65 caliente wheel size, help please.

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jtgb428
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65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by jtgb428 »

jim here, my 65 comet has a set of keystone classics with P195-75R14 tires on it, the tires are shot. i purchased a cherry set of old school cragar slotted mags with new rubber on the mags. the tire size is P245-60R14 for the rear tires and P205-60R14 for the front. i jacked up the car today and the rear tires wont fit, they seem to wide. what puzzles me is these tires and rims came off of a 64-65 ford falcon. I assumed this would be a sure fit. Your help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Jim.

Lip Ripper
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by Lip Ripper »

They must've had the wheel well lips cut out.
66 Cyclone GT; 245/60R15's on 15x8's and 215/70R15's on 15x7 Magnum's.
There's nothing like the sound of a pushrod V8 singing at the top of her lung's.

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Lip Ripper wrote:They must've had the wheel well lips cut out.
They must have. I have a friend with a 65 falcon with 205's on the back, and you have to force your pinky finger between the tire and wheel wells. They frequently scrape on sharp turns and bumps. No way could he get 245's on there. What rim width and backspace do you have on the two types of wheels?
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jtgb428
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by jtgb428 »

Do you think air shocks might cure the problem...thanks, Jim.

Comechero65
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by Comechero65 »

Probably not enough backspacing on the wheels. I run 205/70R14's on wheels with 4 1/4" bs with no issues on the 65 ranchero. Only problem, I have to jack up the back by the frame not the axle to allow the axle to drop all the way to the end of the shocks to get the wheel on or off. Front same size with no issues.
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by Jims65cyclone »

My friend was running 3-3/4" BS. 4-1/4" BS would have given him at least 3/4" to 1" clearance. That's why I asked about the specs on the new rims. If the old and new rims are the same width and BS, the difference in tire size alone will put the new tires 0.2" closer to the wheel well on each side. If the new rims are any wider, or have a lesser BS than the old rims, it only makes it worse. The new tires will also make your spedo read about 7% too fast.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?ti ... -205-60r14
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Here's some additional info that may be of help.
https://www.rsracing.com/TechWheel.aspx
Jim
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redhotcomet
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Re: 65 caliente wheel size, help please.

Post by redhotcomet »

Cut the bumpstops off!

I'm running 235/60R14s, 4.25" back spacing , 14x7 wheels, cut off bumpstops. And an explorer 8.8.
1964 Caliente hardtop, 302/T5/8.8"

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