Wheel Advice, Please

[BTC70]

I'm in the process of having my M1028 restored and am looking for input on wheels. I want to run 34"-35" tires and I want to keep the plain black steel stock wheel look. It seems that these 2 desires are incompatible. Therefore, I need to decide on whether to stick with stock wheels and deal with the narrow width (which means running smaller tires than I want or putting tires on them that are supposed to be on wider wheels) or buying new wheels.

Option 1) The wheels that came on my M1028 are a mixed set (all 16" and appear to be the same size, but slightly different designs - 1 even has a Chrysler logo stamped into it). These would have to be sandblasted and repainted.

Option 2) I also have a set of 3/4 ton wheels off a 1985 K20, which I would assume are the same wheels as our trucks came with. These would also have to be sandblasted and repainted.

Then there's new wheels.

Option 3) $107 each. I came across The wheel Vintiques Series 82 (82-680804) wheels (16"x8", 4" backspacing, -12mm offset). This option would look the same, but upgrade the width to what I want. However, I'm hesitant to buy them because I have been unable to find ANY reliable info on load capacity - even after calling the manufacturer (which is scary).

Option 4) $90 each. U.S. Wheel Series 044 Stealth Crawler. Satin Black steel wheels similar to the old "revolver" style wheels. (16"x8", 4.5" backspacing, +13mm offset, 5.15" center bore, 3,000 lb. load capacity).

I WANT option 3, but my head says not to buy them without knowing the specs.

 

[BTC70]

Anyone?

 

[86m1028]

Check with accuride, you should be able to find a 16x8 steel wheel from them

 

[dc9137]

What did you decide to do? I'm in the same boat...

 

[4x4 Forever]

Try Stockton Wheel. I was looking for rims last year and they were 'in between' owners and could not get a hold of them at the time, they should be back up and running by now. They can MAKE the OEM rims in any width you want, which is the way I really wanted to go. I wound up getting the old wagon wheel rims in 8" wide (summit racing) and had a friend powdercoat them. They look good to me and the daughter (her truck) is always getting compliments on the setup.

Good luck and make sure you post pics of what you decide and mount.

 

[richingalveston]

you may want to double check your back spacing I thought 3.5 inch was max on back spacing without wheel spacers. Your option 3 and 4 have to much. It would not be good to buy new wheels and then have to get spacers.
Double check this, someone else here may be able to confirm

 

[martindc1]

Another option is a set of stock steel wheels from a 97 and earlier 8-lug Ford. These wheels also come on their 8-lug vans. They are 16x7 and have the same style centers as the CUCV wheels. I got a set for my old 67 K20 and they worked great. My set were manufactured by Accuride. Though 7" may not be wide enough for you, but you would at least be in the recommended wheel range for a handfull of tall skinny tires. The Ford wheels appear to have widen the track width a bit (I can never remember if that means more or less backspace). The street price seems to be in the $25 to $35 per wheel range.

 

[4x4 Forever]

3.5 to 4.5 backspacing is good. The ones I have are 4.5 and have no issues with clearance.

 

[BTC70]

What did you decide to do? I'm in the same boat...

I went with the U.S. Wheel Stealth Crawlers. With a 9400 lb. GVWR, I just wasn't comfortable going with a wheel that I couldn't get a load rating on from its own manufacturer.

 

[M1008driver]

I used these guys and kept my wheels and tires the stock size. I think you can only get the gloss black. As soon as I got them dirty it did not matter much.

http://www.4wheelcustoms.com/Products.asp?Cat=36

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?81172-M1008-Wheel-Tire-upgrade&highlight=