Working on a 1961 Falcon plan on making in to some what of a gasser. The rear wheel wells are pretty small and the biggest tire i can make fit is a 235 60 15 (pictured on car), which wont cut it with the power level I plan on being at (400hp) as at the car sits the tires rub (going to go with a bit more offset on the wheel) I have seen these with the stock wheel wells seen from the outside of the car and I would like to keep the factory rear wheel well openings. How do I get a bigger tire under this thing without cutting up the outside of the car, axle under spring, longer shackles? Has anyone done something similar? The red and black car is mine the others are where I want to end up. where I
Looks like the silver car is tubbed to the inside. you may be able to mini tub the car and use wheels with the proper backspace to take advantage of the room. What kind of rear axle are you running? The 235/60 is close to an 8'' tire, 400 HP, light car, an 8'' could hook up if your suspension is right.
The car currently has an 8 inch in it but I have a 9 inch of the same width that I will be dropping very soon. I plan on using a 50/50 drag shock with the factory leaf spring and a thunderbolt style "traction bar" from cites performance or a caltrack setup. I would prefer the thunderbolt system for the retro appeal but I would rather hook that look cool if it came down to it. For drag strip adventures I will use a modern wrinkle wall slick. I haven't weighed the car but what I am able to find online it comes in at around 2400 lbs, though I don't know how accurate this is.
Yep, the thing is that one change can and does lead to at least two others! If you are willing to spend the $$, get the 9'' narrowed to the right width and build from there. Buy the wheels and tires you want to run. Then narrow the 9'' to the right width.
Get yourself a late model Explorer 8.8" rear axle. Then grab a short side axle from another in the wrecking yard, and have the tube cut down 2 7/8" and welded back together. Then just drop the short side axle into it, and you'll have a axle that's about 56.5" full width to the drum or disc surface. Then move the springs in and you can put a big old tire under there and not have to cut the body. I get 8.8 LS Explorer axles in 3.73 or 4.10 all day long at the U pull it for $200, and extra axle for $20. I have a place here that narrows the tube for $50 per side. On holiday weekends they have half price, and I just got an extra 8.8" posi for $104. I cut my wheelwells, and used front fender lips from a '78 Mercedes Benz to make a finished lip. I prefer the radius, but my body needed paint anyway.
Your really limited with tire size, both width and height. You could stretch the openings 4 or 5 inches and this would allow a larger tire( done a few Chevy II's that way). Raising the cr high enough to clear a decent tire will put the car fairly high, but can still look good. Here are a few pics of Falcons I have saved over the years, some stock wheel openings and others that have been cut. No matter how you go, those little Falcons look great. Good luck with your build.
The Jalopy Journal
