Hot Rods Wide wheels on a 56 Crown Vic

I have a 56 Crown Vic that I want to try and stuff some wider wheels on and lower. How wide can you go if you tub the wheel wells and narrow the rear end? Don't really want to get into messing with the frame if I can avoid. Thanks in advance!

 

If I remember those cars right the inner wall of the rear wheel house is flush with the side of the Frame rail. If that's correct you can't widen the Wheel house without doing some frame surgery. Also I believe the rear springs are mounted under the Frame. If these are both the case about all you can do is fill the wheel house you have minus 1.5" with Tires.
The Wizzard

 

Your screwed.... If you want what you want ...frame, springs, fuel tank, spare hole, etc

 

About 6 1/2" width is as wide as I would recommend.....and even then, the back spacing has to be 'correct. I did 7" and too much back space, tires rubbed the inner wheel housing....I tried less back space and tires rubbed the inside of the wheel openings. They didn't rub on level surfaces, but any body roll, such as turning into a sloped drive, and they would rub. That was with 215/65-16" tires.

Ray

 

Wizzard is right; unless you want to cut the frame or radius the wheel openings, you won't get much under one. I used to have a '56 Club coupe, and a 235/75-15 (the same OD as the OEM tires) on a stock early 70's 15x6 Ford wheel would occasionally scrape on both sides of the wheelhouse (inside and outside).

 

Thank for the input. See link below...says narrowed rear end and got a little wider tires on it so that’s why I asked. Maybe they did more than just the rear end like cutting frame etc. I emailed Fatman to get their thoughts so will report back.

http://www.tnrods.com/item/663/1956-Ford-Fairlane-Victoria/

 

I looked at and read the description of the '56 in the link you provided. Narrrowing a 9" would be necessary for almost any 9" chosen as the the stock rear end is only about 56"/56.5" wide at wheel mounting surfaces, whereas the narrowest stock 9" is about 58" or so......most are wider. That is based on the idea that one wants to keep the tires inside the stock quarter panel and not enlarge the wheel openings.

However, when you get to the wheel and tire combos, you can go to the bank betting on they would never fit in a stock wheel housing on any Ford from '49 thru '56. I feel confident 'space was made', by whatever means necessary, to accommodate the wheel/tire combo used on the rear. It is a given in Physics that "no two or more solid objects can occupy the same space at the same time".

Ray

 

Look at the photos of the inside of the trunk they posted. Notice the Left side upholstery that's Red and is inboard of the trunk lid hinge. That's a Tub your looking at and why they got those Tires under there.
The Wizzard

 

Yep, no way a 275/40-17 tire will fit in unaltered '56 Ford wheel wells....

 

Thanks guys...great info. Any of you ever done anything like I'm trying to do on the rear end? I know its prob hard to answer but what do you guys think a ballpark cost would be to narrow the rear end/frame/wheel wells etc?

Fatman said they sell a universal tri-link rear suspension but I don't think that fixes the width problem...would just be for lowering I assume.

 

that's not far removed from a shoebox, and you can't get much rubber under one of them. i ran G78-15s in the '70s with no problem.

 

Actual cost runs all over the place. It depends on what you have to start with, who does the job and how far you take it. I've done many different versions of this job and each job has it's own issues. Quoting an actual cost is near impossible without seeing the Car. Once into the job they seem to grow and end up going over quoted price. Rust seems to hide it's severity and always plays a part in more $$$$. There are things you might be able to do that are less involved if it's like a 57 Ford. I've never actually done a 56 but here's a couple photos of a 57 job and just food for thought. I moved the spring hangers inboard and up to have full access to stock wheel house and installed a full 12" wide tire without any work to actual wheel house. Spare tire well got adjusted as needed and re installed. This is way less involved than anything Fatman can supply and you can still drive it and will enjoy being in the car. Not so much for any tri link or four link you can install. I guess I should say,, that depends on what you expect out of your car.
The Wizzard

 

poor little Victoria.
How can someone screw up such a beutiful car like that.

 

Hmm...I’m working through this in my head but a little stumped. The leafs are in line with the frame rail originally so how are you gaining tire width...wouldn’t the wider tire still hit the frame?

 

Moving the springs inside gave room for Brakes and U-Bolts and a much deeper rim, not necessarily a wider tire in all cases. In the 57 Ford the Axle bump stop and a Spring check bump. See photo.
You may not have this issue in a 56 Ford. The Axle stop gave up 3.5" more tire space. Moving the hangers up lowered the car 4.5" without using a block on the spring. In your case lets say you can run an 8" wide rim but to do so the center needs to be on center in the Hoop. Now add a 3" lowering block. Now have a Flat tire out on the road. You are in Trouble!
The Wizzard

 

I should have added that I did remove the bump stops that are on the outside of the frame rails and relocated them. I need to learn to proof read prior to hitting Post Reply.
The Wizzard

 

Hi ....Wait till when you are out on the highway and you have a flat....unless you have a trolley jack and a small bottle jack to jam between the axle housing and the chassis to push the housing down to get clearance for the wheel past the brake drum and fender..had a lowered 56 Ford ..3" with 225 15 tyres for 28 years only had to change a couple off times ...but a real pain.....only way to fix properly is to C section the chassis and tub inner fender shorten the axle housing overall 3"......

