Wheels-Caps
 

I have a couple of questions on the wheels, hoping someone has some experience here.

When I dug the truck out of its hole, believe it or not, we put the compressor to em and they all air'd up and held great (these are estimated as 30+ year old tube tires). When I gotter home though they showed weather cracks within the first month and decided I'd better put something else on it for actually driving on, so I retired the old split rims, but will keep em in storage anyway.

The rims (pictured) that I bought were just something I found on Craigslist that would fit, but they look real close to what I see on a lot of these old trucks. So, here are the questions..

I have the original caps for the front wheels. Obviously though, there are no tabs for caps on these wheels. Has anyone had experience adding tabs to wheels...welded/riveted them?

Second question...The rears have that big ole hub on em. I've seen some caps for those that match the original fronts (though just pictures, none for sale). I would have thought, though, that if this one had them originally my gramps would have had them still on it. It wasn't exactly well kept for the last quarter century but I know for certain it wasn't where someone could steal anything off of it. Is it possible this one didn't come with those originally ..if so, is there a typical way of dressing them up? Are they commonly painted in other words?

Thanks all! someday I'll ADD to this forum instead of just ask questions I promise! Speaking of, got my building permit for the garage yesterday after 2+ years :) she'll be inside and ready to start working on er by December (Lord willing).

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Those caps are usually painted black from what I see.
http://6066gmcclub.com/forum/picture...pictureid=3618

Sometimes they just put hubcaps over it like this one.

http://6066gmcclub.com/forum/album.php?albumid=293


And sometimes they paint them the same color as the rim but I think that just drowns it out and makes it look weird.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Your 60 should have the hub caps that use clips I believe. Your wheel you bought are called the nub type. (Later type, about 62)The caps fit over the nub. If you add clips and use the proper caps it will look worse than just buying the later year caps that fit nubs. You will see the nubs. Original caps will be rare and expensive. Nub caps are plentiful, sort of.
You can, of course, find some original wheels to go with your caps, also rare.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

ahhhh..."nubs" I see what you're saying now. Funny, didn't even notice those until you mentioned it (sigh).

Yea, I definitely want to stick with the original caps. I don't have any attachement to these wheels, other than they looked (until you had to go mention the nubs :) ) like the originals and were pretty cheap.

Well, I guess the search is on for some wheels that will work.

Thanks All!

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Good point on the rears by the way...I'll look at some pictures for what others have done, and maybe some original ads had pics of it too.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

My 1964 GMC 1500 came with split rim wheels that all have tabs (including the spare) and hubcaps only on the front wheels. I replaced the split rims with solid wheels so that I can use tubeless radial tires, which provide greatly improved ride and handling. But the original hub caps do not fit the "nubs" and not having hub caps on the front is both ugly and exposes the hubs to weather and damage. So I too would like to know if there is a way use the original hub caps? Or should we be looking for newer GMC hubcaps as an okay replacement?

JRMunn

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

My 3/4 ton 68 came from the factory with multi piece rims very similar to split rims and the rims don't have nubs rather the clips, so a later model hub cap from a 67-68 can be used or an earlier 62-63 hubcap.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Disregard my post, I misread your post:lolsmack2:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The answer to everybody's question is: IF you want original hardware, use original wheels for original hub caps. If you don't care, use non-original wheels with any cap you want, that fits. Modifying a wheel to fit a hub cap is probably not worth the effort and may look goofy. Clips were used thru 61, then nubs.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

My fathers 62 K-1000 used clips not nubs, from what I've seen some trucks from 62-66 used nubs but some also used clips.. My 68 3/4 also came with clips from the factory.:upyes:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The Original Brochures from 1961 and 1962 confirm that clips in 61 and nubs in 62. Throckmorton website given on Jolly page also shows this. This is what I go by because anyone can mix and match a 6 lug wheel on any GMC truck of the era. I have seen Barrett-Jackson Quality trucks with wrong wheels. I have seen many nub wheels advertised as 60-66. The brochures , advertising literature, factory pictures and manuals are the only legit source. If anyone has that kind of stuff which disputes, please post.

FYI: I revised my earlier post to remove "At least on 1/2T. Not sure about 3/4 T"

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

What I can tell you is my father bought his 62 brand new back then and it came equipped with clips not nubs. The truck was a special order, he took delivery of it in mid February of 1962. Now same goes for our 68 3/4 ton owned since new, special ordered, took delivery March 1, 1968 also has clips. I still have the original wheels that came with it. Another person to ask would be Lewis Matkin, he like myself grew up around these trucks when they were brand new, not too many people on this site can claim that.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

I grew up at that time also......but I wasn't thinking about trucks. Good info. I don't doubt your story. Poster has a 1960, so no hub cap mystery there. Maybe we will never know why your dad got something not shown in the literature. Left over stuff from 1961, 4X4 anomaly, wheel supplier not ready.......or misprint :nah:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Hard to imagine it being left over stuff, the 62's got an all new hub cap design over the previous years. It makes more sense that 4wd models got clips rather than nubs. Thrashing around off road could easily knock off a hubcap so maybe clips were better for that usage.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

I was told several times by lots of different people that 4x4 didn't come with hubcaps in 62 normally. That was only the 2 wheel drives. Lots of people order 2 wheel caps and cut out a hole for the hubs though.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Well, I can tell you they were wrong or just plain didn't what they were talking about. My fathers 62 K1000 came from the factory with hubcaps. After 2-3 year of off-roading he replaced the front hubcaps, these were a special blank hubcap that had no logo on them that the dealer had to send out to a machine shop to have the center holes cut out. Even the 62 factory 4wd brochure has illustration of 5 models all with hubcaps.:tiphat:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The 1962 Chevy 4x4 Brochure, Front page shows a truck with no hubcaps. Inside the brochure there are hub caps shown. The interesting part is that it looks like the caps have a large hole in them. You can see the lugs in front and rear? I don't know if I see what I think I see but I think I do, you see?

