nikwho
01-05-2017, 07:48 PM
Hello guys,
I am looking to purchase some new wheels so that I can start fabbing my 3-link in the rear of my '68 GMC. Axle width is open, as I have not started building my rear axle yet. I wanted to develop an overall game plan that basically will revolve around my desired wheel and tire combo. Looking at Foze Alloys right now. I'm thinking of going with 18"x12" wheels in the rear & 18" X 10" in the front. I don't mind tubbing my bed/widening my factory wheel tubs. I was curious of what other guys are running, to get into the realm of 345 in the back and 295's-305's up front.
Jefferson603
01-06-2017, 12:41 PM
I have Bonspeed GTB's 19x9 with 5.5 backspace on the front with 255 tires and have a country mile still. My rears are 19x10 with 5 backspace and 295 tires also with plenty of room. I would think 10's on the front would be no issue, and 12's on the rear with just widening the wheel tub. Mine are for sale by the way lol
Slick68
01-06-2017, 08:48 PM
I'm currently running 18x9.5(5.25bs) with 285/40/18 tires on all four corners. The only issue was in the front. The inside lip of the wheel rubbed the lower control arm at full lock. I nothced a section of the control arms and made some other adjustments to limit travel. I currently have 1/4" spacers on the front to check some other things, but it wasn't really necessary. The rears fit good, but still rub on the inner bedsides during hard cornering. Normal street driving conditions were fine. Not sure if you have a fleetside or stepside, but fleetsides have more room. Also, I have the wider 72 rearend. The 67-70 rearends are about 1.5" more narrow. If you custom build a rearend, you will simply just have to measure for wheels.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/20161016_145222_zpswyvrrtwj-1.jpg (http://s221.photobucket.com/user/Slick68/media/My%2068/20161016_145222_zpswyvrrtwj.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2017/01/20161016_145240_zpsg7hh1xqi-1.jpg (http://s221.photobucket.com/user/Slick68/media/My%2068/20161016_145240_zpsg7hh1xqi.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/20161016_145259_zpsggeqlbtb-1.jpg (http://s221.photobucket.com/user/Slick68/media/My%2068/20161016_145259_zpsggeqlbtb.jpg.html)
You can also go to http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/ to get more info and answers.
nikwho
01-09-2017, 08:52 AM
Jefferson, thank you for the specifics on backspacing! Slick68, I appreciate the pictures, as they help a lot to illustrate your setup. I will definately measure, but I guess that my primary goal here is to determine my desired rear axle width. I am leaning towards building a 9" housing for the truck. While I could build the current 8.5" 10 bolt into a stout rear end, with aftermarket 30 spline axles, etc, etc., but, if I'm going to buy a new carrier/posi, aftermarket axles, new R & P, seals, bearings, etc, I figured that I may as well put that money into building a 9", which I personally prefer due to its ease of removing the 3rd member and lack of c-clips. Irregardless; 10 bolt, 12 bolt or 9", I was hopeful to learn what guys are running as far as wheel size, tire size, back spacing, and axle width. I figured that I might get a number of responses that would give me a consensus of what will be ideal in terms of axle width and common wheel back spacing. I have considered choosing my wheels first then calculating an ideal axle width moving forward. I need to pull measurements between frame rails and bedside lips and figure out what will fit and what's needed to get there. My goal is to run something in the realm of 315-345 rear tire and somewhere between a 275-305 (big difference, I know) in the front. Basically, I will most likely be running 18"x12" wheels in the rear and 18"x10" in the front. I am trying to determine what my ideal axle width will be, to open up the biggest selection of off the shelf wheels, as I'd prefer not to spend the money to have custom offset wheels built.
Thanks for any and all help you folks can provide!
Here's perhaps a simpler question:
How many folks have decided to run an narrower rear end vs. Stock width (of approximately 62" WMS-WMS, I believe) with their build of 67-70 (I understand that 70.5-up has approx. 1.5" wider rear axle) Chevy or GMC pickups?