I would do the 205s up front. 225s end up being a bit too wide for the weight of the truck. Gets sorta floaty. 205 is my favorite front width on these trucks. 225 works great out back though. 205 and 215 will be fine if you don't have as built up of a motor. Or a shortbeds. My longbed with a 20/22r hybrid tends to go searching for traction alot lol.

 

What do you mean by too wide for the weight?

I'm doing all 4 the same size so I can rotate them all around.

 

Any tire has a given size of tread that contacts the road. The more contact patch you have for an unchanged weight, the less pressure per square inch is applied. So when it gets past a certain point in size it goes from grippy to floaty because there is actually too much contact patch; and the tire doesn't have enough weight to push it against the street. Also, 225s are a bit large for the inner fenders if you go too low.

But a 225 isn't unsafe width on these. I just notice its a bit tighter with a 205 up front. I run staggered size tires in everything. I grew up with muscle cars. It also helps with steering having a smaller front tire, when its buried into the fender all day.

 

Good to know! I'm probably going to run 205/65r15 then..

I'll probably try to get bigger rims eventually so I can do smaller sidewall for a little better handling, but that's a ways out. Need a job and maybe even my own place first haha

 

Ain't nothing wrong with 15s. I've never run them much. Lots of 14s and 16s. Sidewalks stop getting much when they are 4" or less lol

 

Little progress on the wheels...

I set a goal for myself to do a wheel a day, so that i dont have another 4 month project...

I was all ready to sand until my fingers bleed, but I found a little helper! Citristrip works great on these wheels!

I wasnt worried about hurting the gold, and it didnt seem to even touch it.. Im thinking I may paint them anyways...

I forgot to take a picture of it bubbly and after I scraped it all off. I left it to sit for an hour then scraped it off with a plastic putty knife, then started sanding. It was already quite smooth so I started wet sanding with 800 grit, then went to 1000, then 1500, then finished with 2000. Followed up by rubbing by hand with rubbing compound then mothers mag and aluminum polish.

The one on top is for comparison. Not a big difference, but a lot less oxidized looking. and much more noticeable in person.

I also used my buffer and some rubbing compound on the gold, and it actually somewhat sparkles now! Surprised me a lot!


I might do another one tonight, and the other two tomorrow. Trying to get these done for the weekend, including getting tires, so i can be apart of our cruise in the gut this weekend.. hundreds of oldschool cars and trucks going up and down mainstreet. Gotta love the smell of carburetion

 

Lots of progress!

I quickly finished the other 3 wheels this morning, didnt need to sand them at all, just stripped the foggy clear coat on them then polished them once or twice with mothers aluminum polish and called it good

Heres a couple from stripping/polishing one..
The citristrip stuff really works really well!


Then I scraped all of it off, about an hour later, and got this..


Then got to polishing it.. This was just one round with mothers aluminum polish. figured the tire guys will get it dirty, so ill just do it a couple times after they finish.. There are a couple spots that have a small pit but oh well..


Then off to the used tire guys.. I got a matching set of 4 Falken 205/65R15 tires with a lot of tread left! couldnt find my dads tread gauge but it looks like a lot.. What a difference in sidewall flex between these Falkens and the cheap set the PO put on the steelies.. This is only two of them, obviously..


Heres a before and after of fitment.. These wheels and tires are about an inch taller than the old ones.. and fill the space nicely And Im still able to turn all the way!



And a side shot...


I bet these things grip and handle a lot better then my other ones.. I just need to get some extended lug nuts, my fingers dont fit so well. Any suggestions for places to get them at a decent price?

My favorite part is i didnt blow my budget. I spent exactly $300 for wheels and tires

 

Looks killer. Find some cool longer lug nuts on eBay. I like the splined style on steel. I don trust aluminum lug nuts. The neo chrome would look cool. I ran purple on my alloys.

 

eBay was what I was thinking.. But it's gonna be a while until I buy them. I bought tires and payed for my block to be machined and new pistons and rings.. Well there goes my bank account! Hahah

I had a f*ckin wheel weight fly off already. I'm going back tomorrow and make them re do it.

 

I would deff make them fix the weight. We're they the glue on or clamp on style? I often take note of my weights and keep a few spare to replace if that ever happens.

As for the lugs, shouldn't be more than $30 shipped for a set. Mine were like 26. Autozone also has them. Usually only in blue or chrome though.

 

They were the clamp on, I'm sure he will redo it.. He's up front about things.

I'm on a super budget right now. I don't like being this low on money, and I don't have a job yet... Ill probably buy them anyways lol I do have money coming soon (hopefully) from the motor I've been building.. Just waitin on him to pay me and pick it up

 

Truck looks sick. The wheels go good with the body color..

 

Thanks!

I like them, especially the price! I'm kind of keeping a color combo, it's got what looks like stock gold pinstriping down the side and now gold wheels.. And I also striped a little hood piece in gold and black.. probably do some more but don't know if I will or what I'd do or where..

 

What's the thread for our lugs? All I can find is 12mm by 1.5.. Just want to know for sure if thats the right specs..

 

Yup 12x1.50 is the correct size
Every time i see your truck it makes me mad at myself for not getting off my ass and start putting mine back together.. But i blame work for that. Lol.

 

I'll take that as a compliment! lol

I'll probably order some soon, probably a locking set just for the extra safety..

 

Mine are splined so you need the special socket for all of them. So that's locking. My accent color is purple. The gold works really well with your green.

Money and time are the obstacles we all fight. It's why mines down right now lol.

 

So I'm trading rink45 my stock steelies and hubcaps for a nice dash pad and a teq sticker.. I'm quite excited!

 

So I traded my stock steelies and hubcaps for a PERFECT dash pad, a TEQ sticker, a vinyl floor with a tear but no wear through holes, and a 20R head.. Big thanks to Jason (Rink45) for hooking me up!

Im going to start porting and polishing and gasket matching the head, since Im low on funds at the moment cant really do much other then stuff i have already.. And I will clean the new dash pad so its spotless before i put it in..

 

Nice trade. Port and gasket match the intake too. I think it helps more than the head to do a mild porting. I would suggest taking the head apart to port it. So you don't damage a valve or get metal into the springs and valve guides. Good time for fresh valve guide seals too, they're $18 a set.