The Mustang Bullit wheel and tires will clear in the rear https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/wto/d/longview-17x8-ford-mustang-wheels-and/7267025445.html these are about 9.5" width you do need spacers in the front for A arm clearance.
That's about the width I'm looking for (actually 10"), I want to use 255 60 15's. I have a set of 0 offset 8 x 15 wheels to use. I may have to have a set made with more positive offset.
Seems like a too wide tire to remove. I have 235-70 15's , Cragar SS's 15 x 7 on my 54 (57 rear) and they are a ***** to get off, even with the tire deflated.
Thanks Paul, not what I was wanting to hear though I may have to change my plans on that. If I was doing this in the 70's or 80's, I just radius the wheel wells and put 10's on it LOL
I have 255x60x15 tires on 8" wheels on the rear of my '55. The backspace is something like 5.5" on the wheels. The previous owner put them on the car. The tires rub the inner and outer parts of the wheel wells when the axle gets at an angle with the frame. I can remove/install the tires easily if I raise the car on each side and let the axle drop straight down to clear the wheel wells. I'm planning on going back to a 6" wheel and 215 tires. There is not enough visual improvement with the wider tires to justify the aggravation even though it isn't driven much.
That's for that 40cpe. With that back spacing, (about 25mm, positive offset, from the inside bead) 15" Crown Vic wheels should work, as is but, they are only 6" wide. Yes, these cars were made to use bumper jacks, to raise the body off the tire. Hell, people even used bumper jacks, to work under the car. I was a mechanic, in '62 and soon after, I got a floor jack, for myself but, I was the exception for people that worked on their cars at home.
Are you lowering your '54 at all? I had 215/75r15s on a 7 inch wide wheel and had a rub on the driver's rear with 2" blocks.
From Page 3 of the "Sticky FAQ" https://www.racingjunk.com/news/how-to-get-perfect-rear-wheel-and-tire-fitment/
Can you tell me the backspacing on the wheels you had that rubbed on the back of your car? From measuring on my car, frontspacing (distance from the mounting surface to the fender) needs to be 3.5" or less. The width of the wheel would determine the backspacing.
If it will help, I had 7 " wheels with 4" backspace With 205.70.15 tires, the inside clearance in the front at the top of the spindle was maybe 1/8 inch or less. The rears had plenty of space on the inside, but the outside extremely close on the drivers and about 3/4" on the p*** side. Had to take shocks loose to get tire off in the rear. I have since downsized to 6" wheels with 3 3/4" backspacing and a little narrower tire just to free up some space...BUT still have to remove rear shocks
shortshift, thanks for verifying my measurements on what I am about to order from Summit. Your previous wheels had 4" of wheel to the outer fender side of the mounting surface, plus the bulge of the tire. The new wheels should be 3 1/4" in that direction, giving you another 3/4" clearance.
40, the backspace is the back side of the rim mounting surface to the back side of the tire mounting surface. Then u can add the tire to that figure. heres a video if u want https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...F07E434EF6E9E2495CE0F07E434EF6E9E24&FORM=VIRE
Here is some info, directly from my 54 service manual. 5" wide wheel, 1/16" positive offset (to inside). That would give approx 2 15/16" back space if, you add 3/8" for the width of the bead. But, I don't know if the wheel is centered in the wheel well, thus my question. I got the car home today and will pull a rear wheel, tomorrow and do some measuring. BTW, a way to stop tire rub, if the tire has clearance and doesn't touch anything when setting, is to add a level Panard rod to it.
Frnkeore, I'm interested to know what a "level" panhard bar is. My understanding of a panhard rod function is to reduce sway, and a sway bar to reduce "lean" of the body. I have 255 tires on the rear of my '55 that rub when there is body lean on the rear axle. That happens when one side of the front gets appreciably higher than the other 3 wheels, as when turning into a drive that is higher than the roadway and the wheels get "out of square" with the body. The previous owner put these tires/wheels on and it's going to cost a lot to replace the wheels and Diamondback tires. I hadn't considered trying to keep the rear axle more square with the frame. Thanks for stimulating my brain.
By level, I mean parallel to the ground. That way the side to side movement is small and constant both up and down. The longer the Panard bar, the less side to side movement you get. If you draw a line of fixed length, at a angle, you'll see that it goes farther from center as it moves up or closer as it moves down. A better way but, more involved is a Watts linkage, it keeps the ch***is and wheels perpendicular to each other.
depending on what rear end you have there are several panhard bar mounts and kits for 9 inch ford and several for weld on four links that require a bar. If you have a Speedway circle track race catalogue you will also find a bunch there. A watts link stays centered no matter what, if junkyard shopping for watts links they are on PT cruisers rear axle and 2004-2008 Durango,s. Possibly others? https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Universal-Watts-Link,3398.html
The Panard bar, isn't hard to make but, it does require a good welder. This is a axle clamp that can be used but, after bolting it, spot weld it in place. https://www.ebay.com/itm/PANARD-BAR...169333?hash=item33fb7658f5:g:Sr4AAOSwu9Jb~98B Make a bracket for the frame and then you can use 1" aluminum rod, drilled and tapped for 3/4x16, R & L hand Heim type joints, preferably but, it can be both right hand. You have to unbolt one end to adjust it that way though. Here is a incar example of a well done Panard and a diagram, showing the difference between a Panard and a Watts. You can see by the arc that the Panard, needs to be as long as possible.
