Hi,
I just recently bought a 1965 F250 Camper Special and I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty! I'm new to older Fords, so I have a lot to learn. I see a lot of helpful information here, but I did a search and couldn't find info on the original split rims used on my pickup.

Are they any good? I'd prefer to just clean them up and use them, unless they have a reputation for being crummy. I'm going to use the vehicle occasionally, not every day, but I don't want to have to pay a fortune for tires or constantly top them off.

What do you experts recommend? And any tire recommendations? I'm not going to regularly carry super heavy loads or anything.

Thanks,

 

Well
It is getting harder and harder to find a tire installer that will work on the old split rims. My father removed them off of my truck years ago and stored them. I don't remember the tire size so I don't know if the tires would be hard to find.
The split rims were famos for coming apart during tire mounting so they invented a cage to work on them for safety.
In my opinion I would go with something else. But that is just one mans opinion.
I just installe 16" tires on mine and am very happy with everything about them. Check my gallery.

jd

 

I had them on a '66 Chevy I once owned (before I saw the light), and they are a PITA. Junk 'em and buy some one piece wheels. They are dangerous to work on and hard to keep looking nice, since crud will get behind the retainer and cause them to keep rusting.

 

Ok, seems like good advice - is there anything available that will look similar where I can keep my existing hubcaps?

Any recommendations on later year Ford 3/4 ton wheels?

 

Slightly newer trucks should have what you are looking for. The issue will be with the hubcaps. The wheels will have little 'nubs' on them that the cap slides over that hold it in place. You'll need to find the ones that match, either 'innie' or 'outie'. The nubs on the innie point towards the hub, the outie has them pointing towards the wheel rim.
Clear as mud, right?

 

Hakk, I have the same truck with those rims. I too realized that they needed to be replaced but wanted to retain the hubcaps. Alas, there are no "modern" rims that will accept those caps...sorry.

 

Give Stockton Wheel Service a call and see what they can do.

http://www.stocktonwheel.com/

They have a great rep, and for custom work their prices are pretty reasonable.

 

Ahh, the perils of owning an older vehicle.


Thanks for the advice! I think I'll start by scouring the local yards a bit, and see if I can possibly weld / modify something available to accept my hub caps.

Should be a fun little project. I'll post if / when I learn anything. Otherwise I'll check into the custom route. Thank you for posting the link.

Thanks again!

 

Haak...I got the same truck...65 3/4 CS...the tires and tubes are easy to find....nothing special...I think I got 235/16.5 on it...need to go look for sure....I got my splits on as I want to keep the hub caps on it...the wheels changed starting in 67 as those nubs for the caps were outside of the wheel lug circle area vs inside like ours are...Finding a shop to do them here was gravy...Used Les Schwab...not sure if they are in Mn but I know they cover western US ...no extra fee for dealing with them either...

As for the Chevy wheel problems...their supplier for those bad ones was Budd as I recall....and I THINK FoMoCo used another supplier....but Fords werent affected by the recall....If you need a wheel or 2 let me know as I think I got a pr left ...and am willing to part with just a ring too if you need...
As for a tire shop...I would look for a trucker tire shop ...Flying J type outfit....If anyone else knows of any chains in midwest that deals with splits...chime in...


I also dont plan to use mine for hauling heavy loads....her days of the 10 foot cabover camper are done...sure rode good though with the extra 2500 pounds hanging off the tail....




I fyou need anything at all...parts or otherwise, drop me an email....


- cs65