Ok, so I dropped the rear of my car and I've been back and forth to the used tire place a few times now that I've lost track of how many different tires I've tried. I had 215/70/15's on there and they were way too big. Then they gave me 205/70/15s and they looked to be about the same size, now the knucklehead gave me 165/80/15s. They fit but they are clear by a mile and look ridiculous. Has any one out there done this that can give me a definite tire that fits? I'm going to try taking one of my 15x670s off of my 51 Chevy and see if that fits. If that does, my understanding is that they're the same size as a 205/75/15. Can anyone verify that?
the best advice i can give , is to take your car down there . and it will save a whole bunch of trips . and have a half a day to waist . it would be good to have a few diffrent offset wheels to take with you if posible. and if they come up with a combo that works , get a spare wheel and tire like it .
Knock the shock loose, put a bottle jack between the frame and the axle, deflate the tire, and squeeze it on. Thats the way I put my f78-14s on, and I've got to fight those. I'm running five inch blocks and stock (time de-arched) springs. Thats how to change them if you didn't know the routine for a lowered ford. I honestly suggest running bias-plys because they're narrower.
Something to consider after you make a selection that works on the car.... Do a few remove and replace on those tires and see what combination you need to do to change them out in case of a flat tire on the road. On my 53 I have placed the tools needed to change those rears out. I have a bottle jack, small light weight floor jack, socket set for removing the lower shock mount, and a ground cover. My spare is a narrow same size diameter that can be put on aired up. All this is needed as the change is a pain in the ****, but practice and tools will pay off in the long run.
The wheel offset can usually be the culprit to the clearance problem,Google "measuring wheel offset" and compare a stock wheel to some late 15" wheels,you might try a 15" wheel from a early 80's T-Bird which shares the 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern which has a very forward offset.Some brands of tires will have different tread widths within the same sizes usually a cheaper priced tire will be slightly narrower.You might try a 205/75/15 Cornell tire from Pep Boys I have found them to have a narrower tread width than almost anything out there and they actually wear pretty well.The old 670X15 and 700X15 tires were in reality a 80-83 profile so if you were to compare a 670X15 to a P205/75R/15 you will find the 670X15 taller and narrower.I was selling tires for Sears in the late 60's when all the changes came about so I know first hand about those changes,it was crazy back then when radials first came out as folks would point at your tires and yell "you have a tire going flat!" because they had no idea about radial profiles.
Ok...I should have clarified a little. I'm using the stock steel wheels. The problem isn't the rim, it's the tire itself fitting between the quarter panel and the drum. I didn't even have shocks in the car when I was trying it. I didn't try a bottle jack between the frame and the top of the axle, so I guess I could try that. I completely got rid of my inner wheel lip today and on one side and I was finally able to squeeze the 15x670 in there but that was even a little tight. As far as the tools go, I always travel with a full toolbox, jack, jackstands, overalls, etc. I drive my car long distances pretty much every weekend and even if I take my car to work, that's a hundred mile drive. I don't have the liberty of not carrying a full toolbox and spare parts. That is also what worries me about buying bias ply tires. I drive in all kinds of conditions. I'd hate to be stuck in a downpour with bias ply tires, although the vacuum wipers are actually scarier than the tires! Haha. Jeff, I might check out those pep boys tires but I really just want to get a good set of used ones on there that I know wont be too much of a problem so I can order a set of wide whites. I guess the conclusion I came to is that if I roll the inside lip of the wheel well up completely then I can fit the bias 15x670, so I guess I'm just going to go with those. I'm going to have one of those 165/80/15's mounted on my spare rim as sort of a space saver spare. The only downfall to doing it this way is that I won't be able to run a fender skirt but I planned on redoing the quarters along with the floors next winter so I could always look at running a narrower axle at that point.
well on my 55 when i want to take off my factory steel wheels . i have to jack up the car and put jack stands under the frame then let the jack down . and i can take off my wheels . im running 205/70/15s not actualy lowerd just worn out springs .
Yeah....the worn out springs will still sag down. My springs were rearched(de-arched) so they still hold up where they were. Between that and the addition of the 3" lowering blocks, it's pretty tight in there. I think I might make a fixture to pull my wheel wells out a little bit for now. My wheel arches are soft and they're going to need to be replaced in the near future. My car is in bare metal right now so I think I'm going to leave the body color satin so it doesn't show up as much and then I'll replace the wheel arches over the winter. I wish someone would make a complete quarter panel for our cars!
I read your post, and I'm going to agree with you 100% on the narrower axle! I guess Henry II didn't plan on us putting the axle three + inches higher in the wheel well! I'm gonna swap to an 8", apparently ones out of 64-5 mustangs and Falcons and Comets work. Thats just what I heard. Also! Trust me, it sounds stupid, but I think the bottle jack (even pushing against the snubber) works very well. I've only taken the tires on and off my car a dozen or so times, but around time four I've been using a bottle jack, and deflating the tire. This last time I didn't use a bottle jack and I also didnt deflate the tire, it caused me to get some scuffs...
Here is a "goofy" solution used by a buddy "back in the day" that had a lowered '52, He radiused out the wheel wells and and ran cruiser skirts which covered the wheel wells.Just removed the skirts to get the wheel out and Voila!
my 55 has a ranger rear end , that someone cut the perchs off the top and welded back to the botom . was in it when i bought my car . im thinking of changing it to an explorer rearend to get the disk brakes .but i dont have a clue if these are any diffrent width than the original rear . must be close i have all the same probs anyone else dose. lol. i like the cruiser skirts idea . but mines a 4 door . i seen this trick on a nascar race if you dont care to do it . take a peice of pipe . and put it between the tire and the begining edge of the body . then roll the tire and it will pull the pipe through and push the metal out a little .
The rear of this car has me going crazy. I think I'm just going to pull my rear wheel wells a little bit and try to find a 195/75/15 and see if I will be able to change the tires without them getting scuffed. 46mopar...when I looked at my rear, the spring pads are so close to the brake drums I couldn't imagine running a narrower rear. Did you have to move your leafs inward or something?
Man, I was planning on lowering mine, but I have 215/70/R15's and I can't afford new tires. I guess I'll have to hold off on that for a little while.
I have 56 with a 67 Mustang 8 inch bolt right in with 3 inch blocks 7inch wheel off dodge truck and 235 15 tires just jack up on frame tire go rite in
nailhead65 I did my rear kind of half ***ed. I think the only issue I had was the spring pad on the rear was wider. The holes lined up with the spring pin fine. I just had to notch the inside of both spring pads to get my u bolts to be straight. I had 14x6 Astros on it with 185/75/14 with 3inch blocks the car pretty low no tire issues but it looked alittle dumb. There is pics of my old car here it was black with purple flames. I keep saying I'm going to do a Mustang II rear swap soon. There are a couple of tricks I know that will make a neet story. I just need to find the time to do it.
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