I have a new truck! Very clean, low miles 1972 F250 Camper Special Sport Custom PS, Power Disc brakes, AC.... and the OE 16.5 wheels...I want to insted go to 16 inch steel OE style wheel so I can have a good quality tire, nicer ride and retain the OE dog dish hubcap and original look. Are there stock steel 16 inch wheels that will work with the small diameter 1/2x20 stud and 13/16 tapered lug nuts that is in play on my truck as OE???....The only 16 inch steel stock type wheels I have found have the larger 9/16x18 lug holes and used the larger 7/8 lug nut ...the 13/16 OE nut is too small for the wheel stud hole in these replacement 16 inch wheels with the 9/16 size lug hole...do I need to drill and press in new 9/16x18 studs?? Can that even be done?

 

F series trucks up through 1997, econoline vans up through 2013. They have the wheels you need.

Or you can order them new from retailers such as summit racing....

 

I just went thru that with my '69 250 I bought earlier this year. It had 16.5's (split rims) and 4 mixed tires each worse than the other. After toiling over what to replace them with, I settled on stock 16" Ford steel rims from a junk yard in Fresno. They were a mess, but cleaned up beautifully with Easy Off, then simple green, then spray paint. Now in process of stripping and repainting the dog dish hub caps that came with mine. Also you may want to look into whether the 16s will clear your disc brakes, I have drums but I've heard of clearance issues with disc. Lots of info out there on that; I believe some people grind down the calipers; others use spacers. That's not advice, just a heads up.

 

thank you. for the reply NSCOTT111 ......I found out the 16" wheels at the junk yard for the E vans 1998-2013 are likely to fit my disc brake set up....I havent tried them...I was concerned because the diameter of the lug nut was larger on those wheels...the junk yard guy showed me that basically where/how the nut fastens to the wheel in either case using either the 7/8 from the 16 inch OR 13/16 nut I have with my 16.5 was the same....I wont be using the junk yard wheels because for $20 more $80 vs $60 for each of the junk yard wheels, Summit Racing will sell me brand new rims....the junk yard guy wouldnt do anything to reduce the price....even though I showed him what I was going to do...Summit even ships them for free....I probably would have used $20 in chemicals to clean up the junk yard stuff and a ton of my time....I still dont really know about clearance though....another good point Summit WILL allow my purchase to be returned....Junk yard no way....so for $80 more for the set of new wheels over the junk yard price Im set.

 

Late Econo's had disc brakes front and rear so clearance is no problem with the stock wheels. One thing that the Summit wheels might have a problem is the use of your hubcaps. The attachment nubs might be made to a Chimmy pattern so your Ford hubcaps might not fit on the wheels.

 

I ordered ONE 16" x 7" -- 8 on 6.5 lug spacing --FACTORY ORIGINAL STYLE STEEL wheel from Summit Racing. These will replace the original 16.5 wheels/tires that came with the truck. Tire choices for this old size are not good and when you get 16.5 tires they arent very good quality and also the ride suffers. So Im changing to 16 inch. They sent a DORMAN products #939-198. It cost $73.00 with free shipping if at least $99.00 is spent...I ordered a couple pairs of their nice leather kidskin Summit Racing gloves to make up the difference. I found this wheel other places for a few bucks less for the wheel itself but THEY WANTED TO CHARGE SHIPPING and that made the purchase much more expensive than thru Summit. I also like the stability of Summit Racing....very good customer service live people who take your order answer questions....I actually was 99 percent sure this wheel would work before ordering it after getting verification from my phone conversation....I figured I would order one and see for myself first since It would be a pain to send 4 wheels back vs one if somehow this wasnt the answer.... The wheel is very nice quality. It fits over both the front calipers(just barely clears them) and over the larger than GM or Dodge rear axle housing our Ford F250's have(be careful choosing a wheel make sure here...the bolt patterns for ALL the BIG 3 brands during this era were the same but a Dodge or GM wheel center hole are TOO SMALL & wont clear the rear axle hub on our F250 Ford's----our wheels can work for THEM...GM & Dodge wont work for us). The nubs on this wheel hold the F250 DISH hubcaps FINE. The standard lug nut fits just fine also. If you want to go to 16 inch I think this is the best value.. Salvage yards in my area wanted $50 each for some very well used wheels...lug nut hole's were worn etc....I figured it would take me hours to clean those old wheels up if I could even find some round ones in good shape plus my salvage yards seem not to really want to sell wheels..attitudes were not that friendly....$23 more per wheel was a good value vs the time/effort ez off oven cleaner etc I would be using....brand new vs used....new wins here for sure.

