Nubs on Cop Wheels

-
DusterDaddy

DusterDaddy

sledgehammer mechanic
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2011
Messages
2,567
Reaction score
1,786
Location
Holmdel, NJ
I'm now thinking of running police wheels on my Duster finished in silver with reproduction rallye centers.
They are a poor man's replacement for the super coupe magnum gt wheels also pictured.
The only downside to the police wheels would be the nubs on the center ring that would hold a center police hub cap. I'm sure the nub is stamped in so grinding it off isn't an option.
I think I could live with it. Any opinions welcome.

21z_-_Cop_Wheel_-_02.jpg
21z_-_Rallye_Wheel_-_04.jpg
 
The wheel pictured below that you call a Magnum GT was also used on B-vans I have seen many I remember having a set and was frustrated because I couldn't run the bottle caps with out the nubs, there not as scarce as you think, another center that looks good that I will be running on my police wheels on my 56 Dodge truck is a called a " spider cap" very common on hot rods they are sort of bullet shaped then have smaller cones covering the lug nuts, just google spider cap under images you should see them, they are available in most hot road and wheel shops
 
mopar56 said:
The wheel pictured below that you call a Magnum GT was also used on B-vans I have seen many I remember having a set and was frustrated because I couldn't run the bottle caps with out the nubs, there not as scarce as you think, another center that looks good that I will be running on my police wheels on my 56 Dodge truck is a called a " spider cap" very common on hot rods they are sort of bullet shaped then have smaller cones covering the lug nuts, just google spider cap under images you should see them, they are available in most hot road and wheel shops
Click to expand...

Like this?
spidercap.jpg

Kinda cool.

I am doing such a low budget build it's scary.
I already have 2 police wheels and can get 2 more pretty cheap.

I had a friend suggest to run them on the car in black, but I just can't do the black wheel thing. Too contemporary if you ask me.

I think the cop wheels In the right silver, with the right center caps would look good on this car even without beauty rings.

misty.jpg
 
Alaskan_TA said:
Rallye wheel centers fit the cop centers also.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know. That's what I think I'm going to do. You can get them in big bolt pattern finished in a dark grey.
Then I need to find the right silver for the wheels. Going to be painted. Powder coating is not in my low-low budget!
 
I have cop wheels on the rear of the car new with 255/60R15's on them with a stock 8-1/4 rear and I have 3/4" clearance from the bulge of the tire to the leaf springs
The previous owner ran them on the back with the original 14" rallyes on the front with 245/60/R14's on them.

My plan is to run cop wheels up front too, with 245/60R15's. I think the car will still sit nice with that combo.
 
Last edited:
Why not weld up the nubs from the back to fill in the area from the back side, then grind the front down smooth.
 
yep that's the caps I was talking about, they do look sharp on a black wheel, actually my truck will be two tone, with one half being pearl white and that is what color my cop wheels will be that's why I like those wheels so much they are versatile, and yes they look awesome in the right silver or even argent grey, good luck with your project, nice Duster
 
DusterDaddy said:
I have cop wheels on the rear of the car new with 255/60R15's on the with a stock 8-1/4 rear and I have 3/4" clearance from the bulge of the tire to the leaf springs
The previous owner ran them on the back with the original 14" rallyes on the front with 245/60/R14's on them.

My plan is to run cop wheels up front too, with 245/60R15's. I think the car will still sit nice with that combo.
Click to expand...

You won't get 245/60/15's to clear on the front with cop wheels. They're 15x7 with a 4.25" backspace, and thats not nearly enough backspace to clear 245's in the front. I ran cop wheels on my Duster for awhile, even with 225/60/15's it was close up front, I had to max out the stock fender to bumper brace to get those to clear as it was. You might be able to run 235/60/15's, but I'd be prepared to spend some time adjusting the fenders to make that work, and on some cars it might not be possible without trimming or rolling the fender lips.

