early cj5 16" steel wheels on 80 cj5?

has anyone ever tried it? i am kicking around hte idea of going back to a more stock appearance. my 80 has 86 cj7 widetrack axles. will the profile of the 16" steel wheel clear the disc caliper? i like the idea of the 16" wheel as i have more options in the tall skinny tire variety like a 31 - 32" tall x 9.5 wide. i feel that the 33's x 10.5's i have are just about an inch too big for my stance.

this is a pic of my jeep as it sits currently.


below is a photo of a cj7 from a member on another board. this is not my jeep although i love the look and the member did a great buildup.


this is the look i am kind of attempting to mimic. although without the BFG a/t's. i was tossing the idea around painting the wheels the tan to match my hardtop or an off white like jeep did from the factory.

thoughts or opinions?

 

I don't know if they will fit but I do like the white/cream wheels with a tall skinny tire! I almost went that route but the wheels that I got wouldn't fit over the hubs. Good thing they were free.

 

I don't know if they will work, either, but it would look good with a 235/85-16.
I almost bought a set of 16s myself to try it out but I was a day late.
Good thing, as I have the finned drums.

 

The CJ7 pictured looks to be on factory 15" steel wheels, not earlier 16's. The plain steel wheels were standard equipment up through the end of the CJ line in 86, but you don't see them very often. If you find any from 78-86 they will clear disk brakes. I have a set from 74 that won't clear my brake calipers, but a 1" wheel spacer is all that is needed to make them clear.

 

huh got fins and 16 inch wheels go figure. no go on the disc tried em on a customers ride...

 

My 80 CJ-5 came with 15 x 6" rims and it has disc brakes so surely the 16" rims should have enough clearance.

 

Stock 16" Willys CJ wheels are built different than aftermarket wheels. The rivets inside the wheel will hit on the brake drum when you switch to 11" drums. I know, I tried. Are truck/wagon wheels different? Beats me. Running a wheel spacer help? Maybe the offset would help...

 

My '74 era 15x6 steel wheels fit just fine over finned 11" drums, but do not clear disk brake calipers. I've never heard of an issue with finned drums, only caliper clearance. The '86 era widetrack axles on Cobra's Jeep will have 10" rear drums, I believe, so drum clearance shouldn't be an issue, but clearance on his front calipers would be.

If you want a stock looking modern steel wheel in 16x6 or 16x7, Stockton Wheel makes several versions. I believe the owner recently died and the company was temporarily closed, but it's worth checking with them to see if they're still operating: http://www.stocktonwheel.com/

 

the 16 inch wheels i have wont even clear a rotor never mind the caliper

 

do i haev any other options for a stock looking 16" wheel?

 

Ford, Dodge and IH used the same 5x5.5" bolt pattern, but I don't recall 16" rims being common in the era when they did. Their 1/2 tons ran 15" rims and 3/4 tons usually had 8-lug wheels in either 16" or 16.5" diameter. Some Ford rims will also need the center holes enlarged slightly to clear a Jeep hub.

I'm leaning toward putting 16" rims on my CJ (and running 235x85-16's) and if I do I'm just going to get a set of new plain old white spoke wagon wheels. Several manufacturers make them and they're not terribly expensive. Not quite as stock as a plain steel wheel, but the white spoke on a CJ is just about as classic as it gets.

 

The Jeep 16" wheels were only about 5" wide, so they are really too narrow for most modern tires. Also, all the ones that I have seen are for tube type tires. I think the plain steel 15" rims off a later CJ would work better for what you are wanting.

 

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Any updates/progress with this?



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Maybe this would help. The 16" Steelies I have for sale are an inside clear dimension of 13" diameter (rivot heat to rivot head) on the back side, then flare out to an inside clear dimension of 15-1/5". Military and civilian are the same.