Stock(ish) 16.5" steel wheels with a safety bead???

[82355]

I was dismounting a set of old tires off of some 16.5" steel wheels I got off of a scrapped out 1979 K20 today. Usually 16.5" tires are extremely easy to break the bead on. These ones were fighting me, which I found odd. The more I struggled with them, the more I was confused, until I looked at the wheels. They had a safety bead, like a normal wheel. I double checked the measurement, and they were in fact a 16.5" wheel. They had stock hub caps on them when I got them, and they look identical to all of my other stock steel wheels, but they have a factory safety bead. Any one else ever come across a set???

Martin

 

[79rustyk10]

Ive heard rumors of guys laying a bead with a wirefeed welder next to the rim, holding a 16.5 bead better. I have never seen it though.

 

[diesel4me]

I had a set of 16.5" rims off a '71 GMC,6 lug truck that were only about 5" wide and came on the truck factory as far as I know,they were on a set of Armstrong 12-16.5" tires a kid was selling,saw them tied to a telephone pole with a for sale sign on them--got them for 100 bucks...(back in 1987 or so!)...................................................................................................I tried throwing them tight on my '72 K5,but they shook and wobbled so bad (tires were bias ply petrified junk!),that I went to a tire shop and bought 4 brand new Cooper Discoverers in 8.75x 16.5" size ,old bias plys they had and were selling off for 25 bucks each....when the tire guy broke the bead on the Armstrongs,he got a 5 gallon bath,and got quite pisssed at me!............................................................................................................................................................................................................I had no idea they were watered down,but they did weigh a lot...evidently someone was using liquid ballast for some reason--the tire guy mentioned "water balancing",and then noted "huh--these have a safety bead,thats not very common on a 16.5"...so he double checked them to be sure they weren't 16",then mounted the tires when he saw they indeed were stamped 16.5's.--we couldn't see any "GM" stampimg though,or anything like "Kelsey-Hayes".so I dont know who made them.......................................................................................he noted they had brass valve stems too,not the rubber ones,and they may have been original....I sold those rims to my brother,who used them for a few years,then I got them back when he sold his 1/2 ton,and a guy with a 6 lug boat trailer ended up giving me 50 bucks for them,they were identical to his rotted trailer rims,and he had new tires to put on them....I had six altogether,I found 2 more locally in a "want ad" magazine ,so I scoffed them up for spares,when I was running them................I've yet to see any more like them since!................................they were getting pretty "thin" by the time I sold them,they got rusty in my shed......

 

[ChrisPerry]

Ive heard rumors of guys laying a bead with a wirefeed welder next to the rim, holding a 16.5 bead better. I have never seen it though.

Is this the one you're talking about? CLICKY

 

[82355]

Ive heard rumors of guys laying a bead with a wirefeed welder next to the rim, holding a 16.5 bead better. I have never seen it though.

Yeah. I have seen those. That is not what I am talking about. These are stock stamped wheels.

Martin

 

[big dan]

Ive got a couple sets of stock 16.5 wheels and they came with safety beads. As far as I know all the gm stock 16.5 wheels did.