Wheel and tire question for 68 GTS

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HcodeRob

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Hi folks. New kid on the block. Just rescued a 1968 Dart GTS from a chevy guy in Chicago. I'm looking to upgrade the 14 x 5.5 inch stock wells to 15x7's all around. I saw wheel vintiques has them but you need to buy their poverty caps. I poverties on them on now.
I want the tires to fit on the car, improve handling and look good doing so. I don't want to worry about fitment or mods or moving the rear springs. What I wanted to do was to put 215/60/15's on the front and 235/60/15's on the back, radial T/A's.
Is this 2 size difference a good look on car? Would 215/65/15s be better on the front for steering? Car has power nothing. The front end is solid, front and rear shocks are new and the rear springs are new +1's from ESPO in PA.
Trying to get thoughts and the look and handling.
Car is stock, original motor trans and rear, 3 pedal car so I want to maintain the stock look. Thanks in advance. I'll try to post pictures but I'm a technological idiot.
Rob
 
Hi folks. New kid on the block. Just rescued a 1968 Dart GTS from a chevy guy in Chicago. I'm looking to upgrade the 14 x 5.5 inch stock wells to 15x7's all around. I saw wheel vintiques has them but you need to buy their poverty caps. I poverties on them on now.
I want the tires to fit on the car, improve handling and look good doing so. I don't want to worry about fitment or mods or moving the rear springs. What I wanted to do was to put 215/60/15's on the front and 235/60/15's on the back, radial T/A's.
Is this 2 size difference a good look on car? Would 215/65/15s be better on the front for steering? Car has power nothing. The front end is solid, front and rear shocks are new and the rear springs are new +1's from ESPO in PA.
Trying to get thoughts and the look and handling.
Car is stock, original motor trans and rear, 3 pedal car so I want to maintain the stock look. Thanks in advance. I'll try to post pictures but I'm a technological idiot.
Rob

I have 215s all the way around on mine. 15x7 in the rear and 15x6 in the front. 235s will fit with the correct offset.
 
I have 215s all the way around on mine. 15x7 in the rear and 15x6 in the front. 235s will fit with the correct offset.
Thanks for the response dart4. The reason I was asking about the two tire sizes was the back is slightly raised. If it was level I would probably go with the same size. The offset for the 15x7 sbp wheels is 4 inches. You have no clearance issues with the 215's in the front? Does your car have the nose piece? Here's a picture, albeit a bad one.
IMG_3390.JPG
 
Thanks for the response dart4. The reason I was asking about the two tire sizes was the back is slightly raised. If it was level I would probably go with the same size. The offset for the 15x7 sbp wheels is 4 inches. You have no clearance issues with the 215's in the front? Does your car have the nose piece? Here's a picture, albeit a bad one.View attachment 1715023152

No clearance issues. Car sits level with a very subtle rake. My only complaint is the car sits low. I have bad knees so getting out is a little bit of a challenge. I'm looking at putting Redlines on the car and upgrading to a 235 so that should help. Is your car in the registry? Looks good.
 
I think you would barely notice the look of those 2 sizes. Now get really crazy like my profile pic before I started my project, I think those were something like 215 75 14 up front with 275 50 15 out back. I wouldn't recommend 275 unless you were to go with the offset spring kit & correct offset wheel, because when I was young and didn't care, I went to town with a sawzall on the Qtr/Tub lip.
Very nice looking car BTW.
 
Agreed, go 275's in back. The offset shackles are so easy to do.

but of the OP's choices I'd go 215/225. 215's in the back look like pizza cutters.
 
