Period correct wheels for 86 K10 Stepside?

[Grit dog]

No wait a second, the O.P. can't tell if it's lifted and its his truck. The guy working on his truck is very likely 1/2 the age of the truck and also very likely the first one he's ever worked on. No lift blocks,no body spacers the guy working on it very likely thinks it all looks factory.

Fair enough. For the OP, a simple search will yield 100s of pics of stock K10s instantly, for comparison.
For the shop, ok, ya it’s in Connecticut. Anyone under 40 may not have seen a 70-80s Chevy that wasn’t sagging and rusted out cab mounts, lol.
Good points.
Regardless, @j-rad you have a beautiful truck! Lifted or not. Again personal preference, but lifted looks more awesomer.

 

[bucket]

There were factory 3-leaf springs also, even in the 1/2 tons. They also were negative arch from the get go. However, the new aftermarket replacements I've seen have been more flat. I installed a set once and the stock length shocks were actually too short. I don't recall what manufacturer they were.

 

[j-rad]

Fair enough. For the OP, a simple search will yield 100s of pics of stock K10s instantly, for comparison.
For the shop, ok, ya it’s in Connecticut. Anyone under 40 may not have seen a 70-80s Chevy that wasn’t sagging and rusted out cab mounts, lol.
Good points.
Regardless, @j-rad you have a beautiful truck! Lifted or not. Again personal preference, but lifted looks more awesomer.

Thanks. I think I’ll leave it as-is for a while and swap to 33” A/Ts and 15x8 Rally’s and see how it goes.

Plenty of other work needed so I can wait on the decision on the lift.

 

[j-rad]

It's either a 2.5" or 4" lift, based on the front springs. I could pin it down with better pictures. I'm currently leaning more towards 2.5".

Stock rally wheels would have been 15x8. There was a 15x7 offered in some years, but incredibly rare. If it had basic steel wheels, they would have been 15x6. There was a 15x8 basic steely too, but I think by the 80's, they were only used on the military K5's.

 

[bucket]

Is that picture from the underside taken with weight off the front axle? If so, it's definitely a 2.5" lift.

 

[j-rad]

Is that picture from the underside taken with weight off the front axle? If so, it's definitely a 2.5" lift.

No, truck was sitting on the ground normal and laying under the truck to take the photo.

 

[85 MM7K10]

I had a set of the oem aluminum wheels polished that are 15x7 with 31-10.50 BFG’s. I have seen way too many rallies on these trucks.

 

[JT58]

I have stock rally 15 X 8 wheels with 32 X 11.50 tires on my 87 V10. They fit perfect on the truck and look very stock and great. My truck has no lift- it has the stock "negative" arch springs in the front. The wheels are a very tight fit clearing the knuckle and tie rod ends. Some wheels weights interfere.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Man that's a sweet little truck! Just me personally, I love the way it sits. I'd have to leave it if it rides decent

 

[j-rad]

Man that's a sweet little truck! Just me personally, I love the way it sits. I'd have to leave it if it rides decent

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think I'll leave the stance alone. It doesn't ride great currently, but I'm hoping that's because of the pictures below (front bushings issue) and maybe the mudders?

Should I see a noticeable improvement in the ride switching from M/T to A/T (assuming same size, 33"). Or will it just be a reduction in noise?

 

[j-rad]

Is that picture from the underside taken with weight off the front axle? If so, it's definitely a 2.5" lift.

Here's a picture of the back I just got, guess it does have lift blocks. This is 4"?

 

[GregLloyd1]

First image is stock suspension with 33x12.5r15 with the stock rally’s
Second image is 2” RC full leaf spring lift 35x12.5r17.
Last image is currently with same tires but a 4”-6” LT coilover conversion set at the lowest possible height (approx 4”).
Yours appears to have a rancho or maybe superlift 2”-3” lift (based off pics provided) if you don’t enjoy the current drivability of the 33” M/T I’d suggest a lighter less aggressive M/T or A/T.

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[TotalyHucked]

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think I'll leave the stance alone. It doesn't ride great currently, but I'm hoping that's because of the pictures below (front bushings issue) and maybe the mudders?

Should I see a noticeable improvement in the ride switching from M/T to A/T (assuming same size, 33"). Or will it just be a reduction in noise?

Definitely start by replacing the bushings and I'd probably try some different shocks too. But without knowing who's front springs are on there, it's hard to say where to go from there. Rough Country springs are known to ride really stiff on these, but there are some softer 2 and 4" front spring options. I'm not as well versed in 4wds, so maybe some others can chime in.

As for tires, you'll see a noticeable improvement by doing 2 things when you switch. Going to an A/T will help and also pay attention to tire weight/weight ratings. There's really no need to put an E-load/10 ply or F-load/12ply tire on a half ton truck. What you have is probably 10ply. If you stick with a D-load tire and find a lighter one, it will ride much better but you'll still have the ability to load up the bed and work the truck if needed. This isn't on a square but for example, on my 99-07 trucks, I noticed a huge difference in ride quality and fuel mileage going from a 77lb per tire E-load/10 ply Nitto Trail Grappler mud terrain down to a 56lb per tire D-load/8-ply Nitto Terra Grappler all terrain.

 

[BadBowtie]

There would have also been the cool factory 8 hole alloy wheel option, in 6 lug obviously, in your case.

 

[77Dmax]

I have a set of 15x10 6 lug turbines that I am looking to sell. Thats the best look with these trucks. I don't have any 6 lug stuff anymore.