Can't seem to find this simple information. I have a 49 3100. Did it have 16" wheels front and back. If so, are there any modern (as in cheap, used) tires that will fit. I am doing a low-buck, get it on the road thing. I think a 215/85R16 will, or is it too wide for the 5" wide wheel?
I think they all came with 16" rims. As long as they are not split rims, most any tire should fit. You may have to run tubes depending on the condition of the rims.
Tires I just put 215/70R16's on my 5" wheels. Bought them at Discount Tire and they are Dunlops. I went with the thinner tire since I wanted the old look. I suspect they will mount wider ones if the wheels are in good shape.
Each individual tire has a minimum/maximum wheel diameter based upon the width of the tire. These are easy figures to get by googling "tire size" or "tire size calculator" The 215/70 R16s sound a little wide for the stock rims. When I was researching it, the ideal size for the wheels and for cruising speed/lower engine RPM's was a 215/85 R16. Diameter was nice and big for lower engine RPM's at speed and tire was not too wide for the stock rims. ANY newer light truck rated radial tire, no matter HOW skinny is going to be a stretch to get on those narrow little rims, so the skinnier the tire, the better off you will be. Ultimately, I went with a set of really good used 15's I got cheap at the junk yard and some fairly nice chrome rims fom a member here. The kids wanted the chrome rims and it makes them happy. Mine is a '55.1, so the rear end ratio is 3.90:1, so the engine RPM issue is a little better than '53 and earlier 4.10:1. However, I wish I had the taller, skinnier tires as the RPM's are still a little high. Don't want to deal with the expense of Patrick's rear 3:55 rear end upgrade right now. Andy
Data Book Tire / Wheel Info To answer Aldi's specific question my data book has the following for the 3100: Wheels: 5, 16x400E Tires: 5, 6.00x-16, 6 pr (Ply Rating) Ea... 1065lbs Page 159 lists the following options for the 3100: Front Rear 6.70x15-6 6.70x15-6 Single and spare /option 288B 6.50x16-6 6.50x16-6 Single and spare / option 282G 15"-6 15"-6 Single and spare / option 273H 15"-8 15"-8 Single and spare / option 280F It appears that the Maximum G.V.W (4600 lbs)is achieved with 15", 6 ply both front and rear. The other ratings follow: 4,500 - 6.50x16, 6ply front and rear 4,200 - 6.70x15, 6 ply front and rear 4,200 - 6.00x16, 6 ply front and rear. I have heard that some dealers won't mount newer radials on the old wheels due to the fact that they don't have the proper rim shape to hold the bead correctly. The archives probably has a lot more info but I thought you might like the exact truck specs from the book.
Please look up my old post on correct tire size , it's *perfect* Modern radial LT tires work great on your old 16" rims , not to worry .
For what it's worth I had my LT215/85R16 mounted onto the original rims by a couple of retired Perfection Tire dealers. These brothers kept their mounting equipment and personally removed the old rotten, but still holding air, mis matched DPO set and mounted my "new" Craig's List used specials. Care must be taken to not run the hydraulics into the rims instead of the tires to release and or set the beads. These friends were pretty convinced that leaving your job to some young minimum wage tire jockey might cause severe damage to those original precious narrow steel rims.
CORRECT Tire Size THANX Larry ! that's the correct size : LT215/85R16 , they even look correct as they're very narrow but will hold the road quite well when you're greatly overspeeding the truck on twisty mountain roads fully loaded up ~ not that I would ever do such a stupid , dangerous thing , oh no ~ not me ! I just wanted you to know , kinda justincase , dig ? The ability of young people to damage your hard to find rims , cannot be overstated , I nearly killed one fool after he overcharged me then dinged up the fresh red powdercoating the very first time I had tires installed...... Had he bent my rim , I'd be back in county lockup .
