50-16LT tires on these rims which I believe are 16in. Are these split rims or are they cracked? They look really rough!! But if don’t have to replace them I won’t.
At the very least you'll need to dismount the tires, sandblast the wheels and split rings and examine closely for damage that might allow them to come apart. They look like they might be salvageable after blasting. Most people that have no experience with these wheels are unduly scared of them but with a little care and common sense they are perfectly safe.
At the very least you'll need to dismount the tires, sandblast the wheels and split rings and examine closely for damage that might allow them to come apart. They look like they might be salvageable after blasting. Most people that have no experience with these wheels are unduly scared of them but with a little care and common sense they are perfectly safe.
yes, kind of scary to be honest haha I have way of sand blasting them at my house. Where would I take my rims to get sand blasted? I have called a few tire shops so far but none of them are interested in messing with split rims.
A lot has to do with how wide the new wheels are and the room you have in each wheel well.
Do you know how wide the wheels are now with the 7.50 tires on them?
As a guess maybe 5" wheel for a 7.50 tire?
I would say both wheel and tires you can get will be wider than you have now.
Dave - - - -
265/75R16E is about the largest to fit on a stock 4x2 truck.
Ya, they fill out the fenders nicely.
Although, wheel choice should be made after deciding what tires to run. (Since the tires are what really matter)
16" truck wheels went the way of the dodo 10+ years ago, so many of the once popular tires have been discontinued. Trucks now have 17", 18" or 20" wheels. That being the case, those size tires are readily available and have a wide variety of offerings. Now I'm not saying you can't get 16" aftermarket wheels, because there's still plenty of them offered, but think about what kind of tires you want. 33-34" tall highway tread is impossible to find for 16" wheels, but pretty common for 17-18-20
Another point worth mentioning is brake clearance. Some aftermarket 16" wheels come AWFULLY close to interfering with front brake/steering components. So 17+ inches leaves more room for cooling airflow, balance weights, etc.
17"-18" wheels look the best IMO. Look like big wheels, while still leaving room for a good amount of rubber.
You can get some stylish stock Dodge 17" steel wheels that are 8x6.5" that will fit your lugs. My son has a set on his 79 F-250 4wd. Stock Dodge alloy wheels usually have mounting flanges that are too thick for Ford lugs.
All of the tires say tubeless and should not be used on a 16.5 rim. I have 7.50-16LT tires on these rims which I believe are 16in. Are these split rims or are they cracked? They look really rough!! But if don’t have to replace them I won’t.
These are split locking ring rims. Split rims were the old Firestone RH5° (AKA widowmakers) that split the barrel of the rim. See below pic of a cutaway of the RH5° rim.
That split (crack ) in the ring on your rim is supposed to be there, that is how the ring is removed and the tire demounted. You'll notice just right of the split a notch in the ring against the rim , this is where a pry bar is inserted to lever the ring off the barrel of the rim.
Any competent tire shop will be able to work on these. If you are getting resistance find a shop that does at least medium duty trucks or farm/ construction equipment and they will do them as these style of rims are still used on most pieces of construction equipment..... these rims do require the use of an inner tube.
Really you would be ahead just finding a set of 16" one piece rims. They should be easily sourced from any you pull it wrecking yard..
But to answer your question yes you can still use what you have....
These are split locking ring rims. Split rims were the old Firestone RH5° (AKA widowmakers) that split the barrel of the rim. See below pic of a cutaway of the RH5° rim.
That split (crack ) in the ring on your rim is supposed to be there, that is how the ring is removed and the tire demounted. You'll notice just right of the split a notch in the ring against the rim , this is where a pry bar is inserted to lever the ring off the barrel of the rim.
Any competent tire shop will be able to work on these. If you are getting resistance find a shop that does at least medium duty trucks or farm/ construction equipment and they will do them as these style of rims are still used on most pieces of construction equipment..... these rims do require the use of an inner tube.
Really you would be ahead just finding a set of 16" one piece rims. They should be easily sourced from any you pull it wrecking yard..
But to answer your question yes you can still use what you have....
Wow you learn something new everyday! I am having a hard time finding a shop that will work on these but I will keep looking for new rims and a shop. Whichever comes first is the way I will go. The tires say they are tubeless.. these rims have to have tubes no matter what?
Wow you learn something new everyday! I am having a hard time finding a shop that will work on these but I will keep looking for new rims and a shop. Whichever comes first is the way I will go. The tires say they are tubeless.. these rims have to have tubes no matter what?
Yes they have to have tubes no matter what. Tubeless tires seal on the lip of the rim. Tubeless tires can't seal on the split locking ring cause of the split in the ring, not to mention the where the ring meets the barrel of the rim. All split locking ring rims have to use tubes.
Not to mention they are bitch to balance and usually end up with excessive amounts of counter weights.
In the long run you are better off finding a set of one piece rims. One piece rims will balance better and are significantly lighter and will lengthen the life of suspension/steering components.
I'm all for keeping stuff original but this is one area where modernization/ upgrading should be done...
Davon
Wandered over here from the 61-65 section and wanted to chime in.
i faced this exact question on a 65 I’m bringing back to life.
as noted by others the two biggest takeaways from keeping what you currently have are finding a shop willing to do the work and needing a rubber liner and tube regardless of what tires you use.
fortunately for me I have a local shop which deals with lock rims every day. They were a great source of information and insight. One thing a long timer told me was that he’d never known of one of these rims to fail when properly installed. The shop also had a pile of 7.50/16 radials on hand from a fleet swap several years ago.
i decided to. Sand blast mine, paint them and continue to use them
i should note that being able to use the rare-ish original hub caps and to maintain the stock look held high value to me. I like the look.Additionally I’ll be surprised if this truck sees 2K miles per year.
all in all it’s hard to make an argument that newer one piece rims aren’t a better route to follow.
