too wide

i have a '87 chevy front end under my '50 chevy truck. the tire sticks out of the finder about an 1" - 1 1/2" with a 15x7 wheel. its a pretty long story on how i got the combo but im kinda stuck with it now. i know a mustang ll would be the best solution for my problem but i have neither the time nor money right now to get this set up. so i guess my question is what is the next best solution? if i go with a narrower wheel what kind of differences in handling will i see? i will be mainly driving on the highway so it is a pretty big concern. thanks in advance.

 

Can't you get a wheel with different offset? Of course, that might just move your clearance problems inboard.

 

yeah i checked into that and it could be a problem, the wheel i have is a chrome reverse smoothie and would like to stick with the same style if i could. anyone know a ball park figure of how much more a custom offset wheel is?

 

with manual steering a skinny tire will handle better. off set wheel will bring the tire more center over the rotor. an off set wheel should not touch the finder with a good caster setting. a wider tire will give more tire rub in turns. some will thank it won't look as cool with skinny tires and wheels on the front, but it will drive better.

 

I could make you a max backside 15x7 for $70 each

 

I think fat man fab sells new upper and lower control arms that will fix your problem the right way.

 

what is the max back spacing you can do with this wheel? what is the easist way to check and see how much more back spacing i can go with?

 

Go to here, www.rallyamerica.com and go to the measure page. Do you know what the backside you have now is?

 

I've had three of these trucks. One I clipped with a '55 chevy p***enger car front end, one with a '69 Nova, and the other with a '79 Monte Carlo. All three of those fit nicely. The one we are building for my son will either use a late 70's early 80's Monte Carlo, Regal, Grand Prix, etc clip, or I may go with the stock front axle on softer springs, z'd frame to get the lowered stance, and disc brake kit. Decisions, decisions...

 

The rim to use for this conversion is an early 80's Chevy van rally wheel. It has the right offset. I know it ain't a chrome reverse, but maybe you could try one before you commit to custom (non-return) rims.

 

thanks for all the info guys, ill try to get the dimensions tonight and take it from there

 

hey, if you run a bunch of backspacing, you'll prolly knock the wheelweights off the back on tight turns....bigger diameter helps but try not to make us puke with 20" rims...

 

If we make him a wheel and it doesn't fit, we'll make him another one untill it does fit.
Jimmy

 

cut that **** off and start over! you will never be happy with it. post some pic's.

 

Before wasting money on offset rims consider that you want to be able to steer it when you are done.
Proper offset rims will put the center of the tire on a line drawn through the upper and lower balljoints.
The further you get from that line...the harder it is to steer.