20" stovebolt wheels on a rat rod ???

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mikec4193

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
668
Location
mechanicville ny (upstate ny)
Hi Everyone

Havent touched my 1953 Chevy rat rod since dec 2011 due to extreme frustration...with it...been looking at it in the garage and wondering how hard is it to convert to the large 2 ton truck wheels some of you guys are running. To me it seems they give these full sized cabs that are dropped on the ground a better stance (fenderless of course)...the punny little 15" stock wheels just look stupid to me...what does it take to swap from the stock 15" Chevy steel wheels to those big tall 20" skinny Stovebolt truck wheels???

Currently I am working with a Chevy Camaro rear end with a Speedway motors disc brake setup in the front (full size Monte Carlo I have been told) on the stock 1953 Chevy 1/2 ton truck axle...

My other option is to narrow the cab and I dont even wanna attempt that mess...that would take me monthes to get everything to match up again...

thanks for any insight

MikeC
 
If it's the wheels that were on my 45 Chevy ton and a half those are split rims. It can be hard to find tire shops to deal with those unless you're in farm country. The best bet is to have a machine shop fab some adapters as I don't think there's enough room to re-drill cause of the big hub center holes.

Or run the big axles?

Don
 
Its possible but after all my headache.. I wouldn't really recommend it.. but when I started I didnt want to listen to the voice of reason either!

Everything you need to know about my journey is in my thread... its pretty detailed..

Short story...

I am running the factory axles... sort of..
- factory 36 1.5 ton axle in the front, I designed and built my own disc conversion
- I built the rear axle from splicing the old axle to a dana 61
- I built the front rims, they are now 1 piece.. I took the centers out and welded them into 1 piece drop centers from Coker tire...
- the rear rims I have are 3 piece which are considered to be the safest/best design by the restoration guys I am personally less concerned with multi piece rims in the back because the lock ring is contained should one come loose.. although one day I may make more 1 piece rims.. but it was a ton of work
- another thing to consider is the cost of these tires.. pricey




 
Yeah, the price of those tires should scare most of us away. I buy and sell a lot of those old trucks and the tires make the difference if they get parted out/crushed or not. If one has decent tires, it might get saved. If not, it surely doesn't
 
Yeah, the price of those tires should scare most of us away. I buy and sell a lot of those old trucks and the tires make the difference if they get parted out/crushed or not. If one has decent tires, it might get saved. If not, it surely doesn't

You seriously crush old tin because the tires are bad? :eek::mad:
 
Hey Corpo

Thank you thank you thank you for your reply to my post....that was just what I was looking for....input from someone who had done it...to me it just makes the whole look complete....my cab is a 1953...doesnt look that fat until you loose the fenders and drop it down closer to the ground...

So my next question (with your past expierence) is what can I do then to keep the stock Chevy 5 lug bolt patterns and get that tall skinny look that just completes the picture....

How much are those tall tires anyways??....I have at least 3 of those rims in my back yard rusting away...

MikeC
 
You seriously crush old tin because the tires are bad? :eek::mad:

Parted out and then crushed, yes. For example, a 46 Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck will easily part out several times more than the truck itself is worth. At that point, everything good has been cut off the cab. Babbit pounder engines and truck drivetrains have no local value, just tonnage. Even a decent running truck won't bring much if the tires are rotten and the first thing a buyer has to do is spend $1500 on new tires. That's why they are cheap around here.
 
mikec4193; How much are those tall tires anyways??....I have at least 3 of those rims in my back yard rusting away... MikeC[/QUOTE said:
They are truck tires, so look for them to be at least $300 a piece new, more in some places.
 
I have seen them new out the door for just under 1k for a set of 6. The hard part is finding a tire shop that will mount them. I don't mind the split rim as long as it is the full hoop rings and not the split hoop.
 

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