You're So Vane

Thats a before picture. I did not take an after. At least I cannot find one if I did.

If you decide you rather have your carb rebuilt by professionals there is a company near Chicago called: United Remanufacturing Co, Inc. a United Carburetor Company, 9550 Soreng Ave, Schiller Park, Illinois 60176 (847-678-2233). email: aportman37@yahoo.com. Family owned they did our fluid drive carb and made it look brand new. They test before they ship so your carb comes preset to the specs of your vehicle. They did ours three years ago and no problems since.

JBNeal do you still have your one ton???? The rims seem to be similar to mine. But I have never seen them on an older truck. Mine are the 5.50F x 16.

Yes, the rims used on the one ton were machined so you could mount two together to form the duals. The holes for the lug nuts are bevelled on both sides of the rim as to keep the lugs from vibrating loose. Hence the rarity of the rims. Thats why I am reluctant to have them altered.

Sorry for the delay in responding. We don't have internet here and have to wait till I get to town to reply. 1) Kencombs Yes, a 251 or 265 would be awesome to have. The Canadians are lucky in that respect as those motors were more frequent there. They are expensive to build however. Might be easier to find an industrial engine. Our motor is rated for 100 HP but we are reluctant to hit the rpm needed to develope that. We generally keep it under 2500rpms. 2) JBNeal Really don't overload the truck. She is rated to 8000GVW as a one ton. (Our F150 is rated at 8200GVW as a 1/2 ton but it does not dump.) It's the 8% and greater grades we have problems with. We are looking into having some new rims made in order to increase our tire options. We thought about the 318. We have access to a 79 318with a 4sp. Just can't figure out which direction we want to go with this truck. Keep it all original and turn it into a parade truck or do the modifications and keep it working........... 3) Dodgeb4ya That's what I am interested in knowing. Thank you. Hopefully you are talking from experience????? I like the idea of the straight eight. Let me see if I can find a donor now. Thanks everyone, Randy

Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. Don't have internet where we are so I have to wait till we get into town. 1)DJ194850 We did call them. $200-$250/ wheel + freight. 2) Adam H P15 D30 What posts on here are you referring to? I have been hard pressed to find much wheel info on here. I know I am not the best when it comes to using a computer. What is HAMB? 3)LoneJackLarry I looked at the wheel smith on Facebook. Seems they are the better choice. Thanks. I see you have a C1 one ton. What wheels are you running on your truck. We would like to keep our originals and find another set to experiment with. Any wheels available in your local scrap yards? Apparently the rims/wheels we have were only used on the 55/56 one tons. 4) 9 foot box How come nobody talks prices???? How about a photo of your wheels? American Wheel Specialist has a Facebook page but not sure they manufacture wheel/rims. 5) Badh4660 Wheel looks good. How did you decide on the width? Wonder if we can do wider on the rear and stay the original width on the front? I don't see why not since our rim design has the ability to mount as duals. Thanks all for your reply. Randy

I understand the fluid drive is a coupling. We have had the truck for 63 years. We no longer use it as a farm truck where the terrain was almost all flat. We just started using it to do some local hauling in and around the Shawnee National Forest where the back roads can be quite steep. Carrying 1-2 tons seems to be quite the challenge when addressing these roads. We know about things that can be done to increase the power of the current motor. Past experience has taught us these modifications will not give us the increase in power that is needed to meet our needs. We would like to know of any engines that will bolt up to the current transmission that will give us the power we need? We are trying not have to make major modifications to the complete drivetrain.

Any members have any dealings with Stockton Wheel out of Stockton California? I understand they can take my split ring rims and cut out the center and weld that to a new outer barrel. This modification will allow us to get away from running tube tires and rim liners. Making it easier to get the tires serviced when needed as more and more tire shops will not work on the split ring rims. Our truck is a '55 Dodge C1 dump bed. The rims were only used on the '55 & '56. We are skeptical about having our original rims modified since we have not been able to locate any additional rims to experiment with.

Looking for information on what engines will bolt up to my '55 Fluid Drive transmission. Currently we have a '55 Dodge C1D6 one ton dump truck with the six cylinder four speed fluid drive. We are experiencing lack of power to climb the hills especially when carrying a load. Wondering if there is an engine with more power that will bolt up to this trans?

I am told these rims are set up for dually. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to locate rims.

We looked into that as well. Can't find anyone who has a rim to fit. We want to keep our original rims for when the truck is retired. Purchased new we want to keep as much of the original parts as possible. I use the truck and it is getting harder and harder to find tire shops (in Illinois) that will do service on split ring. There are shops in California that will do the welding you suggest. But I cannot even find another set of original rims that will fit our truck. There is a guy in Washington State wants $340/rim that look like scrap from the photos he sent. I can have new made for about $80 each. But have to order a quantity. Which I will do if there is enough interest.

Here is a photo of the original wheel.

Ok, you're not a truck owner that is obvious. Older Dodge and later model Sprinters use six lug on there one ton. Later model center hole and lug spacing are different than the older ones.

