Factory 16" wheels, what colors?

[MyOriginal66]

Are these black hubcap-less wheels 16's? Does anybody know what colors the optional early (1966) 16's were painted?

I know this is an early promo shot but I can't seem to recall seeing any 15's in black. Ford did do a bunch of "weird" stuff on '66 Broncos.

 

[ford man]

16" wheels

I have always thought they were all white on 16".I know that the 15" were all white till 73 then light gray then silver in 77 as far as I can tell. This picture is kind of neat in that the 16" wheels are the wheels that came on the 50's model trucks I have posted a picture of the same kind of 16" that came on a 54 ford I used to have. They had the bumps in side for the baby moon style cap where as the ones that actually came on the bronco had bumps on the out side for the newer dog dish cap.

 

[ford man]

16"wheels

Here is the ones that came on the bronco sandblasted and in primer.

 

[Scoop]

I know this is an early promo shot but I can't seem to recall seeing any 15's in black. Ford did do a bunch of "weird" stuff on '66 Broncos.

There are a number of things in the early promo ads that never made into production. Speculation here, but they may have released pics of various configurations to gauge public reaction which ultimately determined some of the production items. There are several variations of how the grille was painted with only one making it into production, as far as any solid evidence goes. I'm with ford man - I've never seen a black steel wheel that claimed to be from factory. Most cars during that period and prior had the steel wheels under hub caps painted body color.

 

[ford man]

16" wheels

And what color I think they should be Wimbledon white.I am sure there are some others that will chime in.

 

[fordfan]

I think the black wheels look great on the light colored Bronco with wide white wall skinny bias hwy tread tires!!

The pics that Myoriginal66 posted are indeed 16" wheels that are the correct type and not the early Ford style with the friction pads for the caps toward the lugs.(like the ones posted my ford man in post# 2).

 

[needabronco]

Original wheels were Wimbledon White. Every 15" AND 16" factory wheel I have ever had was that color.

 

[BDAZSVT]

Not entirely related but, My 76 had 4 white and a grey spare. Not sure they were original.

 

[spap]

I just wish I could find one 16 steel wheel for a spare

 

[fordfan]

Ford man is right on the wheel colors. White until '73; '73-'76 were light grey; and '77s were argent. Back to the original post; I think all 16" wheels that came on the Bronco were white.

Scoop is right too, many archive photos show things that never made it into production.

 

[Scoop]

Not entirely related but, My 76 had 4 white and a grey spare. Not sure they were original.

My 74 Ranger - in the family since new - had a grey or Argent spare as well.

 

[NGABronco]

And what color I think they should be Wimbledon white.I am sure there are some others that will chime in.

They may not be the right color, but Wimbledon White sure looks sweet on your lil' half cab!!!!;D;D;D

 

[MyOriginal66]

Thanks for all the replies!!! I also thought they only came in Wimbledon White but the pic made me start thinking how cool mud whitewalls on black 16" steelies would look on my red U13. Since I already have the 16's I might have to do it anyway until I can score a set of '66 caps for the 15's

 

[pipermike]

I just wish I could find one 16 steel wheel for a spare

http://akhwheels.com/
This guy had six of them available as of last week.

 

[hyghlndr]

What size tires are people running on the stock 16 inch wheels on an uncut Bronco? The wheels are pretty narrow.

 

[lannysgs]

i've got 235/85 16. If i'm not mistaken, I think they're a 5'' rim.

 

[spap]

Thanks pipermike I have sent them emails they want a lot for there wheels plus shipping and redoing it, just more than I want to spend. I will just keep looking when I'm in junk yards

 

[Broncitis]

A few pics of the 16" wheels on my mom's 67 U14 that we painted in low gloss Wimbledon White

The stock white rear bumper, and the front Koenig winch bumper both got the flattener added to the paint as well for the low gloss finish.

Tires from Coker: https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styles/military-and-truck/650-16-sta-super-traction-6pr.html


Here is another I liked, but it was only available in a larger size (32" Dia) at the time as I recall which was larger than we wanted for this build....
https://www.cokertire.com/tires/sta-super-traxion.html

 

[MyOriginal66]

Tires from Coker: https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styles/military-and-truck/650-16-sta-super-traction-6pr.html

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/sta-super-traxion.html

Those are both the tires I'm looking at! Did you use tubes as suggested? Do they ride like sh!t or somewhat manageable?

Thanks!!!

 

[surfer-b]

If you are looking for a bi-ply vintage look in a 16" tire here are a few others to cheak out.
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...6Bg&ei=_O2zVN7eGcWjgwSb_YCgAQ&ved=0CHYQpiswAw


I have this tire on a Bronco II that I use to wheel in and it really does good off road, where it really surprised me was in the snow and ice on the road, it really did good. I just used airsoft pellets to balance them out which work good enough for what I use it for, they will bounce a little until they get warm and they are heavy.

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...BA&ei=_O2zVN7eGcWjgwSb_YCgAQ&ved=0CIYBEKYrMAQ


Here are a few pics of the ones I have, I did add the grooves to the center ribs, these are also the 7.00x15 which are ~ 7"x29.5", the 16" are close to 7.5"x 32"