Posted by Brian in Oregon on November 10, 1999 at 23:41:00:
OK, I took a look at the white rims on my command car chassis (too bad there is no body) and under the white paint they are genuine GI 7.50x16's. If someone is interested I can take a tape measure with me the next time I visit it and check spacing. There is a fair amount of clearance between them, though I do not know if it is enough to run 9.00x16's. Putting the bigger tire on the smaller rim will cause it to bulge or float a bit, and when loaded there may not be enough room and the sidewalls may chaff, leading to heating caused by friction and eventually failure.
Does anyone have 9.00x16 tires mounted on 7.50x16 rims? If so, lay a ruler across the tire sidewalls and then measure the depth to the edge of the rim. Do it both at the top and the bottom. You might let out about 1/2 of the air to simulate a heavy load and remeasure the bottom so the bulge factor can be taken into consideration. When I have those figures, I can measure the dualies and see if they might work with 9.00x16's. I suspect they won't, but this ought to tell us.
BTW, unless a command car body drops into my lap, this frame is supposedly off of a 1/2 ton command car, though the body mounts are missing. Someone stuck an International engine in it, though they fortunately didn't hack it up. I plan to use it to replace my severely thrashed 41 winch frame from an open cab weapons carrier, though it will be a closed cab pickup. If anyone is desperate for a good command car frame to restore a command car, let's talk before I procede. I'd all for proper restoration if possible. I would need a good condition frame or parts truck with a good frame in return. If you have a command car body you don't want, well, let me know too.