Modified 8 Lug Chevy Rims to fit M715

My friends and I are converting a 8 Lug Chevy Rim to the stock axles for an M715. We are trying to get away from the split ring 16" tires and convert to a more standard (and cheaper) 15". The project isnt conpleted as yet ill post an update when they are. Should be a day or two at most and ill include the measurements so they can be duplicated. Also a step-by step to doing it as these are not recentered rims but a modification to a standard design that is found anywhere.

Dave in Tennessee

I want to see how it turns out, it sounds like a good idea.

So.. You have 15" 8 lug wheels? I didn't know they existed. Are they aftermarket.

How did these turn out? I'd like to know. I've got some 38"tsl tires mounted on some 8 lug rims that are doing nothing on my stalled rock crawler project. If my truck doesnt sell I might just put the sbc in the 715 and get the wheels machined to fit, that is if these work for you or not.

you can 15' 8 lug wheels from summit racing

davidkroberts said:

My friends and I are converting a 8 Lug Chevy Rim to the stock axles for an M715. We are trying to get away from the split ring 16" tires and convert to a more standard (and cheaper) 15". The project isnt conpleted as yet ill post an update when they are. Should be a day or two at most and ill include the measurements so they can be duplicated. Also a step-by step to doing it as these are not recentered rims but a modification to a standard design that is found anywhere.

Dave in Tennessee

Click to expand...

Go to M715Zone.com, look at the modified forum and do a search for wheels. Post your question there if you don't find the answers you are looking for. Most guys went with custom wheels from Marsh Racing Wheels. They are really reasonable in price.

Did drilling the rims work? pics? Im curious because I already have 8lug 15"rims with some brand new swamper TSL's mounted on my stalled out rock crawler and would like to put them on the M715 instead.

Egypt made the M715 as AM726 under licence in the 80's with 8 lug 16" wheels. So for the Dana axles the 8 lug hubs are / were available at least ex factory. Found this info some days ago.
Wolf

well it worked....kinda. too much work involved for what we were trying to get done. ended up making a deal and getting a conversion wheel center machined for 20.00 a piece so i can mount some gamma goat tires on it instead. much easier. the wheel center were so cheap i might see if i can mount some other strange tire/rim combo on it. who knows

I was also going to suggest just swapping around outer axle parts to get the 8-bolt pattern. Those same axles have been used in many other trucks- try looking for an old late 60's/early 70's International pickup. I had one as a part's truck that used the same axles as an M715- front Dana 60, closed knuckle, drum brakes; rear Dana 70, drum brakes. Usually when you stick to one axle model, parts are pretty much bolt-on. For example, if someone had a 1/2 ton front Dana 44 from, say, a Wagoneer they were matching to an 8-bolt rear axle, the 44 can be easily upgraded to 8-bolt pattern using parts from any of the big mfg's: Chevy/Jeep (same outer front axle parts); Ford or Dodge. I did this when I built a Wrangler years ago, and was going to do it again in the front of a solid-axle converted Dakota (that was going to get a rear 14-bolt).

Jim

amazing..........
bcowanwheels@aol.com
not the cheapest but definately the BEST !!!!!!!!!!

well In doint this to the wheels I wanted to see if it was possible. It is, however it is very time consuming on a standard mill and not really worth it for the time invested. With my buddy making wheel centers for basically the cost of the steel this design to use 15" steel wheels got thrown out real fast. We will simply weld in the new centers into deuce wheels and go on. Added bonus is that it will be running a common and easy to find wheel/tire combo. I am looking at adding a new m-715 to my herd and will most certainly use the fab centers on deuce wheels to motivate it. Some of us are more crafty than spendy and with a little knowledge and more time than money many things are possible. We are always looking for a way to do it ourselves instead of paying someone an exorbitant price. Plus you learn a little in the process. Snakeater

Hey guys,
First let me say that I swapped in the CUCV axles several years ago so this isn't relevant to me. Second, I am such a poor welder that I usually get better results getting metal to stick together with tape than a welding machine So this may be a really stupid question.
Would it be possible to take cheap rock crawler type rim and weld in a "ring" covering the WMS? When you had the "ring" made, out of plate or whatever, you could have the holes bored & tapered for the 715 bolt pattern. Then just weld to the outside and clean-up/punch the holes thru the actual rim.
Seems like one of you computer gurus out there could whip up a cad file in no-time & share it with the world - or make them & be a vendor.
Just curious.

it would certainly work. Keep in mind we did this just to see if it could be done. it would be muc heasier to weld in a new center into whatever wheel you wanted. getting a new wms certered properly, and balanced into the wheel would be difficult at best. We gave up on this idea, it did work mind you , but was very labor intensive. It was much simpler to just weld in a new center and cut out the old one. That is what we ended up doing.

Maybe I'm not saying it right because I'd think getting it centered would be a breeze.
This "ring" would be like a washer on a bolt - the bolt being the hub sticking up thru the rim. With CNC tolerances you should be able to just slide it down the hub till it contacts the rim and then tack weld into place. I realize that the welding material would throw off the balance a little, but not too much. Then once you had it fully burned on you could put it on the drill press and drill thru the bolt holes in the "ring" to transfer the holes to the original rim. That way the original rim center would still be intact - just with the bolt holes hogged out/new holes drilled.
Am I making sense? I can see it in my head but don't seem to be able to communicate it

theres nothing a "breeze " in building a good wheel or rim. try to get runout down to .010-.020 and see.

Chill Bob, I am in no way trying to minimize the skill involved in making or re-centering a wheel. I would not even attempt to do so personally.
What I am saying is why wouldn't it work to take an already made rim and a CNC'd ring or metal and combine. You would have the already made rim with correct center and runout - lay that down on the bench with an extra hub sticking up out of the middle (w/o lugs of course), then lay this ring over it - still on the hub - and weld it to the wheel.
Now you have a wheel center that is perfectly centered and welded that has the correct wheel lug pattern already cut into it. Simply remove the materiel from the old rim that is blocking the new bolt pattern.
It's like running a 1/2" wheel spacer on the outside of the rim. The only hard part would be making the file for the CNC machine to run off of.
Tell me why this wouldn't work. Unbalanceable wheel? Welding & drilling the original rim would weaken it too much? What?

$.02

Ron

only problem I could think of would be keeping everything concentric. Also the m715 has a larger hub diameter than a 8 lug dana 60. So the center "hub Hole" would have to be addressed first, then the ring added, welded and kept true. Not impossible, but more work than i would want to put into something like that. Please try it, if it works out i would like to know how you did it. With pics if possible. By the way tight tolerances are only needed if you intend to drive it on the street/highway at speed. If its for a trail truck that is used offroad, you will never be able to tell the wheel isn't perfect.