IMG_3619.jpg
 
DusterDaddy said:
We could do that. Thats why you make the big money !moparmat
Click to expand...
Yeah hardly LOL
But i did stay at a holiday inn express last night

But seriously, i have had to fabricate lots of stuff for my car just because of the fact that i am way off the beaten path, and mopars just are not very popular where i live. If i was gonna go magnum GT wheels, id go right to the cop cars rims, mig weld the backs of the nubs, then smooth the fronts to look like a magnum rim. If these are KH rims, and you want 15x8s, go hunt down chevy suburban 15x8 KH rims. Cut the center web out of the hoops on the cop car rims, and cut the 15x8 suburban hoop, build a jig to ensure straightness in the wheel runout and weld the mopar center with the burban hoop. I have even made column shift collars into floor shift ones using a grinder, jb weld, and a little body filler. Necessity is truly the mother of invention.
 
Last edited:
72bluNblu said:
You won't get 245/60/15's to clear on the front with cop wheels. They're 15x7 with a 4.25" backspace, and thats not nearly enough backspace to clear 245's in the front. I ran cop wheels on my Duster for awhile, even with 225/60/15's it was close up front, I had to max out the stock fender to bumper brace to get those to clear as it was. You might be able to run 235/60/15's, but I'd be prepared to spend some time adjusting the fenders to make that work, and on some cars it might not be possible without trimming or rolling the fender lips.

View attachment 1714998426
Click to expand...
Thats good to know i plan on runnin 15x7 chrysler fifth ave steelies with bottle caps, i was hoping 255-60R15s would fit all around. I guess i will go 255 in the rear and 225 in the front. Thanks 4 the advice. Thats why you make the big bucks.
 
72bluNblu said:
You won't get 245/60/15's to clear on the front with cop wheels. They're 15x7 with a 4.25" backspace, and thats not nearly enough backspace to clear 245's in the front. I ran cop wheels on my Duster for awhile, even with 225/60/15's it was close up front, I had to max out the stock fender to bumper brace to get those to clear as it was. You might be able to run 235/60/15's, but I'd be prepared to spend some time adjusting the fenders to make that work, and on some cars it might not be possible without trimming or rolling the fender lips.

View attachment 1714998426
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. So the new question is what tire is going to work on the cop rim that is lower in profile to come close to the over-all hight of the 245/60R14?
 
moparmat2000 said:
Thats good to know i plan on runnin 15x7 chrysler fifth ave steelies with bottle caps, i was hoping 255-60R15s would fit all around. I guess i will go 255 in the rear and 225 in the front. Thanks 4 the advice. Thats why you make the big bucks.
Click to expand...

On a Barracuda you can do 235's as far as width goes, they should clear. The fenders are wider than the Duster's or Dart's. The problem you'll have is the length of the wheel opening and the height of the tire. A 235/60/15 is 26.1" tall, so you'll probably have to trim back the front lower corner of the fender at the wheel opening.

DusterDaddy said:
Thanks for that info. So the new question is what tire is going to work on the cop rim that is lower in profile to come close to the over-all hight of the 245/60R14?
Click to expand...

Anything over 26" tall gets to be a real problem for height. Duster's are only mildly better than barracuda's in the length of the wheel opening, the front and rear corners are an issue. Even the 225/60/15's are tight, and they're only 25.7" tall. Look at the picture I posted, and take a look how close the tire is to the rear corner of the wheel opening. And that was why I had to push the fender to bumper brace out, to clear the front corner. Unless your ride up at 4x4 height, anything more than 26" tall is going to be a big task to get clearance for.
 
Last edited:
My project is a low budget build.
I need to take advantage of usable things I already have ( like 2 existing Cop wheels )
 
72bluNblu said:
On a Barracuda you can do 235's as far as width goes, they should clear. The fenders are wider than the Duster's or Dart's. The problem you'll have is the length of the wheel opening and the height of the tire. A 235/60/15 is 26.1" tall, so you'll probably have to trim back the front lower corner of the fender at the wheel opening.



