Wheels 52 chevy 2 tom truck

[Jonny C]

We just purchased a 1952 Chevy 2 ton flat bed truck and are having a hard time finding replacement wheels for it. The truck has split rims and no one will replace the tires for us.. Does anyone have any suggestions where we can find wheels to fit this? it has a 10 bolt pattern
 

[truckdog62563]

Jonny - According to the Hollander Interchange book your truck used a 20" wheel with 10 lugs on a 7.25" circle. That pattern looks to be pretty much GM specific. I couldn't see any other manufacturer that used it. Hollander also goes to long lengths describing the various wheel widths, dishes, and mounting systems that existed during the late 40s and early 50s on these GM 2 ton trucks. It shows that the wheels that came with your truck were either a Firestone "R-5°" or Kelsey Hayes/Firestone "AR" design. Both of these designs utilize three piece outer rims that are termed "lock ring" designs. I don't think I can post pictures of these designs here but will email them to you if you want. If you have these three piece original equipment wheels, everything I read says that they are still serviceable at big truck tire shops as long as they are not heavily rusted, bent, or otherwise damaged. You may have to look for old shops that specialize in the big trucks. Similar wheel designs are still in use today for demountable applications.

That said, it's possible that trucks that have been used hard over their lives would have had wheels replaced. There were other wheels made during this era that are two part split rims where the wheel halves connect at the middle of the rim. These are termed Firestone RH-5°s. These are the true killer rims and should be replaced. There were also rims made with your bolt pattern that used a Goodyear designed "LW' or "LBW" lock ring system. These too should still be serviceable. Also made were 22.5" tubeless one piece rims with your bolt pattern. These would be your best option, but finding them I'm sure will be hard. It is important to know that you should never mix match lock ring designs and rims. Also, lock ring wheels are themselves dangerous and should be handled by professionals.

All that said, to my experience you're best bet on finding replacement rims is to search old wrecking yards. I've done a lot of that to find rims for my trucks. You could also go to the GM truck web site www.stovebolt.com. Somebody there will have been in your shoes and hopefully should be able to give better source information than I've given. Good luck. Email me if you want cross section diagrams of these mounting systems. Stu
 

[aggie jon]

and if you need any parts, i have a 48 2 ton that i am parting.