Wheel size on a 53pick up

[Geri]

Hello everybody,

i have a question to all pick up owner which leave their car in an original style :-)

I want to buy some new wheels on my 15" rims. Here in Germany we have some laws to get an historical licence plate. One of the laws says, that most of the car must be in an original condition.

Now on my data sheet they recommend me some 185R15 wheels. But my opinion is, that this looks terrible. I want some wider wheels.

What are you using on your truck?

[1948GMC]

I have 17x8.5 eagle alloys under my 48'

[chev3600]

Several companies offer wheels to your specification that look "original". Try wheelvintiques.com

[mr48chev]

Are you looking for new tires for your existing 15 inch rims or are you looking for new rims and tires?

A 185 tire would be on the small side for these trucks unless you were trying to do the little tire on the front big tire on the back look.

Most would say a 225-75-15 tire or a 235-75-15 tire would look original on these trucks.

[curmudgeon]

You probably have to check your local laws to determine how "original" the truck must be to qualify for the historical plates.

Here is an example of a larger tire/wheel but still keeping the stock look:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=344549

I personally use a 215/75-15 front, 235/70-15 rear staggerded combination, Ft/rear both have the same overall diameter, but the smaller fronts helps reduce the non-powered steering effort. However, my truck is lowered as well.

[mr48chev]

Guys remember Geri is in Seukendorf Germany and is also most likely trying to translate from German to English to communicate.

Rules in many European countries don't allow certain mods or changes even if they are a vast improvement over original equipment.

[OrrieG]

Here is a chart that gives you various tire width and diameter for 15" rims and common aspect ratios. Most common size back then was 6.50 x 15 which was 6.5" wide and 26.5 inches tall. That is close to a 190/75 metric size.

I also am posting a link to the tire rack info site, VERY good education on all things related to tires and wheels.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=46

[Michel]

Hallo Geri,

Here also in France we have some regulations for the tires to use.
On my 3600, with the 15-6 rims, the maximum size of tires allowed is 195R15 (195/80-15) and this is what I had on my truck. I have now changed the size of the rims to 16-7 and have 225/75-16 tires on them. The look is better and the dimension is close to the 7.00-15 originally installed.
For rims and tires in Germany, there is http://www.oldtimer-reifen.com/ which offer a good range of rims and tires for vintage vehicles.
If you want some 195R15 tires, contact me, I still have some ;-))

Michel from France

[mr48chev]

Thanks Michel that is a good clarification for us here in the US.

Too often here in the states on any modified vehicle the owner decides he/she wants "these" tires on "those" rims and as long as the inside of the tire matches the diameter of the rim. We have all seen the low riders running around on 5:20 VW size whitewall tires on 15x7 or 8 deep reverse Crager SS rims or on wire spoke rims that size in an Impala, Caprice or Caddy Deville that weights about three times what the tires are rated at. The other end of the spectrum is guys running real tall tires on their 16x5 or 5.5 35 Ford wires on their hot rods that we often see at rod trots.

[Geri]

Hey guys,

thank you again for the lot of answers and informations.
The answers confirmed me, to buy also some wider wheels as the data sheet is dictate to me.

@ mr48chev and Michel: I allready got the rims. I also bought it here : http://www.oldtimer-reifen.com. I have seen the whole offer of the shop and i think i would buy the wheels also there.

@Michel: Hello neighbor . Nice to hear, that someone else on the "old world" driving with a Chevy too. Do you have some good oldtimer car shows in frace which you can
recommend? Maybe also some pictures from your old rims and wheels? ;-)


Geri