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1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width
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jboymechanic
Posted 2017-07-17 11:59 AM (#544270)
Subject: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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Location: Muskego, WI
What is the widest tire anyone has in their 1960 full size Plymouth? I need tires and I want to fill up the wheel wells more to get the look I'm after with my car. I want to stick with about a 27" tall tire and my car's suspension and body are completely stock. I currently have 215/75R15s in the rear and they look so narrow. I'm hoping that I could go to a 255/65R15 or similar. Let me know what you're able to run without any rubbing. Thanks.
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Powerflite
Posted 2017-07-17 6:55 PM (#544291 - in reply to #544270)
Subject: RE: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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It is best to just measure it out and see. Keep in mind that the closest inside point is not the body or the frame. It is likely the springs. I have 275x60x15 tires with 8" rims that have 0 offset on the back of my '58 Dodge and they fit very well without any rubbing at all. I would expect a 255 tire to fit without issue on yours, but you just need to measure it out. As you get wider, the offset of your wheels becomes more and more important. It seems that Chrysler designed their wheel openings to be centered with 0 offset at least from '57-'58.



(LRCoronets.jpg)



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Attachments LRCoronets.jpg (248KB - 257 downloads)
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jboymechanic
Posted 2017-07-18 1:09 PM (#544334 - in reply to #544270)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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Location: Muskego, WI
Thanks for the feedback. Love your Dodge, super Tuff looking, the exact kind of look I'm going for with my Plymouth. Do you have a build thread on that one?
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1960fury
Posted 2017-07-18 2:15 PM (#544339 - in reply to #544334)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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60/61 plymouths/darts with 118" wb have the smallest rear wheel wells of all fl's i guess. on my car 225 is the max but the axle doesn't drop very far, due to a big anti sway bar.

Edited by 1960fury 2017-07-18 2:17 PM
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Powerflite
Posted 2017-07-18 2:18 PM (#544340 - in reply to #544334)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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jboymechanic - 2017-07-18 10:09 AM
Thanks for the feedback. Love your Dodge, super Tuff looking, the exact kind of look I'm going for with my Plymouth. Do you have a build thread on that one?


Thanks. I think your '60 Plymouth would look pretty good this way. My build thread is here:

http://forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=63016&star...

Some advice on measuring: I like to install a wheel with a known offset & width on the car and then measure from that to determine the distances that are available to increase the size. This is easier and gives me more accurate results than by trying to measure from the drum face. You can figure out your wheel's offset by measuring the total width and backspace, but it helps if you have something that you already know the size for sure.

Edited by Powerflite 2017-07-18 2:28 PM
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ttotired
Posted 2017-07-18 4:57 PM (#544353 - in reply to #544270)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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On my phoenix, all I could fit was 225/15R70 and it was tight.

The problem wasn't rubbing, it was getting the wheel off past the brake drum and rear fender.

It was better on one side than the other, but I had to let the air out and unbolt the shock absorber to get the wheel off.





(dodge rear.jpg)



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Powerflite
Posted 2017-07-18 6:17 PM (#544357 - in reply to #544353)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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It's funny though, I had a devil of a time getting the stock wheels with bigger tires on or off my '56 Plymouth which also has a small wheel well area. However, I found that by using a wider wheel, it actually became easier to mount because there was more room to maneuver it around the brake drum. So with the wider wheel, I had no difficulty getting 235x60 tires on there, whereas, my originals were much skinnier.
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jboymechanic
Posted 2017-07-18 11:09 PM (#544376 - in reply to #544270)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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Tonight I mounted a spare "squad car" wheel I have, measures 15"x 7". Of the 7" width, 4.5" are behind the wheel mount surface so I believe that would make the wheel 1" positive offset. Believe it or not, I still had plenty of room toward the leaf spring but I will be limited by the inside of the rear quarter panel. From the outermost lip of the wheel, I had 2.25 inches. Actual wheel overall width is 8", tire would obviously be centered on wheel so a 10" wide tire would still give me a 1.25" gap between sidewall and inside of quarter panel.

I also have rear disc brakes, which are much more compact than the drum setup. I think, when I have a chance, I'll take in to a tire shop and see if they can fit some 255/65R15 tires (28" x 10") in there.
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jboymechanic
Posted 2018-09-06 10:15 PM (#569730 - in reply to #544376)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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This weekend I mounted some wheels and tires my dad purchased for his '74 Dodge Charger. Rear wheels are 15x8 with 255/60R15 tires. Actual tire width measured at exactly 10.5". Wheels had 3.75" back space. I was able to mount the tires to the car, but not able to drop the car back down over the tire as the outside sidewall would rub the inside of the rear quarter. However, I still had 2.25 inches between the inside sideway and the leaf spring (the leaf spring is the limiting factor on the inside of the car, not the wheel well). Based on this test and the measurements made when I mounted the 15x7 police wheel, I believe the following wheel and tire combination would fit under my car:

Wheel - 15 diameter x 8 wide, 5 to 5.25 inches of back spacing
Tire - 255/60R15

With this combination, I should be able to maintain 1" clearance between the sidewalls of the tires and the leaf spring and inner wheel well. Total wheel well width is 12.75", tire width is 10.5, so about 1" clearance on one side and 1.25" on the other side.

Next question, where can I get 15x8 wheels with 5 or 5.25 inches of back space? Would be willing to go with 16 or 17 diameter wheels as well, so long as I can get a 10.5" wide tire that has and OD of about 27.5" give or take half an inch.
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Powerflite
Posted 2018-09-07 9:16 AM (#569750 - in reply to #544270)
Subject: Re: 1960 Plymouth Belvedere Rear Tire Width



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Newer style wheels have that much offset, but if you want an older style, it would need to be made custom. Custom wheels don't cost too much more than standard ones, but they take longer to get and you can't return them. I have a set of 17x8 wheels with 5.25" backspace that I would sell, but they are steel Ford style rims. Probably not what you are looking for. Also, I don't recommend more than 16" in diameter so your tire can have more sidewall on it. The suspensions before T-bars feel better with more sidewall on them.
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