One winch for each boom. 15K each. PTO driven. It even came with the axle dolly and chock blocks. It's definitely going to work.

As far as the wheels go, NO! First of all, finding 17.5" tires wouldn't be easy. Secondly, I have no desire to pay for them if I do find them.

 

Acually 17.5s are pretty common in the medium duty segment. might want to look into it, they would have a much higher carrying capacity than a smaller rim

 

I realize you want to keep this on a budget but heres an idea. If you wheel wells can handle a 35" tire look around for a set of 19.5s. You'll have no worry about weight limits and they'll last for ever, plus your fuel mileage should go up. just an idea.

 

Welcome to the Wrecker Club! What type bed does yours have on it? Mine is a Holmes 440:



Also, how much did you pay for that beauty?

Mine also has split rims that I will be tossing in short order so I don't get killed. I used to work as a tire changer at a Sears many, many years ago and the old guys would do the split-rim stuff on the floor (we had a cage but they never used it). I mostly just stayed away. I have a Coats 40/40 in my shop so I want rims/tires that I can change on that.

 

I'm about 15 to 20 minutes from the north side of dayton.

 

Cool tow truck! looking forward to seeing the progress

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I want wheels I can change myself without fear of them blowing up in my face. I used to work in a tire shop back in the late '80's too. Even back then, we wouldn't do split rims. I used to swing a tire hammer when we were downrange in Iraq. I'm done with all that.

I should mention that the rear wheels are Chevy wheels someone torched the hub hole out on so they would fit the Ford Hubs. ...No bueno.

I have a Holmes 480 bed on mine. I gave $2,100 for it. I got the wheel dolly and chock blocks with it too. The engine is a low mile 429 from a late '60's, early '70's Mercury. It runs pretty darn good. I can't wait to get some miles on it and start to debug it. It should be a fun rig when I get it all squared away.

 

Hi there, heres the part # for the replacement rim for 16" splits Accuride 27796. 2 years ago the tire shop I used to go to sold me a set of flat big washer rims that the owner said would work with no problems. They put them on the front end. 6 miles later as I took the approach onto Deerfoot trail I got a very bad case of death wobble at 50 mph that almost took me of the road. Trucks like yours and mine can't use flat rims because they don't center up properly and either go on off centered or come loose. According to my brother( 35 years ford dealership mechanic) I have no choice but to stick with this bud style rim. Especially on the front. check with number dummy to see if there are other options, last time I'll bug ya.

 

No worries, Privateer. I've been doing this a long time, but I'll never say I know it all. I don't mind at all learning from other people's experiences. Thanks for the heads up.


I'll have some more progress pictures this week as I cut the bed sides off and build new ones for it. I also plan on getting the fluids flushed and the brakes squared away.

 

Looks good Alan!

 

Thanks, Jeff!

I've been tinkering with it the last few days just getting everything loosened up and working again. Today was maintenance. I got the oil and filter changed. The fuel filter changed. A rotted fuel line replaced. The master cylinder replaced and the beacon lights working. Yesterday, I used a tube of grease getting the wrecker bed moving freely again.

I also picked up some of the parts for the exhaust, but I'm about 10' of 2 1/4" exhaust pipe short of having this thing quiet down some.

Here's how it looks clean....



In the back I replaced the broken clip on the sling "stow" chain. (it keeps the sling from falling over) Yes, I know I need new rubber for the sling.



I put all the goodies back on the bed and tidied up a little.



I don't care who you are. The first time you hit the beacon lights on your own wrecker after you fixed them, ....that's fun!



I polished up all the reflectors, bulbs and lenses and put everything back together.



It's coming along, little by little. As I said, I replaced the master cylinder, but now I can see where all the other rotted parts are. I had brake fluid squirting everywhere when I mashed on the brakes the first time. Under the hood got a general acorn and rat pellet removal as well.

 

Damn cool rig Alan

 

Thanks, Marc! I'm starting to see some forward momentum now.

 

I'm excited to see your new rig next week! Still looking to paint it yellow?

 

Yup!