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Lookie what $5000 buys you....

For the past couple of hours, I've been looking online for tires.
The front wheels here are 16 x 7 so the sizes for that width are readily available. I can get a 245 or 255 50-16 from a wide variety of manufacturers.
However.....
The rear wheels being 10 inches wide is great for filling out the wheelwell. The 16 inch diameter is the hard part. I can get drag radials in a 295-50-16 size but so far, I can't find anything street legal. Everything so far is ultrashort tread if any at all, or slicks. This won't be a track only car.
A 295-50-15 is readily available. The 17 and 18" diameter is better for 295 series tires too.
I'll keep looking. Maybe I will find something. There are Mickey Thompsons on these wheels right now but they are date coded 2013. I'm not settling for 12 year old tires!
I'm not sure if I will stick with these wheels or not. It might make more sense to step back to a 15 or up to a 17. The 16" diameter size seems to be an orphan.
 
Thank you, I did see that. The near lack of tread has me spooked a bit. I can't imagine that tire would do well if I got caught in rain.
Another thing....I want all 4 tires to have the same tread pattern. The meager tire selection in the 16" rim diameter will limit me.
I've had these wheels for almost 10 years, trying to find a use for them. The huge backspacing of the rear wheels has always made them a non starter.
I bought the van axle specifically to work with these wheels. I could sell the 3rd member and probably come out ahead. At this point, I'm stepping back to think about what options I have.
 
I love the look of these road race cars...

1755406810413.png


One can dream, right?

1755406837775.png
 
I’ve been bouncing around the same idea for years now, but for my old corvette. Fixed headlight conversion and some other changes, that era of racing just had cooler looking cars that were real cars, or at least started life that way.
 
My 70 Challenger's ride height was about the same as Sam's car. All Sublime green, T/A hood included. Gotta love that look. Means business!
 
Is a 10" wide rim too wide for a 255 series tire?

1756276899834.png

It looks like they think a 9" rim is the limit.

1756276932753.png
 
Kern Dog said:
Is a 10" wide rim too wide for a 255 series tire?
Click to expand...
No, for handling having the wheel just slightly wider than tread width is generally the best, as it supports the sidewall. I'd be more concerned using what's basically a drag radial on a car I wanted to handle well, the design parameters are somewhat in opposition to each other.
 
Are there any publications on replacing framerails? This thread is helping a lot. I need the left replaced, which I'm doing.

Thanks
 
Auggie56 said:
Are there any publications on replacing framerails? This thread is helping a lot. I need the left replaced, which I'm doing.

Thanks
Click to expand...


leave the k frame bolted to the other rail....... bolt the new rail to the k frame........ using the hood/door/fender gaps, and a little common sense will get you there :)

and you prob want to remove the torsion bar from that side, maybe
 
For all the crap that people have said about panel gaps being bad in these cars, I’ve found Mark’s words to be more on point than what others have said. He makes it seem easy… essentially what I interpret from him is Bolt the fenders and doors on, the hood too. If the panels are gapped right, the structure HAS TO BE in the right place.
I did this very thing and it worked out.
Without any precise jigs, no lasers, no micrometers, no string lines or anything high tech. I used jack stands, floor jacks, wood shims, self tapping screws to hold the structure together and paint stir sticks to use as a gauge for the panel gaps.
Awhile after the structural work, I got the car running and took it out on the road. It had no professional alignment but it tracked straight. Later I did align it myself using some tools I got to do alignments and it was already really close to my target numbers.
Yes, the car aligned as if it had never been wrecked. It tracks straight. The front tires don’t squeal, the car does not crab-walk. It feels solid and stable.
I was sure that I’d need to take the car to a frame shop to tweak it. Mark gave me the push that I needed to do it myself. Thanks El Dubb 440!
 
Kern Dog said:
For all the crap that people have said about panel gaps being bad in these cars,
Click to expand...

I have come across two OEM fenders that were a problem; but overall, original Mopar metal fits....... I suppose there were lazy workers on the assembly line who would leave something out of adjustment; but for the most part an original body fits together nicely.
 
At the shop I managed the techs showed me that even after frame pulls on vehicles, getting the targets at +/- 3mm, you still needed to hang your bolt on components to the vehicle to verify they all lined up. Many times they needed to pull on the upper structures some to get it all groovy. Same goes when replacing big or many panels as Eldubb shows. Get all the players in on the act. Even glass and trim if affected.
 
Kern Dog said:
For the past couple of hours, I've been looking online for tires.
The front wheels here are 16 x 7 so the sizes for that width are readily available. I can get a 245 or 255 50-16 from a wide variety of manufacturers.
However.....
The rear wheels being 10 inches wide is great for filling out the wheelwell. The 16 inch diameter is the hard part. I can get drag radials in a 295-50-16 size but so far, I can't find anything street legal. Everything so far is ultrashort tread if any at all, or slicks. This won't be a track only car.
A 295-50-15 is readily available. The 17 and 18" diameter is better for 295 series tires too.
I'll keep looking. Maybe I will find something. There are Mickey Thompsons on these wheels right now but they are date coded 2013. I'm not settling for 12 year old tires!
I'm not sure if I will stick with these wheels or not. It might make more sense to step back to a 15 or up to a 17. The 16" diameter size seems to be an orphan.
Click to expand...

Kern Dog said:
Is a 10" wide rim too wide for a 255 series tire?
Click to expand...

Rennkafer said:
No, for handling having the wheel just slightly wider than tread width is generally the best, as it supports the sidewall. I'd be more concerned using what's basically a drag radial on a car I wanted to handle well, the design parameters are somewhat in opposition to each other.
Click to expand...

I feel like the dude that keeps going back to an ex girlfriend that isn't perfect for him but is convenient.
The nice wheels that I really like....

ET wheel.jpg


Will surely cost well over $1500, the tires about $1200. I would be more likely to spend that to have these wheels for this car...

70 500.JPG


I think it would be fun to have two sets of wheels for the red car.
For Jigsaw, the plan is very fluid. Way back near the beginning, I thought of getting it running and just selling it to score some cash. Over the past 6 years I've considered a 3G Hemi swap, a 440, a stroked 383, a stroked 360 or 5.9 but all of them with some type of overdrive automatic.
I've thought of building the car to run on road courses, autocross, maybe even drifting. I love the NASCAR vibe and that is why I keep coming back to the idea of using the big black steel wheels. Why? Because they are FREE and are already here.
1761259272173.png


These tires have a treadwear of 100 ! That is sticky. A 255 will fit a 10 inch wide wheel. I remember way back in the late 80s there were mini trucks running 205-50-15s on 15 x 10 wheels so it can be done.
 
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