I really appreciate your suggestions. I'll have my car up on stands this week and will do some measuring. If this will keep my tires from rubbing it will save a good bit of money, keep my wide tires, and have better handling, too.
I did some measuring of the original Ford wheel, on my car. The bead is 5/8-11/16 thick (I couldn't accurately measure it with the tire still on) and the back spacing is 3 13/16. That makes the wheel offset, for a 5" wide wheel, ~5/8-11/16 positive. My manual says .062 but, now I think it must be a typo and the spec is suppose to be .62 I have a set of '94 Crown Vic wheels and I measured them today, also. They have a measured 5/8 thick bead and a back spacing of 4 3/16 and are 6 1/2" wide, the offset is 5/16 positive so, they might be a good wheel for the '54. I did another measurement from the sidewall to the inter fender lip, with the stock wheels. It was 4" in the front and 3" at the back of the lip. For my car, I will probably bend the lip up to increase the clearance 1/2". It was 40* here, today so, I didn't pull a tire and measure the clearance from the brake flange to the inter fender area. I'll do that when it warms a bit.
It finally warmed enough to get this done. First, the inside of the wheel well is a minimum of 12.5" wide. Plenty of room for 10.5 wide tires (side wall) or 265mm, even 275mm @ 10.83 so, the 10" wide, 255 60 15, will fit easily with the right back spacing. The wheels I had hoped to use are some IMCA 8" wide, with a 4" back spacing. Although they fit in the whee well, there is not enough outside clearance, for a tire, w/o rubbing. The '94 Crown Vic wheels, fit perfectly! They are 6.5" wide, inside, 7.5 out side, with a 4 3/16 back spacing and ~ 2.5" clearance, on both sides of the wheel. I still want at least 8" wide wheels of the rear, now that I've got the measurements. If I order a a pair with 4 15/16" back spacing, it should be very close to centered.
Ok, here is what I've learned about the '54 wheel well: 1. With a 5" back spacing, it is possible to get a 8" wheel and a 255 60 15, in the wheel well. 2. You CAN'T get that, tire and wheel in, because the axle and brake drum don't go low enough to allow it to happen! Very disappointing. 3. You can get a 225 width tire in, with the axle all the way down but, that is about all and I have lots of clearance with my 6.5 wide, Crown Vic wheels and their 4 3/16 back spacing. I can sympathize with Paul on his 235's. I have a pair of studded 235 75 15, on 6" wide wheels and fully inflated, I couldn't get it to go in between the drum and fender lip, at all. So, it looks like, for now, at least, I'll have to go with 225 70 15's for the rear
A update on my tire fit and wheel selection, on my '54. I have a pair of '84, C4 Corvette wheels. They are 8 1/2 x 16 x 6" BS, with 245 50 16's on them. I purchased a pair of wheel adapters that are 4.5 x 4.75 and 1" thick and got them, today so, I put them on today. I had found that the 245 50 16's, would go into the wheel well, because the vertical distance (not side wall) will fit under the wheel opening and above the top of the brake drum. You can then push it in, with the deep BS and raise it up, to the bolt pattern. I think a 255 50 16 will do the same. That's what will replace these, when needed. I took some measurements after installing them, with a floor jack under the 3rd member. The axle appears to be about 1/4 off center, to the Lf. Spring to tire side wall, Rt, 1.5. Lf, 1.25 Lip to sidewall, Rt Front, 1.25. Rt rear, .75 Lip to sidewall, Lf Front, .75. Lf rear, .25 If I can get the rear centered @ 1" front .5 rear, I will still have to roll the lip. That will give me about 1" minimum clearance but, I can machine 1/8 off the back side of the adapter and gain that extra, little bit. Here are the pictures.
I found that on my 54, 7 inch rims with 4 inch back space on the rim and 205-70-15 tire would fit the back with a lot of room between frame and tire. The front had barely 1/8 inch clearance to the upper portion of the spindle and the tire. I ended up puting 6 in rims on because of the clearance issue up front..Keep an eye on the spindle clearance
This is a stock 6.5 wide, 4 3/16 BS, '94 Crown Vic wheel. There is at least 1/2, between the rim and spindle. I have two others that I will try off the '92 - '95 T Birds, with 1 1/4 wide adapters. One is 15 x 6.5, the other is 16 x 7 wide. BS on the 15" one will be aprox 4 1/8. Haven't measured the 16" but, it will be similar, I think. Won't get the adapters until, about the 5th.
I have some 7" steel wheels with 4 1/4" backspacing that were on my '55. They cleared the ball joint using 215/65R15 tires. There are disc brakes on the front, I don't know if that changes the clearance or not.
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