Hello everyone,

First a disclaimer--I know DIDDLY about wheels, tires, bolt patterns and backspacing. So please resist the urge to pull out your rubber hose and flog me senseless. I just need a little educating and hope a kind soul will help me out.

I just bought a 62 Lancer with tires that are atleast 20 years old. So I know they are on the list of things that will need upgrading pretty soon. I need some advice on what diameter, width and backspacing I should be looking for in a new set of rims.

I'd like to get a set of Cragar SSs in 14" or 15". The current stock tires are 185x85x13. So I figured on either 195x75x14 or 205x65x15 or something to that effect. What I need to know is:

1-What width rim should I be looking for the above tires? the 14" would work on a 6" rim? the 15" move to a 7" rim?

2-What backspacing would I need to keep these tires tucked underneath fine? Is a 205 tire too wide or would I be ok?

3-What is the bolt pattern I've got? I've heard talk of the 4 on 5 and other patterns and I want to be clear as to what I'm looking for.

4-Would I have any interference if I decided at some point down the road to switch to front discs or something? My current brakes seem decent and I haven't rebuilt them at all, so I'm not sure if that's a necessary conversion.

5--What kind of tires would people recommend as a good all-around tire? I'm not going to be hotrodding or anything. I was looking at the BFG Traction or something in that range.

Thanks for the help! Also if there is a website with this background feel free to point me in that direction! Thanks for your help in advising a newb!

MJ

A 62 lancer will have the 4 inch 5 lug bolt circle or SBP (small bolt pattern)
as long as nothing was swapped by a previous owner. The selection of
rims is somewhat limited for that pattern. I chose to go with 14 inch 5.5 inch wide rallye wheels for my 61 Valiant. These will fit easily into the fender wells. I plan to use 205 70series 14in tires. These tires need at
least a 5 in wide rim. The disc brakes I just finished are the Kelsy Hayes
4 piston jobs - rotors (at $90) and calipers (at $130) seem very pricy for this setup, but still less hassle than swapping out the rearend to get the
same bolt pattern on all four corners of the car. The 14 inch rallye rims will have enough clearance for this disc setup. I have heard some of the
aftermarket disc conversion kits need 15 inch rims for clearance. Also be
aware that moving from the 13x4 rims to 15x? rims will effectively change
your rear end ratio due to the larger tire circumference.

Relic--

Thanks for the info on the bolt patterns and disc brakes. Why did you choose to go all 4 vs. just the fronts? Do you have a link I can check out on these?

Also, as for tires, I was reducing the sidewall height to keep the same wheel diameter. http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp has a calculator that tells you what will work. The 15s will be fine as long as I reduce the height from 85 to 65.

Also what kind of backspacing did you use? or how is it measured? Inside of the bolt plate to the edge of the rim?

Here's a list of them, with different backspacing for 14x6 4 on 5 bolt pattern: [ur/]http://www.newstalgiawheel.com/listproducts.asp?cat=10151[/url]

Thanks again!

The biggest changes in handling and response will come from going to a 60 series tire or shorter. Anything 70 or above will be sloppy. There is not a big jump from 60 series to 50 series in terms of performance.

From what you have said, I'd say a 15X7 with 225/50-15s or 225/60-15s would be a good choice. You may have trouble finding these rims to fit your 5X4" bolt pattern, but $$ will buy anything (Wheel Vintiques...). I have 14X7 rims with 215/60 or 225/60 14s on my '68 Dart and they work very well. You can supposedly still get the "outlaw II" style wheel (at least from Les Schwab in Canada) in that size for pretty cheap.

Tire choice is another factor. 14s are getting harder to find, especially in perf tires.

Lou

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would i have to increase the backspacing at all to keep that 225 from sticking out?

The backspacing is measured just like you wrote -
from the inner rim to the lug mount surface. Just put a board across
the back of the rim and measure from the edge of the board to the
backside of the lug pattern. Now you have backspacing.

When I wrote all 4 - I meant all 4 wheels had the same 5 x 4inch lug
pattern - which was stock on the car. I still have the 9 inch drums on
the back and discs in the front. I have some pictures of the suspension
being rebuilt - but none are on the web anywhere yet.

I tracked down a used set of stock small bolt pattern 14 inch rallye
wheels - They were stock on some A-body cars at least for 68 to 72
( I am not sure what bolt pattern was for 73-76). Since these rims
were stockers I knew they would fit and never measured the backspacing.

I have 205/70/14 on my 62 valiant, they rub(front) when turning sharply (once in a awhile) I'm running 14x6" slots, I'm going to put 14x7 on the rear with a fatter tire (no reason) just for looks. Gotta keep the toads hopping

ok so it sounds like sticking with 14x6 or 14x7 with 195s or 205s at the widest would be the best. Thanks. I was concerned about rub and how much tension the stock suspension could take if I reduced the sidewall height.

MJ

I've found some 5-on-4 cragars that are 15" but the narrowest they make is 7" Would the width of the time (7" vs 6") on 205/60/15s make any difference? Just needing some advice.

where did you find them? i work in a tire store and noone makes 15"wheels in the 5 on 4" bolt circle anymore if they ever did. i would like a set, but cannot find them. thanks-Randy

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all mopar all the time

where did you find them? i work in a tire store and noone makes 15"wheels in the 5 on 4" bolt circle anymore if they ever did. i would like a set, but cannot find them. thanks-Randy[/quote]

http://www.centerlinewheels.com/wheels_ ... 5&sw_id=81

http://www.wheelvintiques.com/catalog.html

http://www.coyswheel.com/coys.html

Small bolt pattern wheels are available, but style/size selection is limited.

VM

I prefer the look of cragar s/s to the solid wheels, and they are available

summit has them i know, but i'm sure others do too

those coy's wheels are also availabe on ebay. Personally, I can't imagine doing a +4 on my lancer and going from a 13" rim to a 17". I know it will look pimpin and all, but i think my whole suspension would fall apart at that point. Anyone ever put these wheels on an early a-body? I'd like to see some pics (and no I won't belittle you for doing it--to each their own!)

MJ

I think solid buket type wheels, like those centerlines look awesome. Every now and then I see this guy driving his light blue valiant wagon around with those rims, the thing looks like it could run 10's.

there's a set for sale on moparts right now--they're almost new and he wants $350 for them....they're all yours!

MJ

The '74 Dart Sport we are rebuilding had SBP drums all around. The '76 Duster we bought for our disc brake swap has LBP. So, now the "Dartster" has LBP all around (we swapped rear ends also).

Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.