 

A ‘56 and earlier body and chassis, compared to a ‘57 up is oranges and apples......there was a total redesign of body/chassis for ‘57. Prior posts adequately and accurately describe the limitations of a stock pre-‘57 Ford.

Unless you are prepared for the substantial labor, both the effort and $$$, to narrow the rear frame rail spacing, narrow a rear axle, tub the body and reconstruct the floor from the rear seat area rearward, it’s time to accept a dose of reality about wheel/tire limitations of the stock body/chassis.

Ray

 

I have 235-75-15s on the rear of my 55 sunliner with 7 inch wide rims,the insides of the tires rubbed when loaded so I had to use 1/4 spacers. It has a maverick 8 inch which is a little narrower then the original and found to get the rear tires off the correct shocks are needed and I can barely get them off,with the close enough shocks I had to let the air out of the tires to remove them.

 

So at my Age I have had the time to learn how to get around most of the self inflicted issues of looking Kool going down the road. Wide tires and Kool wheels are a must. I wish I could resight the wheel width and tire size on my avitar. For me they are just right, Fat not to tall and Deep given the space from Ford. Again I did not cut the wheel house. I think it's an 8" wheel hoop. I will not run lowering blocks because you can't do this without braking something. To get there I had a set of rear leaf springs built at a local shop. They are still mounted in the Factory location. I bought a Granada 9" rear housing and brakes. I believe it is the same width as the Maveric 8" unit. Then narrowed it 1.5" each side 3" in total. then mounted the centers in the hoops centering the hoop in the wheel house. This gave me what I felt is Max wheel width that I can get on and off without any Monkey Motion and all the Tire the housing can eat. It's all about give and take, splitting hairs and lessons learned to get what you like that will work the best over all. You don't need to spend a ton of $$$ or cut a car all to Hell to get there but sometimes ya gotta compromise. Another lesson we all get to sooner or latter is that the After Market industery "is" there to get all your $$$$ they can,, EVERY TIME YOU DEAL WITH THEM! They don't car if what you buy from them will actually work for you or not. They will never offer real help!! Most Hot Rod shops still think Kits will do everything. That Is NOT True!! Educate yourself, Think for yourself, and F--k Fatman.
The Wizzard

 

All great info thanks guys.

The problem I'm having is I want to either have a little more aggressive stance/wheels/motor and leave the exterior patina...or have a nice looking body/paint and still lower it but not do as much with the rear end, maybe rebuild the Y-block etc. and have a less custom looking build. I feel like I'd be way ahead of the game $$ wise with doing the underneath and leaving the patina. The roof is in pretty bad shape from sitting outside and moisture getting under the molding on top. Would prob need a donor roof for it.

 

These are all standard delema's for new projects. Sort them out, put them in order then stick to your decision. Want, need, and what you can actually afford are three totally separate issues. Don't over bite your budget.
The Wizzard

 

If this wasn’t my dads very first car he got at 15 (he’s 70 now) I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole! Lol

 

If you look at vintage pics of early '50s Fords that were raced in the pre-tubbing days, this is why nearly all of them had cut-out wheel openings. You could get a 7" slick under them (barely), anything bigger required cutting...

 

I'm beginning to get the feeling this is the wrong project for you. Just because you have it is not a good reason to do it. If this car has just been left to turn to Crap by your Dad and means nothing to you. Don't do. It still won't mean anything to him when your done and at 70 he won't get why you did it. If you just want something to practice on and it's expendable, go for it. If it's a nice enough Car to bring back but your interests are else where Sell it to someone that's been hunting for a 56 Crown Vick. There's a lot of those out there. Don't waste your time and $$$ and the Car just to have something to do, move on.
The Wizzard

 

I put 235 x 70 x 15" on Mopar cop wheels (7") and they appear to fit OK. Have not driven yet, but from how it looks, I should be snug but A-OK. This is on a '55 Customline. It looks good.

 

Photos and numbers would really help. Rim width. Wheel back space. Inflated casseing width.
The Wizzard

 

Wizzard, Good points however, I do like the car...I just wouldn't BUY the same car in the condition its in. Now, since its been in the family for so long that kind of gets trumped a bit. It does have sentimental value beyond its condition. Since the car is free that helps with the extra money its going to require to fix some things so its kind of a wash...just a lot more work. At this point I'm trying to figure out my plan of attack (if at all) and everyons feedback is definitely helping with that so please keep it coming.

My dad also had it lowered when he was young...used to brag about not being able to get a phone book under it or having to go sideways out of driveways, so I think he'd probably understand some of the mods I want to do to it.

I would also like to see some pics of the Mopar whe

 

If it were me I'd just forget the BIG WHEEL AND TIRE thing on that car and work at making a nice cruiser out of it and be done with it. This board isn't about putting big rims and wide tires on cars anyhow unless the big rim is a 15 inch and the wide tire is a 235 70 15.

 

No offense Mr48chev but I think to each his own...you prob like something different than the next guy...and that’s ok. I think this site and the responses I’ve received have been great. If you don’t like my take there are plenty of other posts you can hang out in. For me, this thread has already helped a bunch and it’s hard to understand why you would care whether I get wide wheels on it or not. Save the “im a purist and everyone else be damned” mentality. Enjoy the cars, build them how you like and don’t try to rain on someone else’s parade...it’s kinda sad to be honest. Take care