Hi Larry,
My truck's drums are 6-bolt. I bought the new mags at Johnny's J & L
here in OKC, for $281.78 including tax, for a set of 4 Chrome Steel
Wheels. I bought the tires from Hibdon Tires Plus for $455.61 . Any
decent tire and wheel store should be able to help you.
I am assuming that when you say "IFS", you are talking about rodding the
vehicle. That is my ultimate goal. However, that takes a tremendous
amount of work and money in my book, so I'm going to approach it in
stages. Stage one, I just did. Stage two will be when I install the
high speed rear end kit. Stage three will be when I do a complete power
train upgrade. My engine is still running strong (for a 216), so why be
in a big hurry? My philosophy is if it's not broken, don't fix it. If it
was about to throw a rod, well that's a different matter. However, I'm
hoping with my insurance connections that I can find a wrecked newer
model car that I can pick up for salvage when I'm ready, but that might
be a few more years down the road, and I want to buy it right.
Good luck on your '50. I've had mine about 6 years now and have
throughly enjoyed it. People constantly eyeball it and stop me to ask
about it, almost everywhere I go. And it is not anywhere close to being
show room quality, like some of the trucks are. My total investment in
it is about $5000, so far. A whole lot less than a new pickup costs,
that's for sure. And which would you rather have? For way less than
what some guys pay for the excise tax on a new truck around here, I have
a new & improved, old truck.
Take care,
Larry
'51 Chevy 3100
OKC OK
PS - I will send you photos off post. Hopefully, you already have them.
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On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:45:28 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Larry Burnett
<laburnett@earthlink.net> writes:
> Hi Larry,
> Another Larry here. I also have an all original AD, though a 1950.
> I need to replace king pins on the front, and a couple of studs on
> the rear to pass VA inspection, and was wondering whether I should
> go IFS. Eventually, I may anyway, but hearing the improvement you
> had with new rims/tires, I'll probably go that way.
>
> I'm assuming you have the 6-bolt drums front and rear, where did you
> find the 6-bolt mags at, and how much did you spend? I'd love to do
> mag wheels on my truck.
>
> Finally, any pictures of your truck available?
>
> -Larry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Larry D Finley <ldfinley@juno.com>
> Sent: Nov 16, 2003 11:26 PM
> To: oletrucks@autox.team.net
> Subject: [oletrucks] My New & Improved AD Truck
>
> Hey Guys,
>
> I have an all original "51 1/2 ton chevy, and have been running 6.00
> x 16
> Bias Ply tube tires on the original rims. Those bias ply tires are
> almost dangerous on the highway, and the ones on my truck were so
> out of
> balance, that the front end of my truck was shaking me to death
> above 50
> MPH. After driving on them for the last 4 years, I finally had all
> I
> could stand, so I broke down and bought some new chrome steel mag
> wheels,
> and then went to my local tire store and bought some steel belted
> radial
> truck tires with raised white letters.
>
> You cannot imagine the difference, in ride, stability, handling,
> road
> noise, speed, and looks. It's like I have a completely different
> truck.
> The original rims are 4" wide, and I replaced them with 15 x 7"
> mags, and
> for the tires I purchased 235/75R15. The new tires are about 1.5
> to 2"
> taller than my old bias plys and have almost 8" of tread as opposed
> to 5"
> of tread on the bias ply. I was greatly worried as to whether or
> not
> they would fit without rubbing on something, but they fit perfectly
> on
> the original drums.
>
> As far as speed goes, the larger tires have made a world of
> difference.
> I am now actually passing people on the highway, even though I still
> have
> the original 4.11 rear end, and 216 Babbit Rod engine. I can cruise
> between 60 and 65 on the highway, and still carry on a conversation
> with
> my passengers. I figure with a 3.55 retrofit differential kit, and
> my
> new tires, I could easily hit 75, if not 80.
>
> As far as handling goes, high speed turns are almost sports car
> like. I
> thought that the truck would be harder to turn with the wider tires,
> but
> found the exact opposite to be true. Probably because the weight is
> spread out over 15-16" of rubber instead of 10", it is far easier to
> turn
> than it was before.
>
> As far as gas mileage goes, I feel like there will be an
> improvement, as
> I can roll much farther in neutral than I ever could with the old
> bias
> ply. There's definately less roll resistance with the new tires,
> but
> won't know how much savings in gas until I burn a couple of tanks
> and
> recheck my mileage.
>
> If any of you guys out there are looking for a relatively cheap way
> to
> improve your old truck short of replacing the entire power train,
> try
> doing what I did. You will be amazed at the difference.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Larry
> 1951 3100
> OKC OK
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and
> 1959
>
>
>
>
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oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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