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KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:00 am
by Dieselholic92
I haven't been on this forum in a long time! But now I have a new project I need to rescue. I recently picked up both of these from my grandfather. I already have the Chevy back home, but I need to get the KB 6 home now. It has the 6 spoke front wheels. He took the old rims off because they were rusted out, and removed the studs and clamps because they were badly worn. I was wondering if there was a modern, non-split rim that would fit on these wheels. Also is there a source for the studs and wedges other than NOS? The studs are IHC 61 883 R1 and 68 333 H. The clamps are IHC 27 194 H and 19 488 HA. Thank you in advance.

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Re: KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:13 pm
by cornbinder89
Short answer is no, while a modern 22.5 spoke rim will fit on the hubs, they will be way too wide and will not clear.
I may have some wedges for the front, I'll have to check, how many do you need? They generally don't wear out as there is no movement between the rim and the wedge if everything is as it should be. The nuts may be hard to find, as they have a curved and flat side.
A little rust on the rims is not a gamechanger, as long as the rim is structurally solid some rusting is ok as it doesn't have to make an air tight seal with the tire.
Your rims are likely 5.5" or 6" you'll need to find rims that are that narrow. You might be able to fit a 6.5" 22.5 tubeless if you can find any, but buy one first and mount a tire on it to check that it will fit and the steering will clear (for the front) and that the tire will not rub on the spring (inner rear duel) before pulling the cord on a full set of 6.

Re: KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:58 pm
by cornbinder89
If it still has duels on the back, you can rob two to put on the front and fit any 20 or 22.5 bare rim to the outside dual position to hold the inner tire/rim in place. That will give you 4 rollable tires to bring it home on.

Re: KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:40 am
by Dieselholic92
cornbinder89 wrote:Short answer is no, while a modern 22.5 spoke rim will fit on the hubs, they will be way too wide and will not clear.
I may have some wedges for the front, I'll have to check, how many do you need? They generally don't wear out as there is no movement between the rim and the wedge if everything is as it should be. The nuts may be hard to find, as they have a curved and flat side.
A little rust on the rims is not a gamechanger, as long as the rim is structurally solid some rusting is ok as it doesn't have to make an air tight seal with the tire.
Your rims are likely 5.5" or 6" you'll need to find rims that are that narrow. You might be able to fit a 6.5" 22.5 tubeless if you can find any, but buy one first and mount a tire on it to check that it will fit and the steering will clear (for the front) and that the tire will not rub on the spring (inner rear duel) before pulling the cord on a full set of 6.



Okay thank you. The truck is an hour and a half away from me, so I'm just going off of what he has told me. I know he kept all of the old studs and parts, but I'm going to try to get down there soon to check it out and see what I really need. I wasn't really sure of the rim size, but just looking through my parts book this morning it looks like they are all 20 inch rims, but the widths vary from 6.00 to 9.00. It does have duals on the back yet, and he bought some better tires already mounted on rims but he isn't sure what size they are.

Re: KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:56 pm
by nikkinutshop
On the off-chance you cannot find the parts you need and don't mind a suspension upgrade, you might consider the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick. These are a range of medium duty trucks that were produced by the Chevrolet and GMC divisions of General Motors from 1980 to 2009. There are thousands of them in truck recycling yards.
The axles are similar and should be little more than a simple bolt in replacement.
In 2005, GM added four-wheel drive as a factory-installed option on C4500/C5500 Kodiak/TopKicks. In a break from GM truck naming tradition, the models did not adopt the "K" nomenclature, becoming the C4500/5500 4x4 model line. In place of independent front suspension (used on the 3500-series pickup trucks), the GMT560 4x4s used a solid front axle suspension. Powered by a 6.6L Duramax V8, the 4x4 used a 5-speed Allison 2000 series in 2005-2006 (replaced by a 6-speed Allison 2350 automatic) with a New Process 273C transfer case. 5.13:1 was the only axle gear ratio offered for 4x4 versions.
For 2007, GM introduced a heavier-duty 9000 lb spring and brake option package for the Dana 70HD front axle; rear axles (Dana S14-110L) were available in four sizes: 11,000 lb, 13,500 lb, 15,000 lb, and 19,000 lb (the latter two were options on two-wheel drive configurations).

Re: KB6 Rescue

PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:10 pm
by cornbinder89
Never ever heard of or seen a 9" rim in 20" diameter and never on a truck that small. TIRE sizes are a different matter, you would expect up to a 9.00 x 20 tire, (one of mine was outfitted with these) but they mount on a 6.5" rim (IIRC).
Do not confuse rim size and tire size, they are two different things.
Common tire sizes for that size truck were 8.25x 20 and 9.00 x 20" some did have one size smaller than the 8.25x 20's
With spoke wheels, the rims are the same front and back so you can use them in either position.