I used 15x7 rally wheels but they are a little to wide if you get a flat tire on the rear lord help you ! this is all on 54 mercury I think should have no more than 15x6 with out tubbing 15x7 touch every so often   Shakey Pete   

Getting back to Jim, I too do run a set of 16x7 in wheels on the rear of my 56 tbird  and they fit pretty good but things are starting to get close so add mostly to the back spacing to keep from rubbing the fender skirts. So like the others are saying  you can go with a 7 in wide wheel and still be workable. Going to an 8 in wide wheel I don't know?????

-Gary Burnette-

not to hijack this thread, but how about some wheel/tire input on a 57 Fairlane??

I also got some "free wheels" (15 X 8 American Racing) from my neighbor down the street a while back...

anyone have any idea if these would fit the best looking Ford of the 50's?

Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

FYI, I am running 16" x 7" (2002) Ford Explorer rims on my 56. The offset is perfect (leaves me about a 1/2" spacing on either side of the tire both inside and out). I fabbed up the bullet caps myself to get rid of the plastic 4x4 caps. I am running 205/60/16's in front and 225/60/16's in back. I get all kinds of people asking me where they can buy these rims, you should see the look on their face when I tell them what they are! The best part was that they were free! Hopefully this helps, you can have some cool rims without spending a fortune!

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!

The set-up I ended up with is a 16 x 7 (off a late Mustang) and they are built by Ford with the mounting face 1-1/2 inches off "true center". I mounted them on 1-3/4 spacers in the front - and the tires probably clear the ball joints by 5/16 to 1/4. That works out to a 3.75 backspace.

The tires are 225/50/16's - so they lower the car a considerable amount without lowering blocks or dropped spindles either one.

I used a shorter/thinner spacer in the rear - I don't remember if they were 1-1/2 or 1-1/4 - but there is room to go in another 1/4 with no problems before you would hit the spring leaf (on a T'bird). Which might allow running the skirts if someone wanted to. I do know that the springs don't appear to be parallel and you've got to look at the sidewall clearance front and rear.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Gary,



That is the information I was looking for. Thank you !



Jim

  Jim Rowe Elkhorn, NE

Jim, The wheels I'm running are custom made rodster wires. The original steel wheels are 15x5s with 3.75 back spacing for 56 fords. My wires on the front are 16x 5s with 4 inch back spacing and keeping the 215/70R 16s from rubbing the upper ball joints. The 3.75 back spacing may do better, not alot a room playing around with the upper joints.

The rears are 16x6s with a 4.25 inch back space which helps on putting on bigger tires for a more aggressive stance. Rear tire size is 225/70R 16s. If going for lower stance tires such as 65s or 60s you should be OK on the rear.

On the front keep the 3.75 or drop to 3.5 back spacing and I think you can go with a wider wheel say 5.5 to 6 inch just keep in mind you don't want to hit the fenders in a tight turn.

-Gary Burnette-

Gary,



Do you happen to know the back spacing on these 16" wheels? Are they steel or aftermarket aluminum? Brand of the wheels?



Thanks

Jim

  Jim Rowe Elkhorn, NE

I'm running 16s on my 56 bird and seem to be better than the original 15s as far as distance from the upper a arm ball joint goes. I am running disc brakes on the front but the 16s still push the buldge of the tire alittle higher and farther away from the upper ball joint.

-Gary Burnette-

Jim, You are correct, you didn't ask for my opinion... sometimes I guess I take the definition of a Forum too literally... And I most certainly was not trying to change your mind on what size wheels you run on Your Car.

BOB