Discount Tire here in San Diego matched a recent Costco sale for 4 Bridgestone LT265/75R16/10 123R BRS Dueler H/T 685 OWL tires. I saved $200 thru the sale on the set but they were still expensive. I wanted a good riding lasting tire....and these fit that description. Still unknown is if this 75 series size will actually clear the bottom of the front fenders. My friend bought BFG TA 265/70R16 tires and a fancy aluminum wheel for his 1968 and these 70 series tires DO clear by about 2 and a half inches...according to specs...my Bridgestone 75 series tire is an inch TALLER than his 70 series TA so it may be close...I like my Bridgestone's tread pattern better than his. I like the deeper tread depth I have over his. I like the same good look I will have as compared to him. I liked saving almost $500 over what he paid and I think my tire is better quality to his..Im probably going to replace the front springs anyway that should help here if they want to touch on turns....Discount tire ordered these tires in and are now storing them and waiting for me to receive the other three wheels and then have them powder coated the color I will choose..I choose Discount over Costco because there are many more Discount Tire locations here than Costco's so if I have a need to have a repair or service...they certainly win here over Costco..This will all be done in January. Family and end of year Tool Biz stuff (inventory... argh) will put all of this F250 stuff on hold for now....Does anyone have experience with EASTWOODS Powder Coating system???....internet reviews are good but.....???? I have an old clean stove that can bake the powder and the building I store the tool truck in has 220 Volt....There is a sandblast cabinet and of course the compressor to supply the air for that...so Im thinking of powder coating these new wheels myself....


Our F250 Dog Dish Hub caps lock in place over the nubs on this Dorman 939-198 wheel

The Dorman 939-198 Wheel fits the bolt pattern and clears the calipers etc here. stock lug nuts work fine

Dorman wheel 939-198 fits over the rear axle housing for our Ford F250's stock lug nuts work fine...looks like this 16x7 wheel will do the job with the 265/75R16 tires I bought...
..Anyone use the EASTWOOD Powder coat system??? Internet study shows good reviews....

 

Good to know about the Dorman wheel #939-198 fitting. Thanks for sharing!

 

man those cardboard boxes must be way stout. they seem to be doing a good job of holding up your truck. where did you get them so i can throw away my jack stands.? lol.

 

Good luck painting the black on the Dog Dish caps . After sand blasting and repainting mine I had a detail painter put in the black . I'd like to see how the factory did it back in 69 .

 

yes they are supper stout!!!!! so when you have 4 new wheels be sure to keep those boxes they came in....lol...I should have used a sharpie to write "Dorman #939-198 16"x7" 8 hole spaced 6.5" apart stock lug nut" on the wheel so the picture would have had all that info in it.....oh well I guess everyone will have to read my long post to get all of the info they need.....

 

yes that black detail will be something to accomplish on these hubcaps.......these Dog Dishes are actually stainless steel....they are sooo pretty.....jewelry for my truck....

 

my pleasure..

 

Here are pic's of the Michelin X, 9.50 - R /16.5 XCA that are on my 69 - F 250 camper special . The good news - They have been excellent tires and still have more than 50% tread life . The bad news - they are now over 20 years old - no cracks , stay round ( if you ever had non-radial tires you know what I'm talking about } and the ride is great . Also a pic. of the painted hubcaps . A note on the hubcaps : They look to be all 4 the same but NO . 2 are a little bit bigger to clear the rear axle .

 

Hi there..TenaciousT....I sold tires as my first real job for almost 12 years...Actually owned a tire store the last three of those years before venturing into other vehicle related service etc.....selling tools now. in my 60's..Those Michie XCA's were the best....excellent motorhome tires...Its time for you to change them out though.....they are WAY past their EXPIRATION DATE....the cord material can rot from between the casing of the tires....you dont have to SEE anything happening.... there are tremendous stresses on the support system for tires and I would hate to have you experience a blow out...Firestone has had these failures in the past due to the belting and such not being made or treated properly before and during the manufacturing process....research Firestone 500 or 721 for failures...basically the tires you have can be ready to do the same thing....not trying to scare you or the such but....tires are integral to the safety of your truck.... Call Michelin to find out more....
Ill have to make sure my hub caps clear the rear axle.....I have been collecting stainless steel versions and havent tried them...all appear the same for what I have.....the truck is still across town in front of my brother's house...my condo here in San Diego isnt a good place to do any work or really even keep it on the street...nice area but the city is always looking to ticket anything they can and I dont want to keep moving it...he lives in the county and they have freedom...as soon as it is painted it will become my daily driver and that will happen by February.....my wife insists on living near the beach so I can choose land and my freedom to do vehicle related stuff easier and/or live 30 minutes east of here or beach location and her and have to work at the vehicle thing....were celebrating 20 years on the 27th here next week sooooo I guess you know how Ive chosen....lived here the entire married time....

 

Funny story about that size wheel an tires . My dad ordered the F 250 Camper Special to haul a 10' camper on the back . On our first trip we stopped in Iowa - set up camp - decided to go for a walk before dark . When we got back 3- guys we crawling on there hands a knees looking under the truck . Dad say's - What do you see under there ? Them tires ! We never seen any that Big . So in 1969 they were a Big deal !