I am looking into having rims/wheels made to fit my one ton 55'. I have been wanting to get rid of the split ring rims and go tubeless. Nobody seems to have them. People have offered to alter my original rims but we rather keep them for when the truck gets retired. I have contacted manufacturers in China. Have not found any in the states. Anyway they require a minimum quantity order. Understandable they are selling wholesale. I am wondering if anyone else is interested in changing out their rims for a newer tubeless type. If I can get enough truck owners together it would help defer the costs. Not looking to discard my original rims. Just want to make our truck easier to use. Yes, our truck is used weekly. It still has to earn its keep. Not looking for long dissertations. Just wanting to see if there are other Dodge one ton truck owners who prefer the tubeless and if they would be willing to partner up. Planning to stay with the standard look of the one ton rims. Cannot guarantee an exact match but perhaps similar steel painted white rims. Details can be worked out once I see how many will be interested. Thanks, Randy

Does not seem to be much mid west area members to be interested in getting together. I guess I will drop the idea.

Done the road trip to California many a time. Twice in 2017. With a modern car it is quite a trip. Done the sight seeing thing along the way. So I know the wonders of the West. I saw more old Dodge trucks out West than I have anywhere else. I will put together an EVENT. All I need to do is come up with a weekend. Let me think on it for a few days.

Just wondering how many of you truck owners would be interested in having a get together in Southern Illinois Shawnee National Forest? I would be glad to act as host. We have the Sahara Woods State Wildlife Preserve 3 miles from us. There is small boating, fishing lake there. Plenty of hiking trails and bicycle trail that runs some 60+ miles. (Tunnel Hill State Trail) Or there is Fern Clyffe Forest preserve 20 miles from us that has camping and hiking trails. There are several other options depending on what side activities people would want to do. Could plan it for this summer/fall or next spring. Easy access to Southern Illinois via 64, 57, 24, 70. We would enjoy attending those such events in California or Utah but don't think we could make the drive in our 60+ year old truck. The truck would make it. Ok, we are spoiled by todays automotive comforts. I just thought it would be interesting to start an annual event here in the midwest. Well, quite frankly our coal mining communities could use a shot in the arm. Give me some feedback, thoughts, ideas.

With coal on its way out ( Southern Illinois lively hood) most if not all our machine shops have been dissolved. I have an appointment later this week with one near the middle of the state. I guess I have been too long on the farm. I fear the money it will take to get this resolved exceeds my abilities.

Ok, I called Stahl/Steel. Talked with Lenny "No integrity lost with their adapters." Can do any conversion I choose. 5 lug Dodge to 8 lug Dodge, 5 lug Dodge to 6 lug Ford excetera, etc. Sounds fantastic. How about a quote? Are you sitting down? $200/adapter. YIKES! I don't think people from the West coast or East coast have ever been to southern Illinois. By the time I buy new rims I think the outcome $$$$$ will be about the same.

The WheelSmith does not do that bolt pattern. As per Rick from WheelSmith. He did offer up trying Custom & Commercial Wheels of Bloomington Ca. 909-357-3505 ask for Ray. So I called. Don't know who I talked to ( he would not offer up his name). All I need to do is ship my rims to them where they will cut out the center and re weld it into a new rim. Got a rough quote of $200/wheel. Plus shipping costs to & from Illinois. Amazing state California. I am sure money grows on trees there.

Adding spacers will lesson the load carrying abilities.

Looking at there website and they seem to be focused on car rims. As soon as California wakes up i will give them a call. Thanks for the lead.

Well, your right. I do have split "ring" rims. The bias ply tires I am currently running on the front are wore down to where the tread is no more. We use the truck a lot. Making deliveries all through out Illinois. The "split" anything when carrying a load ( usually a ton and 3/4 ) is no longer considered a safe wheel. Rightfully so. I have seen rims come apart ( yes split ring ones) while driving down the interstate and local county roads. Our local tire shop has put tires on for me before but only thinking we were not still running like we use to. People see the age of the truck and think it is just for show. I let them think what they want. Now it is time for tires and this old memory seems to recall Ford having a tubeless rim that fit the one tons of Dodge. Either Ford or Dodge came out with a rim from its camper line that fit the old Dodge one tons. Anyway, I started searching. Seems I am not the only one who remembers them. As I tried a few of our local salvage yards they too recall the tubeless rims that would interchange between Ford & Dodge. Turns out when scrap prices went past $200/ton the salvage yards started cleaning up their act. So apparently, in our area, the old went to make new. I am worried about the rims on my truck. Metal can get fatigued. Add in rust and I just don't want to take the risk. I checked for like rims in salvage yards and they all are much worse than mine. That is if/when you can find them. I see all these CAR specialty shows on TV so I wonder if anyone knows of a company that can fabricate rims for me? We have since done a repaint on the truck. Turned out pretty good. Not a restoration, just a rust stopping paint job. Not sure this old truck will ever get a restoration. Just like me, I think it's time of being productive is drawing to an end. But I sure would like to get this rim thing resolved.

I am getting ready to replace my bias ply tires on my 55 C1D6 dump truck with new radial tires but was looking to get away from the split rim with tube. Do you happen to know if there is a modern day rim that will fit the one ton axles?