16.5 Wheels

[IdahoMan]

With the outer body of my 81 Silverado 98% done, I am taking on the task of the wheels/tires.

Right now I have the original white, 8-bolt (lug?) 16.5 wheels on my truck. I like keeping my vehicle as original as practically possible, but I do realize that sometimes parts do need to be swapped/upgraded.

Are there any advantages to the 16.5" wheels over say a 16" or 17"?

[zieg85]

You could go with the 16" stocker that came stock on the later 80's trucks and retain the same hub cap if you are wanting to retain the stock appearance.  There are a lot of tire choices with going that route.  17 and 18" are both popular choices for the aftermarket crowd but tires are more pricey.  My $.02

[audrima]

2000  gmc/chevy 2500hd rims work great ^_^ that is what I have on my  78.

[81_Chevy]

IMO having my old 16.5 rims gave me a VERY little tire selection, so i went to 17's. as far as advantages im not really sure.

[Da67goatman]

The only "advantage" of a 16.5 rim and tire is the load capacity, all 16.5 tires are heavy duty high pressure to towing and hauling are there purpose, but selection is quite limited as far as small enough sizes to fit everyday trucks.  I say sell or scrap those and get some more up to date rims and tires.

[pholliday1]

16.5 haves little to no safety bead on the rim which only really comes into play if you air down to go off road . As stated above tire selection is limited going to 16 or 17 is a equal good choice . I ran 16.5 for 7 years not a fan.

[IdahoMan]

You could go with the 16" stocker that came stock on the later 80's trucks and retain the same hub cap if you are wanting to retain the stock appearance.

Trying to find some.

What should I expect to pay for a stock 16" from our era?

[IdahoMan]

Mission accomplished. Made a great score.

Note: Upon further examination it seems that 3 of the 4 wheels are actually Ford. Grrr. They are silver and not white. My hubcaps don't seem to fit like I thought and they stick out to far on the 3rd wheel. Still, at least they look just like my originals. The 3rd wheel's origin is unknown; says "Made in Brazil" and has a symbol stamped that looks similar to a peace symbol.  They also don't appear to be as "deep" looking as my originals.

I am a little disappointed for full originality sake, but I hope they will still fit my purpose. I am going to paint them black. Made a good score all the same. Pics attached for your viewing pleasure.

[Jake_s]

The white wheel looks like the ones I have on my 84 K20.

Jake

[popsthebuilder]

I've got 16.5 x 12 wheels on the rear of my camper special. I love the wide look, but can only find one tire to fit.

[zieg85]

I've got 16.5 x 12 wheels on the rear of my camper special. I love the wide look, but can only find one tire to fit.

I used to have a pair on my 82 C20 crew cab back in the day.  I really liked the look.  I had the rims saved in hopes of finding another pair when I had my 72 K20 because I really liked the stock hubcaps back then with all that rim...  Got big bucks for the pair when I sold them...

[bobcooter]

I switched over to a set if 16" off of about a 2001 2500. They look great and I was able to mount a set of quaility tires.

[Jason S]

The "Unknown" wheel is completely solid all the way around the center section, unlike the Ford wheels... Is it possible that the "unknown" wheel could be a trailer wheel?  I say that because trailer supply shops sell that style for stock trailers, utility trailers, etc.