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How tight are tires going to be with these wheels?

Secret Chimp

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I picked up my super cool 17 inch Stocktons for my 67 Coronet station wagon today. They're the older run that use Mopar centers, 17x8 and 17x10.
I test fitted the rears after learning my car has a tighter fenderwell than 68s and up – I'm pretty tight up next to the fender, but it looks like I might be able to get away with it with just rolling the fender lip up some. I can't tell how much clearance I'm going to get for the tire further up inside of the fender though.

I'm planning on using a 255/40-17 tire, so it's going to be a bit of a stretch on the rim (not much sidewall poking out) and about 4.5 inches tall.

Here's what it looks like bolted on. I have the weight of the car on the axle in these photos
YzKNu6Cl.jpg


And rim-to-lip clearance:

OeiP40Ol.jpg


Could I get away with it, or am I going to have to do something to the fenderwell to keep from rubbing (and what?)? I have an anti-roll bar on the rear but I do load up the car a bit sometimes.
 
It looks like a fantasy for you to fit tires on those wheels under your fender well. I'm having the same problem with my 68. I want L60's but don't think it's going to happen after doing a 4 wheel power brake swap. Changed my clearance.
 
Is it possible to dent or press the fenderwell outward toward the quarter panel? I can't tell if there's a rib or something there or if it's just empty space.
 
get some smaller tires and have them stretched like all the gay tuners do
 
why not just torch the the wheel well and raise it 2 feet also.
 
LOL is this some kind of offensive question?
Seems it is to some. Looks to me you need to go with a smaller rim....not so wide. 66-67 cars have some pretty narrow wheel wells plus there's a 'bump' in the outer part for body clearance but it doesn't seem to match the body sheet metal very good. A test fit will tell you the real truth but looks to me that you don't stand a chance with those.
 
I tried to use a guard roller to push that wheel arch lump out that your talking about. I couldn't get it to budge. More heat and a hammer might move it if your game.

You could roll the lip and run a tyre size that will fit really nicely, but in the end I think your still going to foul on that wheel well bulge/lump. If you can fix that, they will be a really nice fitting wheel - assuming you don't want a more traditional sunken massive wheel look - more of a modern 'flusher' fit.
 
I'd cut about an inch out of the center of each wheel and weld them back together...

Yeah, I thought of that too and I'm trying to find a shop that can be trusted do that. The only shop that explicitly advertises wheel widening/narrowing near me is up in Richmond, BC though. Wheel shops I've found in my state so far only do repairs. I'm starting to bug locals for leads.

- - - Updated - - -

I tried to use a guard roller to push that wheel arch lump out that your talking about. I couldn't get it to budge. More heat and a hammer might move it if your game.

You could roll the lip and run a tyre size that will fit really nicely, but in the end I think your still going to foul on that wheel well bulge/lump. If you can fix that, they will be a really nice fitting wheel - assuming you don't want a more traditional sunken massive wheel look - more of a modern 'flusher' fit.

Thanks, that's good to know.. I'm not opposed to messing around with the metal up in there but I was kind of hoping I could just jam it out with a roller tool like guys

After I saw your post though I got an idea, and I finally found some photos of this platform without the rear quarters on. It looks like the fenderwell is constructed no different than you'd think:
sidewindow.jpg


I can see how the narrower upper section would be pretty resistant to bending outwards (you're asking the upper section to stretch unless you get the side metal pliable). If heat doesn't do it, it looks like I could just buzz out the offending section of the fenderwell and install a 90 degree box in its place.
 
kosmanspecialties.com in Northern California can narrow or widen pretty much any wheel.
 
A little under an inch maybe? The second picture on my first post shows the fender lip, so that plus my little cardboard-width gap there.
 
I think you are going to have to narrow your rims. You should have about 1/2" clerance around the tires. You can do some research and play around with tire size calculators to help guide a decision on how wide of a tire on what size rim to determin how much width you need to take out of the rims vs clerancing the wheel wells.
 
Bolt he rim on and use a stright edge 1 1/2" wide & about 26" long, place it aginst the rim and turn it around to all the places a trie will be. If it hits anywhere, thats where you will rub. If you have a 1/2" of clearance, your good to go. check inside and outside. You can also use this for determining backspacing. by laying the stright edge on the wheel mounting surface. Just remember you want 2" clearance from the wheel. The tire will bulge 1 to 1 1/4" leaving you 3/4" to 1" for tire movement up and down and side movement on corners. If you are planing on running a 29" tire you might want to use a little longer stright edge.
 
I found some photos of a 255/45 and 255/40 tire on a 17 (on a Mustang) and it looks like the sidewall should at least be square if not pulled inward a little, depending on the individual tire (front tire in these photos):
http://imageshack.us/a/img199/3641/img00901.JPG
http://imageshack.us/a/img12/9559/img0144rw.jpg

I know I'll be close but I think I can make it work. These wheels aren't very common (this is the only set I've ever seen) so I don't want to cut them unless my only other option is deforming the quarter panel itself.
 
Take this, naysayers:

tMRW6PL.jpg


I rolled about 10 inches of the fender lip up about 50 degrees and I don't even need to mess with the fenderwell for this tire (too-short 255/40). The 255/45 I was planning on should only require a dent at most.
 
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