VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Commercial Vehicles 54 COE 3 piece split rims

Thought some of the COE guys would be interested in the process of installing tires ,tubes & flaps on the original 20" 3 piece split COE rims.

Thanks for the photos. I grew up in a '46 Chevy COE. The 3 piece wheel was always my Dad's first choice. Beautiful truck BTW.
SCRUB THOSE TIRES with soap and water and they will shine like new.

Mike

MT,
I remember doing what Speedie was doing. Just one question I noticed 5 chrome lug nuts. Is that the correct number for the 10 lug holes? also I don't remember using the black ring under the lug nuts. Were those standard for that model and year truck? I never owned a COE or a conventional cab Chevrolet truck older than a 1955. I had a 55 dump truck 6500 with a 261 and a 57 Dump truck with a 283 Power Pack (Qjet) and dual exhaust. When I sold it the engine used 2 or 3 quarts of oil per pay and the blowback was so bad I had to wire the dip stick in to keep it from blowing out a couple of inches. It was still a heck of a good driving truck and it would carry the mail. I hauled batch dry concrete mix for a road builder doing the Interstate system. The last 6500 I owned was a 1957 6500 farm truck with a 261 and a grain bed.
I sold it in 2005.

Is your good looking COE going to be a wrecker?

Not sure what I am gonna install on the frame yet Mack but, a Jerr Dan aluminum roll off would turn it into a tow truck quick like.
Next on the list of things to do is button up the interior & ad a few more 1954 specific accessories to it {Orig. radio, clock & fresh air heater}.

Although all of the rims are 10 hole....Front hubs are only 5 lug & the rear hubs are 10 lug. The black rings are standard on the front & rear.

The lug nuts are grade 8 with chrome caps that we located at the "Triple T" TTT Truck Stop {which by the way has one of the best Truckers breakfast around}

http://wikimapia.org/p/00/00/54/77/39_big.jpg
http://wikimapia.org/22211/TTT-Tucson-Truck-Terminal
http://www.omarshiwaychef.com/about.htm

Thanks for the info.
I have a couple of lug wrenches that were under the seat of my 57 farm truck no (tow sack BTW)not sure what they fit, if you know someone that needs one. I will clean them up and take a couple of pics and post them on this forum, but not for a week or so. Got too much on the plate for awhile

A word of warning.
If the locking ring (the red piece in the pics) and the bead ring arent installed correctly they will let go when the tyre is inflated and become deadly projectiles.
Tony

Seein' as all the tires & rims are all mounted & the truck is on the road with no problems.... I think we installed everything correctly.

Was a tight fit but we were able to get a spare tire & rim mounted with the original mounts in the original location.

Count yourself lucky as the 3 piece split rim can be deadly. Current procedure to inflate them is to have the assembly in a "cage" and add air thru the cage while keeping hands and fingers on the OUTSIDE. This is not meant as criticism of whether they are mounted correctly or not, but a warning of what CAN and has happened to others.

The 2 piece split rims are the dangerous ones {they don't call 'em "Widowmaker Rims" for nothin'} & these 2 piece rims should not be confused with the 3 piece split rims.


The 3 piece rims always get a bad rap from uninformed "Worry Warts" that really don't know anything about 'em .....
Actually if you use "common sense" with them... they are a nice original rim to use on the Big Trucks.

"Common sense" dictates that you reject any rim, lock ring or outer ring that is pitted or rusted or bent.... In addition you must NEVER mix & match components that are not compatible with the rims.

We picked the best rims,lock rings & outer rims from a stock of 10 & narrowed those down to 7 nice complete rims & then we blasted & painted all parts { as pictured }.

Now....If you are a dummy & do not follow the "common sense" rules for split rims.... you may have to deal with an explosion.

If you know what the heck you are doin' with 'em.... You will have no problems.... Like Us

The Firestone RH-5 are the ones not to touch, as MT says they are a 2 piece rim. The 3 piece wheels are very safe to use as long as things are in good condition. They also take some hand labor to mount tires onto them. Don

a cage is a late early 1960s thing
I started "fixing flats" at our small town Sinclair station when I was 13. The station owner showed me one time how to be sure the ring was fastened in correctly, and what the rim pieces should look if they are done right and are servicable. He said... "If you don't do it right and don't air the tire up right IT WILL BLOW OFF AND TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF TOO! I fixed 4 or 5 truck flats per day, 7 days a week all summer and on weekends during school days. Never messed my pants even once.

Before they started using cages one of my high school classmates was made a vegatable when he was watching a Sears tire guy install new tires on his 1954 Chevy Dump truck in 1960.
That is when I started using a home made cage welded together out of used pipe and angle iron. I also found a new career path about then.

I never cared for the 2 piece rims either.

Don't get me wrong...
Any multi piece rim can explode if they are not assembled properly but, so can a one piece rim for that matter.