66 tire rub

65CLNTE · Post by **65CLNTE** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:02 pm

Well I just picked up a 66 Caliente convertible. It needs a top, interior, and paint, and not much else (yeah, right). It has mid 80s lincoln wheels with 215/70R15 tires, and they rub the front of the front fenders, and not just turning. These aren't huge tires, but should they rub like this, or is there something wrong with the front end?

Any ideas?

thanks
Bryan

Post by **lavron** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:35 pm

My guess is the offset is wrong on the wheels, possibly shifting the tire too far out, not really good for your steering geometry, if you can get some differant wheels you might try them or at least test fit them.

Take it from me, with 10" wide wheels on my Jeep Cherokee and tons of offset it is hard on front wheel bearings

but it looks cool

Se Ya,
Mike

65CLNTE · Post by **65CLNTE** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:05 pm

Did some checking and banging, and shifted the front fender a little bit forward, so it's at least bearable for now. The Lincoln wheels are 5.75 inches wide and they look okay on the car.

Big problem is with the driver's door; the lower hinge mount of the door (not the hinge) is tweeked, causing the bottom of the door to stick way out. The door functions, just doesn't look pretty.

Thanks
Bryan

Post by **lavron** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:30 am

Might need to have the hinge rebuilt, kits should be available to make it easy.

See Ya,
Mike

rditz · Post by **rditz** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:48 am

The 15" tires are bigger than stock. My '66 Capri 2 door hardtop came with 14" tires and rims. I've read from many members here and on another forum about tires clearances (mostly rear) and have made my own conclusion to stay with the 14"'s to save myself the grief of monkeying around with that stuff...

just my two cents...

Rod

66 Cyclone · Post by **66 Cyclone** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:37 am

I have 195/60R/15 on the front and 215/60R/15 on the rear mounted on 15' American Racing Torque Thrust D's with no clearance problems. They fill the wheel wells good and look better than the 14's. These are mounted on a
'66 Cyclone GT with stock ride height.

Butch[/img]

rditz · Post by **rditz** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:46 am

Butch,

that is good to know.. thanks I may consider 15" rims after all..
I wasn't too sure if I wanted to go bigger because I am running a very tall rear-end in a 2.80:1. I fugured it would be a great cruiser and should still be able to melt those little tires with the T5.

Rod

2x4son66202 · Post by **2x4son66202** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:58 pm

I have 215/60/15 tires on the front and 235/60/15 out back on my 66 Comet 202. This was biggest tire combo I could fit on my car. I tried 235/60/15 up front, but they were too big and I had to step down to the 215/60/15 tires. The only problem I have is if I turn a sharp corner hard, the rear tire will rub on the wheel well lip.

65CLNTE · Post by **65CLNTE** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:56 pm

Problem solved! Found a nice, almost brand new, set of American Racing Torque Thrust Ds, including a spare. What a difference they make, like they were supposed to be on there. All four are 195/60R14, but it was too good of a deal to pass up. Now I have to figure out how to keep from scraping the rear bumper when leaving the driveway.

Bryan