Has anyone put 8" wide wheels on the rear of a 67-76 Dart? What size tires did you use? Did it clear everywhere ok? I can get both 7's and 8's with the proper back space for a Dart. Also, has anyone put 16" low profile wheels and tires on a 67-76 Dart? Did that work OK? Thanks.

Sam

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I've put the 16x8s off my '64 Dart onto the '68 Dart and they worked fine. 17X8s should also be just fine and tire selection is much greater these days. Tons of handling guys have used 8" rims on 67-up A-bodies. 9" is possible too...

A really nice cheap 16x7.5 is ~2000 V6 Mustang rims. I got a set of 4 shipped with caps for $200 off ebay a few months back. 17x8s from '99-2003 Mustang GTs are also a nice choice for not much more $$.

I could talk about rims all day long... Done lots of research there. For really cool lightweight rims, look at edgeracing.com at their Mustang selections.

I have a set of 17X9s that will go on Project V this Summer.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks Lou, What was the application of the wheels you have on your '64. Many guys selling stuff on the net will know only what the application was. Even the stores I have walked into don;t know any more. There are several used wheel stores around whose prices are pretty reasonable.

Did you think the 16" rim was a good idea? Thanks again.

Sam

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I like the 16s, but tires are getting more scarce, choice-wise. There is still plenty out there at the moment.

Ask for 2000 Mustang specs. 5.72" backspacing on an 8" rim.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Is that 5.72" backspacing? You would need a 1.5" spacer with that, no? What size studs would you need to put in?

I went to Big Block Dart and browsed awhile looking for tire and wheel info. It seems that guys have run just about any size you can imagine. Of course some have relocated the springs, and some have tubbed, and min-tubbed, but for stock application, 215-225 is considered pretty mild as long as you keep the aspect ratio down in the 60 and below numbers.

It seems like 215-55X16" is workable, and this tire is available from pretty much every manufacturer. I liked the BFG KDW's on my Corvette. They were nice tires at a very reasonable price new. They were almost $100 cheaper each than the stinking Eagles that came on it. More than likely I would look to put 205's on the front and 215's on the back.

Sam

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Sam,

225/50R16 fits on a 7" wide wheel and with the right backspacing fits easily under the car. Why do you want smaller tires and why stagger the size?

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Joshua

I can tell I need more grip in the rear. There is oversteer after a point that I think will go away with a bigger rear tire. Part of this is the massive trunk and rear springs sticking out behind the rear wheels create more yaw than the average auto on the road these days.

Thanks for thhe feed back. I am not doing anything on this soon. I have a few front end kinks to work out first, and the new intercooloer to engineer now. This car is finally generating more inspiration than frustration. It is once again exciting after several years of misfires, so to speak with the EFI.

Sam

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I agree with Josh. 225/50-16 is a better size and staggered not necessary. A-bodies can easily accept 5" backspace on 8" rim, and I have <0.75" spacers on front of my '64 and 5/16" in the back due to the wider BBP axles and discs on my 8.75" axle.

I did run a 1" spacer (hub centric) on the V with those wheels on a 56.5" wide axle.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Lou, I suspect your 4 dr design, and bigger rear, plus lack of front bumper weight probably give you a better front/rear weight bias than my 2 dr hard top. And I am sure you are a better driver than I am. I am just playing around here to have fun on the street. How it handles is just kind of an academic issue with me. Can I fix it? As Bob the Builder would say, "Yes He Can". If you have kids in your life that comments makes sense. If not, look it up online. It is pretty cool.

Lou,what size studs are you running? ARe they longer than stock? Also, where did you get your spacers? I have found 1/4" and 1/2" on line, but not 3/4".

Sam

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I have ARP 3" studs I cut down to about 2", all around. I have the bargain basement Mr. Gasket spacers with 2 stacked up 1/4" + 7/16" to give 0.7" in front and single 5/16" in the back.

I've seen a couple of Bob clips, but I'm not too familiar.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

The Bob the Builder mantra is "Can we do it?, Yes we can!". What an empowering thing for kids to get in their heads. Heck, its empowering for me.

Thanks for the info on the studs. I would assume you have wrung their necks, so to speck on the track.

Let me know if you see anything on e-bay that would be appropriate. It seems 16x8 might be the ticket. This commits me to new tires, but I don;t mind that. These are pretty old. They look good, but Michlin radials have a way of going bad in the side walls long before they wear out the tread. I put 70K miles on my first Duster's radials, and had to throw them away because the side walls dry rotted.

Sam

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Sam,

We can always do it, no matter what it is!

Yes the studs/wheels have given no bad "peeps" on the track, now with stickier tires.

Also, I wonder if your oversteer problem is simply that your rear springs are too stiff? You have a lot of spring rate in the back for that car with the two main leafs and thick pack. I have had stiffer rear springs that made my car way more tail happy than I liked. This should be a simple fix.

So I should shop for wheels for you now, huh?
Here are a few ebay items to look at:
250260651100
120273064143
120273769106

Search "mustang 16 wheel" or "mustang 17 wheel" or "mustang 16 rim"

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Nah, you don't need to shop wheels for me, unless you like spending other people's money. I always bought my Dad's cars for him, and it was almost as much fun as if I had gotten to keep the car myself. But I am a little unsure of buying something that will not fit. Can you shed a little light on what a 38 mm positive offset means. I only know backspacing numbers. I might like to run any potential purchases past you. I did a search,and there are tons of buys on e-bay. Most of them, I did not like, but there will likely always be something there when I want it.

Sam

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Zero offset means the wheel mounting surface is exactly centered between the edges of the rims, so that would be 4.5" backspace on an 8" rim. Positive offset means more backspacing, so 38 mm positive would be 38/25.4 = 6" backspace on an 8" rim. That would be a bit more than you want.

I think the 2000 Mustang 16s were 30 mm pos offset on a 7.5" rim?? Stock 2000 Mustang 17s are 5.72" backspace or +31 mm offset.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Clear your math up a bit...........


38mm / (25.4 mm/in) = 1.5"

1.5" + 4.5" (backspace on centered 8" rim) = 6.0" backspace....

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes