Where to buy white steelies and dog dish hub caps

[1972BlueC20]

Hi All,

I was thinking of maybe going original on my wheels.

Was thinking of going with some white steel wheels and dog dish hub caps.

I don't care if the hubcaps are chrome w/ blue bowtie or chrome w/ gold bowtie.

I think chrome with blue is technically the original right? I have a 72 C20

Where is the best place to find some good condition white steel wheels and dog dishes?

Also what size is the wheel (I need 8 lug) and what size is the original tire for a 72 c20?

I'm liking this look :

[sdailey]

Start hitting the junkyards or for a quicker response place a wanted ad in the classifed section.

[Acorn]

I think that is a member named Andy's truck.
Those are 16x7 F**d rims with 265/75r16 tires. I love the stance of his truck!
Just keep watching the parts board, ebay, craigslist, etc. there are places you can buy them new but they are usually black or grey.

[1972BlueC20]

Cool thanks ACORN, yeah i couldn't remember where i got this photo. Must of been off this forum.

[Sicklajoie]

Cool to see you use my truck as an example. Thanks!
Acorn's right. They're F*rd van rims. I found them on Ebay. Got them powdercoated.
I found the hubcaps on Ebay, too. I was very lucky. They were tarnished, but had no dents. They needed a lot of TLC and elbow grease.
And my Michelins are 265/75/16. Got them through Discount Tire Direct.

[In The Ten Ring]

I have been planning to go original with my truck also. Fortunately my dad (original owner) is a pack rat and he FOUND the wheels and hubcaps the truck came with.

Once she's running, I'm going to try and get those onto her.

Yes, just start looking man and you'll find what you need. Unless you come across a good deal, just take your time as getting into a hurry is usually expensive.

[DeadheadNM]

Not sure what the situation is with regard to salvage yards near your home but my experience with 16" 8-lug steel wheels (esp 6.5" width) is that these are an easy find

[jocko]

if ya GOTTA have chev steelies -try hubcaps.com and go to their wheel section, they may have some. Nobody sells or repops the cpas, gotta scrounge. 67-72 3/4 tons were chrome with blue öuties"(convex center), 73-75 were alum with gold and ïnnies"(concave center). I'd try the jyard 1st to save $, then go with Ford 7" and pc em just like discussed above.

[factorystock]

Late model Ford Econoline wheels to the rescue! Chevy abandoned the 16" bump wheels around '88-91 period (most applications) that accept period 69-72 hubcaps. 16" Ford Econoline wheels are wider than GM 16" wheels and almost duplicate the look of original 8.25" 16.5" wheels (see sicklajoes truck). Here is a nice shot of original 16.5" wheels and hubcaps which look almost indentical to Econoline wheels. Econoline wheels came painted gray, so a paint color change will be necessary to GM White. Blue bowtie on grill matches blue bowtie on hubcaps.

[Lou Boffa]

not cheap, but hubcaps.com were good to deal with and what I consider good quality.
http://www.hubcaps.org/

[picklito]

Amazing that nobody repops stock white steelies. Seems like a missed opportunity.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by jocko

if ya GOTTA have chev steelies -try hubcaps.com and go to their wheel section, they may have some. Nobody sells or repops the cpas, gotta scrounge. 67-72 3/4 tons were chrome with blue öuties"(convex center), 73-75 were alum with gold and ïnnies"(concave center). I'd try the jyard 1st to save $, then go with Ford 7" and pc em just like discussed above.

Slight correction...

I believe the 73 and up caps were stainless until the design changed. The new design were aluminum. I'm not sure what year that occurred though. 76???

Jim

[mike16]

anybody who sells mlitary surplus chevy trucks from the eighties will also have an ample supply of chevy rims. look locally first so you can select a set that are not bent or damaged. as for the hub caps they are quite common and should not be a problem

[special-K]

Originally Posted by picklito

Amazing that nobody repops stock white steelies. Seems like a missed opportunity.

No reproduction needed for wheels they still make. You can buy brand new 16" steel factory style wheels, either from Wheel Vintiques or any commercial tire/wheel shop. They are used on trailers and other tow-behind equipment. If looking at FlOoReD 7" wheels make sure they have Accuride stamped in them. Those are SAE pattern. They went metric around '96. The Econolines stayed SAE, but the latest years Accurides have no hubcap nubs because FlOoReD went to wheel covers-only. You may be able to buy wheels from Accuride, or a distributor, still. They won't be cheap. Junkyards are your best bet

Wheels Now appears to still carry them:
http://www.wheelsnowinc.com/catalog/viewItem.php?id=240

[65standard]

Originally Posted by picklito

Amazing that nobody repops stock white steelies. Seems like a missed opportunity.

By me, they're a dime a dozen. Fords are even more plentiful if you don't care about hub centric rims and silver paint. I picked up a nice set of 16 x 6.5 white Chevy rims at my local salvage yard. Chemically cleaned all the rust and they look great.

Sicklajoie has the best looking 1969-1970 C/20 out there. Mine is like its crackhead brother.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by 65standard

Mine is like its crackhead brother.

I dunno about that - that's a smart-looking truck right there.

Can you post a close-up picture of one of the wheels? Did you have to use different lug nuts to get those center caps to fit?

I'd like to try those on my C20...

[special-K]

Those center caps are held on using duplex lug nuts. OEMs are 17mm, but you can buy 9/16" conversion lug nuts.

[65standard]

My C/20 center caps are from a 2000 Chevy 2500. On the front I upsized the lugs to the 14mm studs for a 2000 Chevy 2500. On the rear I kept the original 1/2 x 20 lugs and used stock 2002 Chevy astro van lug nuts. They are 1/2 x 20 with the 27mm outer threads for the little lug nut covers, which hold the center cap on.

If you keep all the original 1/2 x 20 lugs, you need the 2002 astro van lug nuts for the caps.

Not sure why special-I said 17mm lugs for the later center caps nor about the 9/16 studs. My 1970 C/20 has 1/2 studs originally.

[special-K]

I meant to type 14mm. Just a simple typo, just as you typed Special-I. What you have done is unusual and I didn't know what you had done on your unique conversion. I was giving information that would be useful to most anyone else interested in using these center caps on our trucks. Most have converted to disc or are 71/72s from what I see on the board. Those GM 88-00 2500/3500 center caps used 14mm lugs and the typical conversion, for older disc brake 8-lug trucks is use 9/16" conversion lug nuts. Why? Because I like to help others here. You helped me learn something new. I didn't know you could use 1/2" studs and lug nuts on a wheel with bores for 14mm or 9/16". I guess the smaller lug nuts still center the same and fit the wheel bevels ok. This is good info for owners of drum brake 8-luggers. I never considered using smaller lug nuts from a 5-lug on an 8-lug wheel with larger holes, but I guess it works. What you did with the center caps would look great on the late Econoline Accurides that are still on the 6.5" hole pattern but w/o hubcap nubs (like the 88-00 wheels). You get a wider wheel with an original look

[65standard]

Sorry I upset you. Never meant too. i still hope you continue to help others. I know you personally helped me a few times and I appreciated it.

[special-K]

No, you didn't upset me. Sorry I came across gruff. You said you didn't know why I said what I said so I explained. I've only seen the 9/16" conversion lugs used since those caps used 14mm. But, you came up with a way to use on the drum brake studs. I had a '70 C/30 dual wheel I put chrome Budds on way back when. The wheels were for disc brake trucks. Budds have no beveled lug nut holes. The '70-back wheels were held on with flat backed castle-type lug nuts and the '71-ups use a spreader ring that has beveled holes. I couldn't use the center caps because they went over the spreader ring and it never occurred to me that I could have used 1/2" chamfered lugs. It was a long time ago, maybe I tried and those were too small to hold the center caps in place. I went to a Harley shop and bought 32 1/2" acorn nuts. It actually worked fine, but I knew it was kinda halfassed. I don't know why the rear wheels wouldn't have shifted on the smaller studs from torque, but they didn't. Plus the acorns weren't hard steel like lug nuts. I ended up having a machine shop enlarge the holes in the drums and installed 9/16" studs

[jakewalter]

Sicklajoie where did you get that bed cover?

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by 65standard

My C/20 center caps are from a 2000 Chevy 2500. On the front I upsized the lugs to the 14mm studs for a 2000 Chevy 2500. On the rear I kept the original 1/2 x 20 lugs and used stock 2002 Chevy astro van lug nuts. They are 1/2 x 20 with the 27mm outer threads for the little lug nut covers, which hold the center cap on.

If you keep all the original 1/2 x 20 lugs, you need the 2002 astro van lug nuts for the caps.

Thanks! That's a slick set-up.

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by jocko

73-75 were alum with gold and ïnnies"(concave center).

An interesting historical note, the first design 1969 3/4 ton hubcap with shallow concave center was used on front wheels. This '69 GMC 3/4 ton used the first design shallow concave front cap and 2nd design deep convex rear cap. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-GMC-Oth...6.m2518.l4276I I believe a change was made at midyear '69 for all 3/4 ton hubcaps to be the 2nd design deep convex style. In 1973, the deep concave hubcap was introduced and used up to 1975.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by jakewalter

Sicklajoie where did you get that bed cover?

I can tell you it came on the truck which he bought in CA. It's a Gaylord's cover. They've been making these forever and are located in CA, also. They are well built and pricey, then there is shipping that bohemoth. < Spell check says that's not a word, but Google says it is and so does Wikipedia . Spell check needs to go back to school