VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 1933 1.5 Ton Tires / Rear Lights

Hi, wondering if anyone has tire suggestions for my 1933 1.5 ton truck. Found these, but wanted to know if anyone had other suggestions.

Also- I've seen some pics of 1.5 trucks running one tail light on the left- is that the original setup?

Thanks!

I don't have any recommendations about tires. I'm sure some truck experts will offer guidance.

Most vehicles (cars & trucks) sold in the 30's only had one taillight, the left one, as standard. For some vehicles a right taillight was available as either a dealer installed accessory or part of a higher priced equipment package. The availability of a right taillight was much more common on cars than trucks.

Does your truck run duals on the rear? The tires shown should work on the rims but with duals you need to know the distance between the wheels so the tires don't get in the way of each other.

Thanks J. and Rusty.

J. – Thanks for the info. I'll probably run two just for the safety of things, but wanted to know what may be original.

Rusty it does run duals, so I'll measure that out. Thinking of dropping to single tires in the back for a bit anyway.

I think you have us reversed.

I commented on the taillights. There might not be a "stock" right taillight available for a "33. Chevy might never have offered one You might have to find and modify a left one.

I will offer this comment on the duals. You might have to find a different wheel to run a single rear tire that "looks" reasonable. Otherwise the the rear tire will be inset and look like the front or have a large offset.

Sorry about the reverse mention there Rusty.

I have tires on now, but they're 20+ years old and are double whitewalls. I plan to pull the outside rear tires first to see what it looks like before committing to only singles.

For taillights: It currently has some cheap dual taillights that work, so wiring isn't an issue, just may have to come up with a mount. I'll take a look.

Good plans!

If you are not too focused on original there are lots of taillight choices that will work and look "period correct".

I will be interested in your assessment of the look of the singles with one of the dual wheels.

Given the speed and loads involved, I would not worry about the age of your tires if they look to be in good condition. The bigger issue, to me, would be if the tires have a permanent flat side from setting all those years. There is black tire paint available to solve the whitewall issue if that is your goal.
Trucks that were sold with single rear wheels have a peculiar look, to me. Some like it.
If you replace your tires, I would be interested in your old ones.

Mike

I agree with Mike on 20 year old tires.
If they are round and not cracked, I wouldn't be afraid to run them.
We have 9.00-20 tires thirty years old on farm trucks.
And we still load them.

I also agree on the look of 1-1/2 ton trucks with singles on the back.
They look narrow and kind of unstable.
To me they just look "unfinished".

But that's just me.
It's your truck.
Have fun with it! :-)

Thank you all. The tires are fine, they are all aired up and can drive on them with no issues. No permanent flat sides the I know of, but I will double check this weekend.

The more I research the same year, I’m siding more and more with both Mike and Stovblt- thinking I may stick with the duals.

As far as the white walls, it’s honestly just aesthetics, I want to take them all black. Mike, If you’re interested in them if I verify they don’t have any flat spots, let me know. No idea what they would go for to be honest.

I believe the original size tires for your truck would be 6:00X20. You should replace the tires (if wanting to) after you have the truck all done and ready to travel.

Even my ‘58 GMC grain truck has only one brake light - vehicles produced before September of ‘58 only needed one stop/taillight (big trucks). I got pulled over one time coming home from the hay field in the ‘55 series 2 by a very young police officer in the nearest town I passed through. He wanted to cite me for that one light. I asked him to show me the statute that supported his claim and he said he would have to look it up. I corrected him on his misinformation and he ate crow and apologized. I knew he was just a new guy new to the town - he didn’t know me or the quantity of old trucks in and near that town. I’ll bet he’s seen plenty since then. I’ve added another brake light to some of my old trucks that spend more time on the highway, but my ‘35 has only one with LED bulbs in it. Honestly, I probably use the lights on the trucks once a year (maybe) except for the ‘35. The lights are on daily in it but chores are all within a 5 mile radius. Thus the LED bulbs.

I have pictures here someplace of my 35 when it had singles on the back and chains for winter feeding. It really looks weird. Maybe it is because the bed is so much wider than the tire track - I’m not sure. The duels stay on it all the time now, though.

I took the duals off this weekend, and agree- just looks like something is missing, so I'll be keeping them on. It's already wired for two taillights, so I'll most likely keep them the same, but good to know the originals only had one in case I want to drop it back down.