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Wheels
What could or could not be the original wheels were
in the bed of the truck when it was purchased. These being three of
the needed five to make a complete set.
(The wheels in use on the truck, old chrome American Racers, will not be
used and at this point considered trash.)
These wheels in the back of the truck measuring out to be 16x6 inch rims. Eight lugs measuring out 8x6.5.
Now according to what I researched and a few comments from a dissection forum, there was no such beast for a 1948 GMC and that these wheels could have possibly come off of a different make of truck for that time period.
Now if this is correct, I can not say so 100%. In the service manual for this truck, it does list a wheel being this size but if you mention that to the experts, they deny them every being placed in circulation.
For me, I am under the assumption that they are three of the five original rims. But being split rims or as some of the old timers call them, "Widow Makers," I am hesitant to use them. Not just because they are split rims, but also because of their condition. That and the fact that finding two others to match, not impossible, but costly to obtain and then there is still the issue of safety.
So in short, the plan I have come up with and have now placed into motion is to buy new wheels. This again not being as easy to see at first, but with some research, a plan was hatched and now rolling.
Step one was to locate and purchase wheels that fit. To this I went on line and found a trailer parts distributor that sold wheels with the dimensions I was looking for. These dimensions being "16x6, 8x6.5 with a 3.5 inch backspacing"
For those that don't understand what these numbers mean, let me see if I can explain it to you.
First the 16x6: This is the height of the rim inside the bead of the wheel and then the width at that same spot across the top of the wheel.
For example, if you take a tape measure and
measure your wheel from top to bottom you would most likely come up with a
number that is about an inch bigger than the actual size.
Now with the tape measure in place, imagine where the rubber bead was inside that wheel. This being about half an inch down from the two furthest points on the face of your wheel. In my case, 17 inches was the outside measurement but down inside, the measurement came out to 16 inches.
Then the 6 inches across were from that same point just across the top of the wheel.
If you have the tires on the wheels, these numbers will be shown on the tires.
Now the 8x6.5 is the number of lugs you have and the distance apart. In this case there are 8 lugs and the center of each of the holes are 6.5 inches apart if you measure them across the center of the wheel.
The back spacing is the most confusing part. This is the distance from the back side of the wheel to where the back facing of the center area.
I have found and read that the easiest way to
measure the back spacing is to lay the wheel (no tire on the wheel)
face
down and lay a flat edge across the back of the wheel. From the edge
of that, measure straight down to one of the lug holes.
The measurement you read here is your back spacing.
Now the question might come up as to why this is so important and that is simple. If you don't have the proper distance, your clearance off of your tie rod ends will be off. If you were to try to place a wheel on that has a smaller back spacing than what it is suppose to have, your wheel will rub your tie rods. In my case, I needed 3.5 inches minimum of backspacing or .5 inches off of center.
I have found this web site to be a great resource for illustrating the measuring of your wheels. (https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html)
As for the wheels, I ordered them from Whole Sale Trailer Supplies. http://wholesaletrailersupplies.com/product_info.php?cPath=34_254&products_id=546
That took care of the wheels, as for the tires, I decided to go with a vintage Coker BFGoodrich that I purchased through Summit Racing. (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/COK-67660/)
Radials would have come out much cheaper, but does not come close to that vintage look. Even if they road smother, stopped quicker, were quieter going down the road or what ever the benefits were, I valued the vintage look over performance. That and the fact that with light driving and the estimated annual mileage that this truck will be getting, the bias ply will last longer due to the radials slitting after five or so years of light use.
After wet sanding on this hard coating, the wheels where cleaned with soap & water then dried well.
After that, they were wiped with a painting prep and a sealer was sprayed on.
The sealer I am using is DuPont ChromaSeal 7740s which is a Urethane Sealer. View PDF Technical Manual
In order to make painting the wheels easier, I picked up a "Lazy Susan" from the local hardware store. This way I can give the wheel a good spin while spraying on the finish.