Widest tire and wheel on rear of 62 Belair.

[Sudsc61]

I did a search and couldn’t find an answer. My buddy wants my American Racing wheels and tires for his 55. I was looking for something a little wider in the back right now I’m running to 45 6015s can I fit a 275 6015 and can I put a 10 inch wheel or am I limited to an 8 inch wheel. All stock and really don’t wanna have to modify anything. I know it’s 15 four and three-quarter and I believe a 4 1/2 inch backspacing is what I need. Was looking at these from jags and maybe some Skinnies on the front since I’m doing the old-school hot rod luck with the car

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[skaz]

on my 61 i put 275 60 15 0n a 8' rim i thought they
looked better than on a 10" rim..i have a set of 295's on 10" that look like they belong

 

[Sudsc61]

on my 61 i put 275 60 15 0n a 8' rim i thought they
looked better than on a 10" rim..i have a set of 295's on 10" that look like they belong

I don’t mind going with an 8” wheel in the rear. I believe that’s what I had on my Chevelle with 275’s on them and they fit good. Do you think 275s with a 4 1/2 inch backspacing on an 8 inch wheel will fit no problem? Thanks

 

[61BUBBLE348]

always thought a 12" wide tyre was max for a 61-64, not sure if the 58-60 had the same room.

 

[55Brodie]

On my '62 I'm running 16x8 wheel with 4-1/2" BS and P245 50 R16 on the rear. No rubbing anywhere, but I have to deflate the tires to install or remove the wheel and tire assembly. Kind of a big PITA if you ask me. I'm thinking of going with P205 60 R16 all around.

 

[63impalass409]

On one of my 63's I have old school centerline autodrags with the pizza cutter fronts and a p275/60r15 with 8.5 wheel but don't remember the offset and they fit good no rubs no modification.

 

[409Biscayne]

I have a '62 Biscayne with 15x10 Wheel Vintiques steel wheels with 5 1/2 backspacing. Tire is a MT ET Street 28x11.50-15. Need to deflate the tires a bit and have the rear end at full drop to install but they fit with adequate clearance. The car is still under construction so there could still be issues during actual use. I had to do a lot of research, measuring and trial fitting to figure out what would work on my car.

 

[409Biscayne]

One thing I forgot to mention. I installed an adjustable panhard bar to center the rearend housing prior to taking measurements to determine wheel backspace and tire clearances. An adjustable bar is probably a must-have to fit the widest tire/wheel combo.

 

[Mr. Chev]

One thing I forgot to mention. I installed an adjustable panhard bar to center the rearend housing prior to taking measurements to determine wheel backspace and tire clearances. An adjustable bar is probably a must-have to fit the widest tire/wheel combo.

On my drag 61 I cannot have my rear end panhard centered, when the car launches it moves so much the panhard bar pulls it from one side to the other, I have the tire almost against the wheelwell on one side and a good inch on the other, otherwise I get tire scrubbing on the sidewall and cant have that, the panhard bar swings an arc.
Edit to add, this is with a 8 inch rim and a 28 by 9 inch slick, They fill the wheel well!!!!

 

[boxerdog]

Is the panhard bar in the stock mounts? That could be part of the problem.

 

[Mr. Chev]

it's not a problem, its physics and science!

 

[63 dream'n]

On one of my 63's I have old school centerline autodrags with the pizza cutter fronts and a p275/60r15 with 8.5 wheel but don't remember the offset and they fit good no rubs no modification.

I’ve always loved them center lines …..those look good……..damn it’s hard to pick the wheel ……I’d like to have about five different sets of wheels and tires and just go back-and-forth between them……..

 

[boxerdog]

Call it what you want, the factory took the easy way out. Most manufacturers did in the 50s and early 60s because handling was beyond them. It was all about ride. There is very little positive to say about the 59-64 rear suspension geometry.
Here's a solution to one of the non-problems.

Panhard relocation kit

 

[425/409ER]

I had those Jeg's 8" star wheels on my drag car with some 30X9's at one time. They are heavy wheels but at the time they were only $98 bucks for a 15X8. Should have bought the 15X4's when they were cheap. Those Jeg's wheels are made by Vision wheel as Summit carries them also.