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The 1962 Chevy 4x4 Brochure, Front page shows a truck with no hubcaps. Inside the brochure there are hub caps shown. The interesting part is that it looks like the caps have a large hole in them. You can see the lugs in front and rear? I don't know if I see what I think I see but I think I do, you see? Never seen a 1962 GMC 4x4 brochure.
Here is something cool for the archives:
http://online.wr.usgs.gov/outreach/h.../suburban.html

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

This is the front cover of the 62 GMC 4wd brochure, the truck on the cover a 3/4 ton has no locking hubs so the hubcaps are not cut out, Later I'll post all the illustrations of inside the brochure where it shows locking hubs and hubcaps on all the trucks.:thumbsup:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

What does that truck have if it does not have locking hubs?

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Locking hubs were an option back then and not all trucks were equipped from the factory with locking hubs. Being the truck in the brochure is a 3/4 the hub caps were deeper allowing the actual wheel hub to be covered. On half tons it was different because the hub caps were shallow so even without locking hubs those hubcaps would still need to be cut out. My fathers 62 did not have locking hubs upon delivery so the dealer installed them.:lolsmack2:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

What I'm trying to understand is: If a person ordered a 1962 GMC 4x4 and it came without locking hubs, was it ,what we call, full time? Was it not yet capable to be 4x4? Why would it be delivered without hubs? Were you supposed to shift the xfer case and then be in 4WD? Why would it be ordered without the locking hub option?

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Fulltime 4wd first came out in 1973 as in the Jeep Quadratrac and the fulltime Np203 used by GM and Dodge. Older trucks with out locking hubs were still part time systems. I don't think you realize the whole idea of a 4wd system preceded the idea of locking hubs. During WWII all the Jeeps running around had no hubs but were a part time system and it wasn't t until the mid 40's that Arthur Warn came out with a hub system that allowed the front end components not to spin will in 2wd mode, yet that was a crude system because it required swapping the front outer drive flanges with ones that weren't splined that way the front axles shaft would not spin and neither would the ring & pinion and driveshaft. By the 50's Warn finally invented the first locking and unlocking selectable hub. Ironically today many 4wd's offer on demand part time systems for shift on the fly 4wd so the use of selectable hubs has diminished, the disadvantage of that is all the front end components are turning along with the front driveshaft, some have an axle disconnect system that disconnects one side and that just turns the spider gear eliminating the extra drag.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

A 62 GMC or any 60-66 GMC without locking hubs would still be in 2wd until you pulled the transfer case shift lever to the 4wd position, there was no difference in the operation to 4wd between a one with locking hub and one without. Like I mentioned before Hubs were optional equipment. Over the years those trucks that didn't have locking hubs most likely were converted by their owners. Factory approved hubs were by Warn industries and later by Spicer as well. My 68 came from the factory with Spicer Hubs and Warn were also offered at extra cost as a premium hub.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

:ahhhh:I will make it clear one more time:pullinghairout: When you do not have locking hubs all the front end components are engaged therefore spinning the front end components including the driveshaft but the transfercase is in 2wd mode so it has no affect on the transfercase:lolsmack2:

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

OK thanks

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Very simple! If you had a 62 without locking hubs and needed to use 4wd you simply engaged the shifter into the 4wd position and that's it!

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

What you don't understand is when a there are no locking hubs in a 62 4wd the front end is permanently engaged just like having hubs locked in and that it!

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

OK thanks. I think we have gotten off topic as far as possible.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The option called "locking hubs" was probably mis-named. The standard four wheel drive truck had front hubs that were always locked and engaged. All of the parts - axle shafts, differential gears, and the front prop shaft were always being driven, even if you had the transfer case in the "2WD" position, where no engine torque was driven thru the front system. When you purchased "locking front hubs", you now had the ability to unlock or lock the front hubs, either manually or automatically. By unlocking the front hubs, your could perhaps save some wear and tear on front drive components and some fuel economy if you were driving on hard surface roads and operating in 2WD.

Dave Boboltz
Waterford, MI
1964 K1000 305E 4 spd long bed

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

Yes the early 4x4's, back to 1941 Jeep, had an in/out lever and a Hi Lo lever. Even when in OUT-HI, the front drivetrain was turning. I see now this is the type we are talking about with the 62. Albeit just one lever. My bad.
As BBV6 says, They came out with what they called "full time". Even though it did not have to be in 4x4 all the time, you could drive it in 4x4 all the time if you wanted to. Still had "in/out". However it had a differential inside the transfer case so that you could turn corners and drive on hard surface in "FULL" 4x4 mode, which you should not do with the part time T-cases. That system used the 203 xfer case. You can't just add hubs to that unit to switch to part time. You can add hubs, as mentioned, to the T221 and others to free up the rotating front drive train. T221, NP205 and others are Part Time only cases. Meaning you can't run around the streets in 4WD unless you live on dirt roads or in the swamps.
I was lumping all systems without locking hubs as Full Time.

Re: Wheels-Caps
 

The part in red is wrong. I was wrong again. You can only technically operate in 2WD with a 203 if a conversion has been made. The only thing worse than being wrong is not admitting it. Thanks to BBV6 for trying to set me straight. I had a mind block. Back in the 70's I was taught that any Chevy 4X4 without hubs was called full time and with hubs was called part time.