Aftermarket wheels on a lowered '69

[Big Ben 69]

Hey everyone,
I bought this car about 6 years ago mostly restored (pics below) and I haven't altered it much other than a few repairs and a few needed engine upgrades...but she's a '69 coupe with a lowered suspension (can't tell how he did it exactly or how many inches lower than stock) and keystone klassic 14x7's with a 3 1/2" backspacing...Now one of the wheels has suddenly become...unusable and cragar, in their infinite wisdom, decided not to make 14x7 keystone klassics anymore...so After searching ebay and craigslist everyday for a replacement klassic (and buying one that had the wrong backspacing...I'm an idiot for not checking that) I've started to consider replacing the whole set with a new set of american racing torq thrust II wheels.

The only problem is the backspacing is 4" rather than the 3 1/2" on the keystones so I'm wondering if that would cause any kind of rubbing problems...and how noticeable the difference would be looking at it...personally I think they look perfect right now as far as how much they stick out.
I was also considering bumping them up to 15x8's which would stick out the same as the keystone's but would stick in an extra inch and probably require a larger tire. The current tires are P215/60R14 (24.2" overall diameter according to bf goodrich).
I also thought about going crazy and doing 17's but i dont know if i like larger wheels on old muscle cars.
So I guess what I'm asking is how bad of a difference would pushing the wheels and tires 1/2" inward would cause and would it be hard to go up to 15" wheels and tires with my current setup with the car being dropped and all (are there tires that would keep the 24.2" overall diameter and not rub when I steer or hit bumps)?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[69PaleHorse]

Big Ben,

Let me be the first to welcome you to the board!

Now, on to your question...

4" backspacing should be no problem on the wheel sizes you are considering. A lot of discussion has taken place on the types/sizes of wheels and what they fit. So much so, that one of the members of this board put together a pretty nice fitment guide.

http://www.dodgestang.com/Tire Fitment Guide 69-70.pdf

Hope this helps with your decision.

 

[Big Ben 69]

Thanks,

After talking with a friend of mine and examining the options I'm actually leaning towards 15x8's now with 225/60SR15's and 275/60SR15's.
The american racing 15x8's have a 4 1/2" backspace so it will go inward an inch, and I've seen it done on another mustang and it looks like a beast.

 

[ForceFed70]

Between 4" and 5" is usually perfect. Go with 4.5" and you'll be good.

17's are no problem on a 69/70.

Here's a couple of pics of my 70 (69/70 are almost identical when it comes to wheel/tire options).

Front wheels are 18x8's with 245/40/R18's and 5" backspacing.
Rear wheels are 18x9's with 275/35/R18's and 5.5" backspacing.
Car is lowered 3", no rubbing problems but I did need to roll the front fender lips.

 

[meweehaa]

When you put on your 18s did you use a spacer up front or in the rear? How much room do you have up front on the inside? I want to use 17X9 with 245/45/17 and I have seen articles sayng it will fit and other articles saying I need to use a spacer. I don't want to use a spacer so I am really trying to get away from it. Thank you in advance.

 

[ForceFed70]

The rubber is what rubs, not the wheels(with correct backspacing).. and 245 rubber fits without problems, but you may need to roll the fender lips if your car is lowered.

My wheels were originally all 18x9's and I ran a 1" spacer. But hold on here... I used a spacer because I wanted to use OEM wheels (well replicas at least) that didn't have the correct backspacing for my car. Get wheels with the correct backspacing and you don't need spacers at all.

Also, I'd reconsider 9" wheels up front. They will look funny with 245 rubber... the wheel will be wider that the rubber and very vulnerable to curb rash. I had my front wheels narrowed to 8" wide just for this reason. Wide wheels only look cool when you have the wide rubber to match.

 

[meweehaa]

I have been seeing that guys were running 250-40-17 so will that be wide enough? If I need to go 17x8 I will but I just want to know what the backspacing needs to be for whichever wheel I use.

 

[bnickel]

i'm runnning 17x8 E'brock 454's with 245/45/17 Falken Rubber and they fit great, no pics right now but i'll have some this weekend.

 

[BlwnGazkit]

There's nothing wrong with running wheels with spacers which bolt on. It's just like the wheel originally had that backspacing.

The adapters (spacers) can be a bit expensive for the bolt-on type. Even the ones from www.ezaccessory.com are $70+ for a pair...

 

[meweehaa]

I am currently running 17x8 wheels now with spacers, 1" I think. I am unsure of the backspacing on the rims but I am assuming 5.5". I would rather not have to use the spacers. If I can get the backspacing correct then the spacers will not be needed and I can pull them off. If the 245 45 is not quite wide enough for the 9" rim then what size would you suggest? 255 40? I just want to hear from someone that knows this is a viable combo for my 69.



Bnickel, are you running spacers and what is the backspacing on the wheels you are using?

 

[bnickel]

no spacers, the backspacing is 4.5" they are a prefect fit. honestly, to have enough meat on a 9" rim you need at least a 275 tire, IMO, 255 is the absolute smallest i would run but even that is still a little too narrow for a 9" and still have adequate rubber to keep curb rash at a minimum. if it were me, i would use an 8" rim in the front with a 245/45 or 255/40 and a 9" rim out back with a 275/40 or 285/40. just my opinion, of course.

personally i prefer my old 15" wheels and when i get the 69 cougar going i'm going back to a 15" wheel on it.

 

[meweehaa]

Thanks Bnickel. I appreciate the help and your opinion. I may very well stick with 8".

 

[ForceFed70]

no spacers, the backspacing is 4.5" they are a prefect fit. honestly, to have enough meat on a 9" rim you need at least a 275 tire, IMO, 255 is the absolute smallest i would run but even that is still a little too narrow for a 9" and still have adequate rubber to keep curb rash at a minimum. if it were me, i would use an 8" rim in the front with a 245/45 or 255/40 and a 9" rim out back with a 275/40 or 285/40. just my opinion, of course.

x2

I have 275's on the rear of my car with 9" rims and the rubber is just a tad wider than the wheel. I would have prefered to go with 285's but there was a huge jump in cost so I settled with 275's.

 

[Steve69]

So Bottle fed you went with a 18x8 rim on the front with what
kind of backspacing?

What did you do to lower it 3 inches and what kind of springs
did you use?

How does the car drive after lowering it?

Thanks

 

[ForceFed70]

- With the 18x8's I'm running approx 4.75 - 5" of backspacing.

- To lower the front, I cut out 1.25 coils from the stock springs. My plan was to try this 1st and if I didn't like the results, buy lowering springs. I'm really happy with the results. Car handles much better, doesn't seem to scrape very often, and still rides nice. Only complaint is the stiffer ride, but there's not really a way to get around that.

- For the rear I bought lowering springs (reverse eye) and ran a slightly shorter shackle.