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Im looking for some 16" wheels for my '70 bus and I was wondering if anyone had any info on maximum offset, tire size restrictions and wheel sizes...The stock wheel I currently have is 5 x 14...I would like to use a billet 16" but all the styles I seem to like come in 16"s with a 7' wheel depth....I guess If i get a nice tire that hugs the wheel pretty well...this would work??? any suggestions?

If your bolt pattern is 5 X 112, you can use any Mercedes wheel, it's a bolt-on.

Your '70 Bus should have come with the wide-5 bolt pattern (5x205). ('71 was the first year of the 5x112 pattern wheels.) To use your stock brakes, you'll need to get wheel adaptors to the lug pattern of the wheels you want.

Good luck with the quest for wheels and keep us informed.

Tuna

I had no idea about the Mercedes wheel connection. Not like I'll find Porsche wheels on any old junked Mercedes B. anyplace though...

'72 bus with stock wheels still

I had some superior 15" wheels installed on my 77 (I included a pic) I was able to buy find the right bolt pattern but the rear wheels needed a total of 3 spacers equaling 1" The wheels theselves are 15x8. The tires are perelli 205/55/r15. Judging by the space i have left 16" should be fine. If you want all the details about the cost and where i had them installed and the such Email me at sstomper14@aol.com

how about these then?

theres a pic of mine here:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1 ... p=44268543

More at http://www.geocities.com/stevescamper

Laters.....

Hiya VeeDouble,

Just a thought or two, for what they're worth.

I too have a 1970 Bus. I recently bought tires for the beast and I went with stock 185x14 (6 plys). The improvement in handling was unbelievable. The PO had installed 205x14 (2 plys) passenger car tires. It had wallowed through turns and the steering took considerable effort. This bus is a real pleasure to drive now.

Which brings me around to this...... You will notice a big change in how your bus handles as you change your tires. I know it's gotta look cool, but make sure you are getting (in terms of handling) what you want.

And there is another consideration, your steering gearbox. In the 1970 Bus it is a notoriously cranky (and damnably expensive) piece of equipment. The extra footprint you put down on the ground with a larger tire will put more strain on that steering box at low speeds

Those are some cool looking busses, I personally like a bus w/ aftermarket rims.

I think the direct answer to VeeDoubleU's original question is yes you can fit a 16x7 under there w/ the proper offset considered. The question for you (him) is do you still have the wide-5 pattern or have you/someone converted your bus to another lug pattern, this will affect what kind of wheel you can get. w/o changing from the wide-5 you can only really get some Centerlines or the Empi-5-star repro's w/o lot's of money spent on custom drilled wheels.

And yes, Mr. Bookwus is right, a wider tread patch will affect your steering but it shure does look cool

Travis

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The Story of a Ghia