Thread: Followup post on wheels and tires for 41` coupe

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I asked on 6/24/15 about radial tires for my 41` chevy coupe. My new question is how can I determine if 15x7 gm rally wheels will fit in the rear wheel well. The offset is 4". The well well opening is 11". The original rear end is 61.50" from face of drum to face of drum. The camaro is 60" drum to drum. The body is off the car and the fenders are off the body. Will I be able to use those rallys? 34_40 helped me with my last post on figuring out off sets(Thank you 34_40).

farmerdick

I am a novice in most cases here but I don't see how you can possibly tell what the clearance will tolerate unless the Car is together. However, maybe one of our Gurus have a magic technique. Good Luck with this - - - - meller

maybe should put this on the shop tip thread-------if you want to visualy see and/or mock up rear wheels/tires for measurements that you can get your head around------go buy a 4 x 4 board at one of the Menards, Home Depot, Lowes stores-cut it the length of your axle housing flange to flange and attach your wheels to the ends-------If you want to work out desired clearances you can make another one longer buy the amount of clearance you desire and also maybe one shorter for inside clearance---these will give you a go to constant measure ment that you can use for mock up or visualization.


If you want to be a little more exact (well, maybe anal like me) you can get a set of wheel spacers a couple inches thick in the bolt pattern of the wheel/axles you'll be using and a piece of pipe or heavy wall(even thin wall) the spacers I have are 2 7/8 center hole and I bored them out to fit on 3 inch tube ( get a piece from drive shaft shop ) the one inch or thicker plates will stay square on the tubing and you can drill/tap for set screws to lock them in place if you make a longer shop tool vs a set up for just a single project--if you use the same size rear end mounts you can do a mock up for your rear suspension with it also-----hope this helps some one and if you need clarification maybe I could e mail pic------

Glad to have help Farmerdick!
Jerry - flip me to pic.. and I'll cut it down to size.

Thanks for the tips guys. I will do a mock up with the rims I want to use and see what it looks like.

farmerdick

heavier and couple more dollars, but if you use a 6 x 6 the wheel bol;t pattern can be use to lag bolt tire/wheel to end and frame can set flat on top side which would also set lowest ridehight with a inch or two of clearance frame to rear axle tube------

Jerry may have known what he's trying to say, but the wording isn't quite what it should be. If you work from the axle housing flange width rather than the axle flanges themselves where the wheel actually mounts you'll be something around 5" too narrow. Unless you've got a lot of experience with a certain configuration, what Em said above is the most accurate. You need to figure outside clearance to the fender, inside clearance to the inner fender panels and any suspension components that might occupy real estate that could interfere. Even working off someone elses similar car could be a gamble if you're pushing close to the edge on either side. Add to that that cars from that time weren't built to as tight of tolerances as today so they may not even be the same side to side, so check both sides. Don't forget too, once you've got a static mock up to work to, you can't just figure clearances at standing ride height, make sure you figure in what happens when the suspension moves up and down as many inner wheel houses roll outward the higher up the panel you go, as do most fenders of that era.

why is axle housing flange in BLUE type??????? that's not what I meant and not what I typed. My write up is all about mocking the wheels and tires you have to the measurement of the axle wheel flange----------just as they would be on the rear end used----------also I further explained a bit about a couple more tips

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

why is axle housing flange in BLUE type???????

It's an automatic link the website makes. It may or may not be relevant to anything in your post.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

It's an automatic link the website makes. It may or may not be relevant to anything in your post.

........ called "VigLink", discussed at length here several months back. You can opt out of VigLink, but it seems to have a tendency to re-affirm itself occasionally, so if the wicked blue text starts showing up again it's time to disable it again - Opt Out of VigLink

There are a lot of good tips here to see if the tires and wheels will fit, but there is a BIG difference between fitting and looking right . Tires and wheels are one of the most visual aspects of any projects and can be a decent size chunk of the build budget........ they are not something you really want to buy more than once.

Short of finding someone who has built the exactly the same car in the same way as your project, you are not really going to be able to tell if the tires and wheels look good until you have your body and fenders on the frame and the suspension at least mocked up.

Last fall I got around to finally getting the rear axle under my long term project (37 Dodge PU). I went thru 3 different tire and wheel combinations before I found one I liked (fortunately I have bunch of "rollers" I keep around for just this purpose). All three pairs I tried fit, but only one pair looked right . One tire size or an inch of offset can make a huge impact on the overall visual effect.

Just my 2 cents, but personally I would hold off on the tire and wheel purchase until you are a bit further along in the project. When you get to that point where you are ready to buy the tires and wheels, pick up a real wheel and tire close to the size and offset you think you want (if you don't have one laying around or can't borrow one, get one as cheap as you can from a junk yard of maybe tire store.....you can always use it as a spare later) then you can get real measurements before your final purchase.


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I scrounge tires from other shops take offs and have dozens of sizes in my storage area---only thing now the modern tire shops won't mount them for me because some are over 10 years old----


I like the mock up axles I described as it lets me configure many issues as I build--


I didn't mention in yesterdays posts that I use a hole saw with the INSIDE diameter the same as wheel center hole to cut end of board back about an inch(depth of saw) to center the wheel. The 6 x 6 altho a little heavy, allows me to easily lag bolt the wheel on with some washers . And is a good positive way of guaranteeing the frame/axle desired clearance -------you can easily just add pieces of wood to simulate the travel for choosing shocks and springs-


The 3 inch drive shaft tube mock up allows placement of the traction bars, torque arms, coil over mounts that lets me fiqure exactly where I want them before doing the rear end-that way the rear axle housing can be built with the bearing ends being the last thing welded so as to eliminate all the movement during the welding fab work.


Got to dig back in storage unit to get these out for pics but hope your getting the idea

Yes, pics plz!

On my 40 Ford when I was trying to get an idea if the wheel and tire combo I thought would fit in my wheel well...... I made a wood model out of ply wood and thin card board/poster board. I found a tire the size and width I was planning on using and measured it with a wheel mounted and inflated to the proper specs. I took those measurements, and made 2 ply wood circles. I drilled the bolt pattern on one. I used 4 2x4's to go in between them, and screw the plywood circles to the 2x4's. Bolt the one on your axle. Cut the poster board and then place it over the plywood circles and staple it on there. On mine I tried to mimic my wheel off set and the poster board actually hung off the inner ply wood piece. I cut the outer piece of plywood in the center so I could get to my lug nuts. My out come is still unknown because I decided I had too many variables to guess off of. I'll have to put the body back on the frame, put the fenders, and then do real world measurements. Hopefully by the time I get to this, they stil make the wheels I went with. I already purchased the fronts. Haha

Given the 10 year law, why buy the wheels and tires so early in the build? There is plenty of time after the body and fenders are mounted to make the measurements.....but still time to change the rear axle, reposition the axle, etc. IF the frame is anything like a TCI, the rear axle will probably not be centered to the wheel wells. No need to get the clock ticking on your 10 year tire life. Buy trash skinny
tires to roll stuff around on....besides, tire and wheel fashion will probably change by the time the body is ready for paint.

Just last week, we too our shop truck in for new front tires only..... tire store would not touch the truck since the four rear tires were over 10 yr old but still in excellent shape. They did accept the two front tires after I took them off the truck and hauled them in.....I am surprised they didn't check the tires on my pickup that I used to haul them in.......damn gubberment meddling.