Slick 60's

As I am surveying this old truck, It also appears I will need newer tires. They are beginning to show signs of cracking. Currently I have the 8.75 16.5 Lt mounted. I might later put disc brakes on the front so with that said, Can I currently go to a 15" or 16"wheel? What size tires do you usually run? Did you have to change the speedo gear and to what? Any suggestions on wheel and tire sizes? Not looking for big tires. The truck will be used to carry some loads and pull a trailer. So slightly wider tires for handling and maybe dropping the truck down somewhat. I Like the stock look.
Thanks

I actually put 2004 (I think) Chevrolet 2500 wheels and tires on my 66 F250. I had to grind out the center hub area slightly to get them to fit over the rear hubs, but they work. Size was a 265/75(or 70)/R16. My speedo is actually closer to my GPS speed now than it was with the 16.5" wheels that came on it. I found wheels and tires for $50 on craigslist. They were just cheap take offs with some tread left. Chrome "plate" over a steel wheel.

I bought my 16x7's from summit
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/USW-90-7780/

315\75-16's apx. 34.5" tall

I am going for a different stance than you but these are fairly inexpensive wheels that I think look good. I had aluminum wheels off about a '94 F-250 and they fit but the studs weren't long enough and I couldn't get bigger ones with the same size knurl... so I sold them and bought these....

just some input... how about a pic??

Anthony, I like the choice of rims! I like the white, but I want to stay around 12.5 for the width. I like the plain steel rims too, but I need the time to go find some!

19slick66 wrote:As I am surveying this old truck, It also appears I will need newer tires. They are beginning to show signs of cracking. Currently I have the 8.75 16.5 Lt mounted. I might later put disc brakes on the front so with that said, Can I currently go to a 15" or 16"wheel? What size tires do you usually run? Did you have to change the speedo gear and to what? Any suggestions on wheel and tire sizes? Not looking for big tires. The truck will be used to carry some loads and pull a trailer. So slightly wider tires for handling and maybe dropping the truck down somewhat. I Like the stock look.
Thanks

The proper size replacement would be 235/85 R 16. You can put any size tire you chose on it but thats as close to original as you will find to keep the speedo close to correct.

BackyardResto wrote:

19slick66 wrote:As I am surveying this old truck, It also appears I will need newer tires. They are beginning to show signs of cracking. Currently I have the 8.75 16.5 Lt mounted. I might later put disc brakes on the front so with that said, Can I currently go to a 15" or 16"wheel? What size tires do you usually run? Did you have to change the speedo gear and to what? Any suggestions on wheel and tire sizes? Not looking for big tires. The truck will be used to carry some loads and pull a trailer. So slightly wider tires for handling and maybe dropping the truck down somewhat. I Like the stock look.
Thanks

The proper size replacement would be 235/85 R 16. You can put any size tire you chose on it but thats as close to original as you will find to keep the speedo close to correct.

The wheels up to around 1998 will fit your truck. For 1999 model year they changed the bolt pattern.

Here are the ones I put on my 66.

I personally like the Alcoa wheels that came on the mid-90's F250s (mostly seen on Powerstroke Diesels). I got my Alcoas for $160 from a u-pick wrecking yard. It is a light and strong aluminum wheel. Still sold new, too.

You may already know this, but the 8-lug bolt pattern was standard to all 3/4 ton trucks (including brands X&Y), so there are a lot of choices among used wheels. The exception is the newer Ford Super Duty, which has metric pattern.

I would go with the stock 16" one piece wheels Ford offered '61 thru '66. With 31" 7.50-16 tires, speedo should be right on.

That's a beaut right there!

1966 F-250, stock suspension and brakes.

16x8 American Racing Outlaw II rims
265/75-R16 Cooper Discoverer tires

Same size I run. I think it fits the vehicle quite nicely.

Sarg wrote:That's a beaut right there!

Yes it will be a beaut after it is mediablasted, fresh coat of Wimbledom White and a clean argent hubcap installed. "All Slick" for me, wheels included!

I guess I just never got into the 100% original game. Its cool and all but modern convenience and styling can also be nice.

If you add the later model disc brakes to the front, don't go any smaller then 16" on the wheels. The dual piston calipers they use on the later disc brakes are big, and will not fit over 15" wheels.
Some of the suggestions members have given about using later model wheels is great, since the later model 3/4 tons didn't use anything smaller then 16".

I have 15x8 steelies with stock drum brakes. they were made at custon and commercial wheel in fontana, ca. got them raw for $94 each. Powder coated white was same price. got them in two days. I have 265/75x15 which is about 31" and a little "short" for freeway driving, but 60mph is fine If you want disc brakes or hubcaps, you need 16" wheels.

unclejtl wrote:snip
If you want disc brakes or hubcaps, you need 16" wheels.
snip

Why do you need 16 inch wheels for hub caps? I have caps on my 16.5's. I also have a set of full caps and some beauty rings but the beauty rings I have are rough and they seem tough to find but I like the small cap and beauty ring look best. Hawkrod

if he uses 15" wheels like mine, he won't be able to get the hubcaps off after they snap on. there isn't enough room to remove them. he needs at least 16" or larger.

Jason,
I take it your 15" wheels were custom-made...since I don't think 15", 8-lug wheels were ever offered by FoMoCo.

19slick66,
Yeah, there were many years that the Big Three offered 8-lug wheels on many 3/4-ton, 1-ton trucks and vans; but their center hub opening sizes were different. The Dodge wheels had the largest diameter center hub opening then Ford, then chebbie. The bolt pattern on the chebbie 8-lug wheels is the same, but the center hole won't fit your Ford axle hub (unless you grind out the center like Sarg did). So if you're looking for scrap yard wheels, only look for wheels off a pre-'96 Dodge or Ford, unless you plan to modify them. Since you plan to do some hauling and towing, I would not recommend you grind out the center of some chebbie rims, because by doing so, you diminish the load-carrying capacity of the wheels. I suspect the lip of the center hub is designed to carry a good share of the vehicle weight.

Also note that most of the late 60's/70's 8-lug wheels will be for an 16.5" tire, which will limit your selection. If I were you, I'd look for 16" wheels, as the tire selection is greater. Your current 16.5" wheels were NOT offered in '66, since 16.5" wheels weren't offered on F250s until '67. I don't think I'd go to much wider wheel, 9" wide is probably the limit, unless you don't mind a little rubbing up front when you make a sharp turn.
I wouldn't recommend the 16" split-rim wheels, since they are fairly narrow, are tough to locate a service station that will work with them and they require a TUBE-TYPE TIRE.

BarnieTrk

yes, they were made at custon and commercial wheel in fontana, ca.