Wheel question

I am going to need to replace the tires on my 67 A108 and am also thinking about upgrading the stock wheels at that time. For all those out there who have put on aftermarket wheels what size wheel should I be looking at? I know the stock ones I have on are 15" - 5.5". What I'm not sure of is it the 5.5" is part of the wheel size or is that the bolt pattern. It seems in my search for wheels I will need in addition to rim size - bolt pattern, offset & backspacing? Anyone who has upgraded and can pass along any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Your question is tuff to answer. we have a lot of info stored in this site, And can save you some time But your questions are always welcome, on the top of the page try clicking the search tab, type in offset, or back set or what tires are you running and so on, also again start at the top and page down you will see a100 dodge links, we store a lot of info there for a100's regarding were to buy items and so on, The bolt pattern on the dodge is 5 x 4 1/2 the factory made 13" & 14" and 15" wheels and tires i've had up to 8" wide tire on the front and rear's. My thinking was the 45 year old steering box was not intended to turn that wide of a tire, And i seen a65 chevy running wide rears and skinny up front , Needless to say i liked the better and changed again, Now my thinking is to try to do somthing once if possible, Which brings up the next question, If you are still thinking about the front disc brakes witch i highly support, Then you need a rim that will clear the new callipers, I'M running cragar ss wheels, and they do clear, So maybe ask what wheels the a100 gang with disc are running or work, iI do know the Dodge / Plymouth rallye wheels do not clear the callipers, HOPE THIS HELPS YA,

Thanks for the info. I did do a search and found a little; It looks like I need to expand my search topics. Im not looking to go real wide with a tire/rim, stock width or if its slightly larger is okay. I do think I may want to tackle the front disc conversion at some point, but it sounds pretty involved ( I've read in a thread that people are having to cut away part of the van to fit a new master cylinder in - not sure why you have to change the existing MC to begin with) so I'm thinking that job may come down the road a bit. I did look at the Cragars too and saw some nice wheels. I guess from what Im seeing so far I don't think I would want to go any wider than 7" (would like to stick in the 5.5" - 6" range). Thanks again for the info.

this is a nice tool to play with and compare tires
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires=235-60r15-295-50r15

here is a nother good link
https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

I wrote this a while back for this exact question!
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t35059-dodge-van-wheel-questions

If you are a fan of Ebay do a search for "15x6 5x4.5" There are 257 results.

If you are a fan of Craigslist, open up Los Angeles and auto parts. Type in 5x4.5 and get 100 results as of now.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/pta?catAbb=pta&=pta&query=5x4.5&zoomToPosting=&minAsk=&maxAsk=

Anything from Weld Pro Stars


to chrome slots with baby moon caps


How about a local tire and wheel store, where you can see the wheels in person and have a salesman talk to you.
http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/searchWheelsByVehicleAndSize.do?bp=&yr=1968&wd=15&rw=&vid=008804&rc=CALINT

Or go to some of the largest and best swap meets in the country within a hour's drive from you?

http://www.longbeachhiposwapmeet.com/event-dates

http://www.pomonaswapmeet.com/

Or visit some of the most well known wheel manufacturer sites

American Racing Equipment
http://www.americanracing.com/

Billet Specialties
http://www.billetspecialties.com/

Budnik Wheels
http://www.budnik.com/

Center Line Wheels
http://www.centerlinewheels.com/

Colorado Custom
http://www.coloradocustom.com/

Coys Wheels
http://www.coyswheel.com/

Cragar Wheels
http://www.cragarwheel.com/

Dayton Wire Wheels
http://www.daytonwirewheel.com/

E-T Wheels / Team 3 Wheels
http://www.etwheels.com/

Early Wheel Company, Inc.
http://www.earlywheel.com/

Radir Custom Wheels
http://www.radirwheels.com/

Rally America — Gary McLean
http://www.rallyamerica.com/

Vintage Wheel Works
http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/

Weld Racing Wheels
http://www.weldracing.com/

Wheel Vintiques
http://www.wheelvintiques.com/

Aero Race Wheels
http://www.aeroracewheels.com/

American Racing Equipment
http://www.americanracing.com/

Bart Wheels
http://www.bart-wheel.com/

Bassett Racing Wheel
http://www.bassettwheel.com/

BBS Wheels
http://www.bbs.com/

Bogart Racing Wheels
http://www.bogartracingwheels.net/

Center Line Wheels
http://www.centerlinewheels.com/

Compomotive Wheels
http://www.comp.co.uk/

Cragar Wheels
http://www.cragarwheel.com/

Diamond Racing Wheels
http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/

Jongbloed Wheels
http://www.jongbloedwheels.com/

Minilite Wheels
http://www.minilitewheels.com/

Momo Wheels
http://www.momousa.com/

OZ Wheels
http://www.ozracing.com/

Superlite Wheels
http://www.superlite-wheels.com/

Weld Racing Wheels
http://www.weldracing.com/


Or look at the 2 biggest names in aftermarket equipment sales
Summit Racing
http://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=5x4.5%22%20wheel

or Jeg's
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/KeywordSearchCmd?Nty=0&catalogId=10002&Ntk=all&Ne=1%2b2%2b3%2b13%2b1147708%2b1147708&langId=-1&itemPerPage=90&storeId=10001&N=4294964870&Ntt=5x4.5%22+wheel

or Amazon with over 9,000 results under automotive, 5x4.5" wheels (wheels only)
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2201756011&spfre=1#/ref=sr_nr_n_7?rh=n%3A15684181%2Cn%3A353596011%2Ck%3A5x4.5+wheels&keywords=5x4.5+wheels&ie=UTF8&qid=1388875049&rnid=15690151

or limit it to 15" wheels and drop to 1000 results

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2201756011&spfre=1#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_five_bro_4?rh=n%3A15684181%2Cn%3A15706571%2Cn%3A353596011%2Ck%3A5x4.5+wheels%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A6131679011&keywords=5x4.5+wheels&ie=UTF8&qid=1388875068&rnid=6131673011

or you could buy wheels from the company I work for!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SET-OF-4-NEW-15X6-SILVER-CLASSIC-8-VTO-WHEELS-AMC-DODGE-FORD-5X114-3mm-/360774622685#ht_2687wt_642

Get busy with other stuff, go away for a year, come back, and Mr Rod's encyclopedic wealth of information still never ceases to amaze.

Whatever you do stay away from anything in modern chrome "made in China" It is crap! This is one of those live and learn things. I have a set of American racing chrome smoothies on my driver and they rusted out after one season.

rebar wrote:Get busy with other stuff, go away for a year, come back, and Mr Rod's encyclopedic wealth of information still never ceases to amaze.

Thanks, man.
I keep adding to it in hopes that some of it jumps out and sticks with others.
I poured over the mags as a teen, worked on all of it for many years, then wrote about it for many more. I didn't concentrate on these ol' vans until fairly recently, but tried to find out what's what with a passion.
Some of this stuff is stuck in the noggin, some is easily found, some I have to try and find. That's the FUN part for me, most of the time.

Oh, and if you want MADE IN THE USA, you have to search pretty hard. There are companies that still make 'em here, but they are getting harder to find.

Here's one that will make you Drool (at the wheels) AND Wince (at the prices).
http://www.vintageeng.com/MagWheels_TransAmIndyRodDrag.html