Projects Tire size suggestions

In the process of building my father-in-laws 30 Chevy coupe, he wanted to keep the wheel/tire combo that was on it when he bought it from the PO. However, we both agreed that it just looks off. The radials don't fit what we were going for and a more traditional bias-ply is the way to go.

My father-in-law passed away recently and I'm going back and re-addressing some of the misc odd and ends that we never got to. We wanted to go with narrower wheels and tires, especially in the rear but I don't know what size would look right. These are both 15" front and rear but way too fat in the back. We had to lift the rear of the car because the tires were rubbing. Eventually I will get the front axle dropped which on the Chevy's is only about 3" if I remember correctly. I'll drop the back too when I get a narrower skin on there.

Would a 16" possibly look better?

I'm going to stay with steelies but may change the color.

 

I wouldn't change a thing. It's beautiful the way it is.
I can't tell you what size tires you would want to go with but maybe the 16" might be good for you.

 

The tires look right from a size perspective, but if you don't like the tires hanging outside of the fenders:
First thing I would do is check the tire-to-body (and tire-to-frame) clearance to see how much room you have. Then measure the backspacing on the wheels. Might be just changing the backspacing will get what you want. JMO, YMMV

 

If we knew what size rear tires you have now, it would be easier to give a recommendation...

I would ditch the smoothie wheels, and a bit lower in front would help too. Right now you have a sort of 'gasser' look going.

 

A flathead Ford in a Chevy! I never thought I'd see the day!

I'd recommend finding a set of '50 Chevy steel wheels. They have the same bolt pattern as modern Chevy, come in 15 x 5" size I think, and they have a nice hubcap too. Maybe you'd want a slightly wider rear wheel, but maybe those would be fine. You could probably use the same front tires you have on the '50 wheels, and find some 235-75/15 for the rear.

 

Just went out and checked sizes. 155/80 up front and 255/70 out back. I'm looking for an earlier look and get the rears tucked up inside the fender. I agree the front needs to come down but it's going to be around a grand to have the axle dropped. Such are the hurdles of a non-Ford hotrod.

Alchemy - My father-in-law was a diehard Ford guy all his life. One of his fellow club members had this for sale a he loved the look of it. When it came time to remotor it, it had to be a Ford. As he was a flathead guy back in his younger days, that's the way we went.