I currently have the 14" rally wheels with 215/75/14 whitewall tires. It looks nice, but I'm ready for a change. I've read through a lot of the posts and it appears that a 15x8 wheel with 5" or 5 1/8" backspacing would be a good fit for a 255/60/15 tire. However, I haven't been able to find out much information about the clearance for the front. What tire size and backspace combination is recommended for the front? I prefer a square setup but I'm not certain a 255 tire will fit up front on my '67. Any thoughts on that? Another option would be the 255's out back and a 7" rim in front with a 215/70/15 tire. What backspacing would be optimal on the front for that setup? I'm leaning toward some custom backspace wheels from billet specialties, so I need to know the correct specs. Thanks.
I used these on an Olds I owned a few years back ( That car had and still has the "Original paint, top, interior, and just about all else.) I bought tires (27" tall for front and 28" for the rear, wheels, lug nuts, center caps, socket for the lug nuts, mounted and balanced shipped to me for $1260. They have several different ones in the "Retro" line. http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-inch-17x...-Chevy-Chevelle-66-72-/331631914111?fits=Year%3A1967%7CModel%3AChevelle&hash=item4d36cd6c7f:g:~ZYAAOSw1ZBUx3uq&vxp=mtr
15" Cragars look great on these cars, always a good choice. 255's seem wide for the front? Good luck!
Re: tire/wheel combo for a '67 special - backspacing question I'm still looking for some specs for the front wheels. Will a 15x8 wheel fit on the front of '67 Special? What is the optimal backspacing? Thanks!
15x7's fit nicely on the front, 4-3/8" backspace. Figure about 5" backspace for a 15x8. I won't say it's optimum, i haven't checked. I run 235/60-15's on the front of my 66's, mounted on 15x7 Buick wheels.
Wheelvintique supplies 15x8 Buick rally wheels with "standard" 4 1/2" back spacing. Naturally, they will do custom offsets too. I put some 255/60 x 15 TAs on these wheels, and the rear tires just scrape the insides of the (unrolled) fenders on my '67 Special. No problem up front. I will be trying some 245's soon.
Any pics of the 255's on the front? I'm looking at some custom backspacing, probably 5". Would that have given you enough clearance in the rear? Do you think that extra 1/2" of backspacing would be okay on the front? Thanks!
For the rear, another 1/2" of backspace would be near ideal, centering the tire in the wheelwell. 5" for a 15x7, or 5-1/2" for a 15x8. Would be a good idea to double check on your car. Put a straightedge on the brake drum/wheel mounting surface and measure to the inner wheel well and to the fender lip. Then calculate how much you need to offset the wheel. If you end up with a little too much backspace and tire is too close to the inside, you could install a wheel spacer to move it out a little (1/4" to 1/2"). May not be the best solution, but it is a fix. On the flip side, you can't 'fix' a fit problem if you get wheels with insufficient backspace, other than doing sheetmetal mods.
