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Nationwide shortage of spare tires

For the record, this is not a WTB thread. It is my “tongue in cheek” assessment of the lack of availability of certain parts…in my part of the world.
 
Is LKQ present in your city/state?

Trucks changed from 5 on 4 1/2 to 5 on 5 at some point, IIRC the mid 190's.

Are we saying vans did not?


I still see about one 5th Ave per year at LKQ or another U pull yard.

That's your best bet.

They came with four 15x7 and one 15x6 as the spare.

Every one I have seen (and I've seen quite a few) have three 15x7 and one 15x6 mounted on the car and no spare.
 
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’ve also been looking for a 15” spare lately and haven’t found one yet. Probably not looked as hard as you Skytrooper, but same result so far. Good luck!!
 
I know some will recoil in horror at the suggestion....
But Facebook Marketplace is always chock full of used tires and wheels of all sorts - locally.
I reckon Craigslist does too, but I haven't perused that site in a long time now...
One thing I know is very helpful in such a hunt is knowing what other makes/models would
work - something I'm surely short of knowledge on myself.
 
Craigslist actually has a separate section for "automobile wheels and tires".
 
Is LKQ present in your city/state?

Trucks changed from 5 on 4 1/2 to 5 on 5 at some point, IIRC the mid 190's.

Are we saying vans did not?


I still see about one 5th Ave per year at LKQ or another U pull yard.

That's your best bet.

They came with four 15x7 and one 15x6 as the spare.

Every one I have seen (and I've seen quite a few) have three 15x7 and one 15x6 mounted on the car and no spare.
Every time I’ve checked for a part on LKQ they are prohibitively expensive.
 
Now you guys got me in a searching mood....
Help me out here. The bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5, correct?
What's the register hole size (center hole)?
What range of offsets can we use on these b-bodies?
 
Today, LKQ lists a steel wheel as $29.09 including their silly core charge.

However, they also list a tire as $30.73.

I bet you get charged for both if you buy "an assembly".

I've had pretty good luck in the past, convincing them a given mounted tire was "unusable".

...of course, then you have to deal with that.
 
You just wait and see. I’m putting vintage 14” white sidewall tires on my original rims, with the original dog dish hubcaps. I just want to see what it looked like on the lot that day long ago, when the original owner first saw it. I’m taking pics of it just like that, sending them to you, and the original owner. Then I’ll go back to my regular tires, but still the dog dish, sorry!!
I will point and laugh accordingly!
 
Jeep wheels are correct bolt pattern and register, offset can be a little weird.
Not the newer jeeps. 20 year old stuff when they still had 15" wheels.
 
Is LKQ present in your city/state?

Trucks changed from 5 on 4 1/2 to 5 on 5 at some point, IIRC the mid 190's.

Are we saying vans did not?


I still see about one 5th Ave per year at LKQ or another U pull yard.

That's your best bet.

They came with four 15x7 and one 15x6 as the spare.

Every one I have seen (and I've seen quite a few) have three 15x7 and one 15x6 mounted on the car and no spare.
85 the trucks went to the big pattern.
 
My 75 van takes the 5x4 1/2 pattern.

20181014_133843.jpg


20200523_133737.jpg
 
My '83 B-150 has the 5 x 4 1/2" pattern.

....and I LOVE my doggie dishes!!!!

1699380549422.png
 
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If it's just for spare use buy a trailer tire. E trailer or other trailer places sell single 14" and 15" tire and wheel combos with 4.5' bolt pattern for about $150-175.
Most are C or D rated. 205 and 215 are the most readily available and E trailer ships fast. A have bought several tire and wheel combos from Etrailer.com.
 
Tire and wheel at the local pull a part is only $22 here. That's where I went to get roll around tires for my old Coronet.
 
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