Here's another batch of photos. Dad had lots of trouble with the 8.00 x 17.5 tires, especially when towing our 24' Avion travel trailer. So when the 12 x 16.5 tires came out, he had the rear wheel openings enlarged to match the fronts so he could fit a set of them. Nationally famous auto customizer Darryl Starbird got his start with an auto body shop in Wichita. Darryl did the work by cutting the openings and reinforcing the cut edges with steel tubing welded to the sheet metal. The 9.75 x 16.5 wheels have enough offset that the hub caps sit a few inches back in them, fully protecting them from curb rash.
If you've never heard of Darryl Starbird, check out
http://www.darrylstarbird.com/index.html. Darryl also did some of the work converting the rear doors to tailgate/liftgate.