Anything over 26" tall gets to be a real problem for height. Duster's are only mildly better than barracuda's in the length of the wheel opening, the front and rear corner is an issue. Even the 225/60/15's are tight, and they're only 25.7" tall. Look at the picture I posted, and take a look how close the tire is to the rear corner of the wheel opening. And that was why I had to push the fender to bumper brace out, to clear the front corner. Unless your ride up at 4x4 height, anything more than 26" tall is going to be a big task to get clearance for.
Click to expand...
I know nothing about tire size, this is very helpful. Would a 70 series tire help me in front? As I said the car has 245/60/14s up front now. I'd be fine with a smaller narrower tire up front
 
Hows this for low budget. Shifter collars from 67 automatic column shift (note set screw hole in lower collar) , take a cutoff wheel to them to knock off the shifter nub and indicator. then grind em slightly concave where your going to add filler, and fill em up with JB weld, then sand smooth, apply body filler, prime and paint. I made these a few years ago when floor shifter collars were hard to get, now the 68-69 ones are repopped for about $100, so its almost not worth it to mod them, since i have a ton of time in them.

20161210_154123.jpg


20161210_154116.jpg
 
Last edited:
DusterDaddy said:
I know nothing about tire size, this is very helpful. Would a 70 series tire help me in front? As I said the car has 245/60/14s up front now. I'd be fine with a smaller narrower tire up front
Click to expand...
There are also tire charts on the internet that can give you diameter VS width in all the number sizing they use today. I think its referred to as aspect ratio.
 
DusterDaddy said:
I'm now thinking of running police wheels on my Duster finished in silver with reproduction rallye centers.
They are a poor man's replacement for the super coupe magnum gt wheels also pictured.
The only downside to the police wheels would be the nubs on the center ring that would hold a center police hub cap. I'm sure the nub is stamped in so grinding it off isn't an option.
I think I could live with it. Any opinions welcome.

View attachment 1714998398 View attachment 1714998399
Click to expand...
I did this on a Cordoba and used a trim ring also....looks good
 
DusterDaddy said:
I know nothing about tire size, this is very helpful. Would a 70 series tire help me in front? As I said the car has 245/60/14s up front now. I'd be fine with a smaller narrower tire up front
Click to expand...

A 70 series would be taller, not shorter. The series is the aspect ratio of the tire, so, a "60 series" like a 225/60/15 means that the height of the sidewall is 60% of the width. To get the height you multiply the width by 60%, then double it (two sidewalls), covert to inches and add the diameter. So, 225 x .6 = 135mm, x2 = 270mm, 270 mm = 10.63", 15" + 10.63" = 25.63". So the tire height for a 225/60/15 is 25.6". Or at least it should be, those numbers vary a little bit by manufacturer, but usually they're not off by more than a couple tenths. A 70 series with the same width would be taller, a 55 series of the same width would be shorter, etc. And since it's expressed as a percentage of the width you have to be careful, you can have a lower series tire be taller than a higher series tire if it's wider. For example, a 225/60/15 is taller than a 185/70/15, even though the 225's has a lower series number.
 
72bluNblu said:
A 70 series would be taller, not shorter. The series is the aspect ratio of the tire, so, a "60 series" like a 225/60/15 means that the height of the sidewall is 60% of the width. To get the height you multiply the width by 60%, then double it (two sidewalls), covert to inches and add the diameter. So, 225 x .6 = 135mm, x2 = 270mm, 270 mm = 10.63", 15" + 10.63" = 25.63". So the tire height for a 225/60/15 is 25.6". Or at least it should be, those numbers vary a little bit by manufacturer, but usually they're not off by more than a couple tenths. A 70 series with the same width would be taller, a 55 series of the same width would be shorter, etc. And since it's expressed as a percentage of the width you have to be careful, you can have a lower series tire be taller than a higher series tire if it's wider. For example, a 225/60/15 is taller than a 185/70/15, even though the 225's has a lower series number.
Click to expand...
Great information thanks. I'm going to buy the 2 cop wheels and when the car is running I'll take it over to my tire guy who is awesome.
 
As far as I can tell these are the largest and smallest tire sizes that can be used safely on Mopar police wheels.
tires.png

Example 1 is what is on the back of the car now.

close to original size.png

As far as I can see, a 195/70/R15 on a cop wheel is the closest tire you can get to the original E7814 tires the car left the factory with.
Any comments?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top