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69 roadrunner wheel/tire upgrade help

devanwon

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hillsboro oregon
Hi guys, new here! My dad finally gave me his car he bought new. 69 roadrunner 383 4spd, number matching, 30k miles all original never restored or touched. He had changed the wheels in the late 70’s to an American racing torque thrust. They are a 14” x 6” wide with a p235/60/14 tire. wheels are not true anymore so wanting to upgrade them, same style classic torque thrust but go to like a 17” front & 18” rear or something along those lines. My question is will an 8” wide wheel work, and what tire size should I be running when I upgrade?

Thanks for the help, this site is great a lot of helpful information.

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Personally I like a tad narrower in the front ... like a 7". 8" fits nicely in the rear on a stock car. You'll want 4-1/2" backspacing on the rears. The front is personal preference - 3-1/2 will be a deeper wheel but will match the rears in depth when looking at them. I like the idea of going with the bigger wheels - with the right tire size it'll look great.

This is my car back in '73 ... 383 4 speed, post car, bench seats, power front discs AND Y2 yellow ... the sister to yours !! Still have it ... but its red now !

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View this thread and there are others too if you do a search.

 
Welcome nice looking Roadrunner
 
If I was doing it:.......
17x7 gray torquethrust on the front ARE-VN3097765. 4" BS, and....
17x8 gray torquethrust on the rear ARE-VN3097865. 4.5 BS... with
225-60x17 front tires, and....
245-55x17 or 275-50x17 rear.
All three of those tires are 27 or more tall, avoiding the rubber band look on the larger wheels.
An upgrade to tires and wheels, that retain the look that your runner has always had.
 
If I was real well-off, and I wanted a little different, but the same.....
I'd get 17" daisies, in gray or polished. (I'd prefere gray, but oh well)
But they are around $500/wheel.
 
My personal opinion; big wheels with rubber band tires look like crap on classic musclecars. More for the Rice Rocket crowd.
 
A 17” wheel does not necessitate a “rubber band” tire ! Drag your old *** into the 21st century.
 
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