GM ralley truck wheel measurements

[wayne petty]

another stupid idea....  

beck... have you got access to a metal rolling machine...  can you roll some rings out of steel strap...  that is the proper size to make up the difference in  wheel center diameter...     then weld all three together...

got access to a brake drum lathe? to cut the centers out?

i knew there had to be a reason i was keeping those old brake drum only lathes... with all the stepped adaptors... i think they are lemmco..?

[Beck]

another stupid idea....  

beck... have you got access to a metal rolling machine...  can you roll some rings out of steel strap...  that is the proper size to make up the difference in  wheel center diameter...     then weld all three together...

got access to a brake drum lathe? to cut the centers out?

i knew there had to be a reason i was keeping those old brake drum only lathes... with all the stepped adaptors... i think they are lemmco..?

That would work Wayne but then there would be a bigger gap between the square holes in the center and the outer rim. That is just too much work for the return. I am just gong to find another 15x8 and stick with the 15" tires I think. I did find a set of 16" Dodge van wheels with the right inner diamater on the barrels. The problem with them is they were only 7" wide. I think it would be easier to widen the 7" to 8" than to add the ring between the center and outers. I haven't looked much yet. I'm betting there is a 16x8 available that has the righ barrel diamater. I have a coat hanger bent to the right size so I can just carry it when I hit the salvage yards. If the bent wire just slips into the barrel it is the right size. I have had good luck just cutting the major part of the excess wheel off with a plazma cutter. Then grinding through the welded area of the sacraficed part. To get the 2 parts running true I put them on a front hub/spindle. I then set up the dial indicator and tap until it is where I want it. When it is all spot welded I remove it for final welding, then put it back on the hub to check my work. It takes a lot of little taps to get it just right and the backspacing right too.

Mac, All the suspension on my truck is early 80's Chevy. They had swapped to 5 lug by then.

[tomslik]

Your truck must have had  5 lug conversion. All 1/2 tons were 6 lug until like 73 or something. Anyway, I like the look you got and painting the base of the cap the same as the rim does half of the trick. Thanks for the tip.

71 was the 1st year...

[Beck]

Here is a picture of a yoke from a pickup truck that will fit that spline. The collar on the end is installed on the spline, then a splined washer, and a rubber or cork splined seal. you then screw the collar onto the yoke, capturing the seal between the washer and the yoke. It will then hold grease so it can slide. You can find these on the rear half of a GM truck driveshaft, from a two piece driveshaft.

The other picture is of a GM double Cardan cage. It uses a big GM Ujoint at each end, You can get an adapter joint to go to a Spicer 1300 series joint, which is what the yoke on the front of the OD unit appears to take.

I have a few more questions about these joints.

I have a slider yoke for the rear of the overdrive. It is all cleaned up and ready to go EXCEPT it doesn't have the rubber or cork splined seal. Are these available separately?

I also got a used GM double Cardan cage like in the 2nd photo. The distance between joints is 3.25". Since I just need the center of it I took it all apart and cleaned it up. My concern is the adapter joint. I haven't worked on enough driveshafts to know the part applications. The yoke on the front of the overdrive is larger than the one in the double Cardan cage. The OD yoke has a cap diameter of 1.184 and used clips on the outside of the cap. The U joint is cast with the SPR logo (does that stand for Spicer) and a few other #s, F/ , N67 , 22 .The cap on the joint from the double Cardan cage measures about 1.122 in dia. It had the factory plastic retainer that cannot be replaced. I'm guessing the replacement will probably have the C-clips that go on the inside of the caps. Is this a special joint in the GM double Cardan cage? Enjenjo said it was the standard big GM joint. I have always used driveshaft ends that were matches with the yokes and have never had to buy adapter joints. Surely the local parts house won't be able to help since I can't tell them what it fits. Obviously it doesn't fit a factory vehicle. The driveshaft shops I have gone to all use Spicer parts exclusively. Is Spicer really superior to the other brands? Anyone know the adapter joint part number by chance?
Thanks!

[enjenjo]

I need the overall measurement on the joints, measured over the caps on both versions. I have a couple conversion U joint charts.

The seal for the slip yoke is available seperate at most driveline shops. It's a standard part on a lot of pickups. You need the one with the splined seal and washer.

The ones with the snap ring on the outside are Spicer type. The ones with the snap ring on the inside are Mechanics type. Spicer makes both types.  GM mostly used Mechancs, but some Spicer joints..

[maintoni]

If you need a taller tire to decrease your engine RPM, then you just need to search on some shops for tires. I'm sure that they could have some of the bigger tires for your pickup truck. On some shops for pimp of cars you could find some.