I think you would barely notice the look of those 2 sizes. Now get really crazy like my profile pic before I started my project, I think those were something like 215 75 14 up front with 275 50 15 out back. I wouldn't recommend 275 unless you were to go with the offset spring kit & correct offset wheel, because when I was young and didn't care, I went to town with a sawzall on the Qtr/Tub lip.
Very nice looking car BTW.
Thanks guys. Yes, it is in the registry as #492. I just got it in October and haven't had the chance to inform the registry of a new caretaker. I wanted to put my stamp on it before I sent in a new picture. Bought it from a knucklehead Chevy guy who thought he liked Mopars, or at least Darts. Started doing some nutty things to it then decided to sell it after one month of owning it. Good thing as he wasn't helping it much. I turned the tires around as they are T/A's and I like the white letters. They add a nice contrast. I can't find a new picture of it with the new springs and RWL's. The problem is the tires on there now are 225/70/14's on the front and shoehorned on 245/60/14's. I think the tires are tooo large for the 5.5 inch rims. Those 245's fit on the back with probably about 3/8 inch clearance. I just want to keep it relatively stock looking or day 2, and to help it ride better, which I think the 15x7's will do. I don' know about 15x8's with 235's.

At some point, when I hit the lottery, I'll put the redline tires on the white 14x5.5's like it came from the factory. They're over $200 a piece.
 
Thanks guys. Yes, it is in the registry as #492. I just got it in October and haven't had the chance to inform the registry of a new caretaker. I wanted to put my stamp on it before I sent in a new picture. Bought it from a knucklehead Chevy guy who thought he liked Mopars, or at least Darts. Started doing some nutty things to it then decided to sell it after one month of owning it. Good thing as he wasn't helping it much. I turned the tires around as they are T/A's and I like the white letters. They add a nice contrast. I can't find a new picture of it with the new springs and RWL's. The problem is the tires on there now are 225/70/14's on the front and shoehorned on 245/60/14's. I think the tires are tooo large for the 5.5 inch rims. Those 245's fit on the back with probably about 3/8 inch clearance. I just want to keep it relatively stock looking or day 2, and to help it ride better, which I think the 15x7's will do. I don' know about 15x8's with 235's.

At some point, when I hit the lottery, I'll put the redline tires on the white 14x5.5's like it came from the factory. They're over $200 a piece.


I found some before and after pictures. First one is with the blackwalls and before new leaf springs. Second is the RWL's and new leaf springs. It gave it just a slight rake and I adjusted the torsion bars for final adjustments since then.

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you have large bolt pattern or small bolt pattern? if small bolt then you can't get away with as much backspace so measure carefully..

here is our dart.. it has large bolt pattern front and rear so its slightly wider then small bolt. these are wheel vintiques 15x7 wheels with a 4.5" backspace.. if i did it again i'd go 4.75 backspace but not sure if a small bolt car and go that much. my big bolt car can do it easily..

tires are 225/60-15 all the way around.. not a big fan od BFG T/A tires.. better choices out there..

oh and those are factory chrysler red line dog dishes that were also on the stock small bolt wheels that i'm now using on the WV large bolt wheels..

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you have large bolt pattern or small bolt pattern? if small bolt then you can't get away with as much backspace so measure carefully..

here is our dart.. it has large bolt pattern front and rear so its slightly wider then small bolt. these are wheel vintiques 15x7 wheels with a 4.5" backspace.. if i did it again i'd go 4.75 backspace but not sure if a small bolt car and go that much. my big bolt car can do it easily..

tires are 225/60-15 all the way around.. not a big fan od BFG T/A tires.. better choices out there..

oh and those are factory chrysler red line dog dishes that were also on the stock small bolt wheels that i'm now using on the WV large bolt wheels..

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so many tire size recommendations it get's to be too much. in the end, all said and done what tires front and rear with no modifications to car can I go with? I have brand new stock 14x7 cragar s/s wheels. I want it to look aggressive with the tire setup but don't want cut up my 68 dart gt. you also mentioned a registry, how would I go about finding that? thanks for all the suggestions, look forward to hearing from you guys, thanks brian
 
our dart is not cut at all.. only mods are large bolt pattern front and rear which stick out a little more then small bolt pattern..

my advice is to get the tape measure out and start measuring things.

you need to know what the backspace is on those cragar wheels..
 
you have large bolt pattern or small bolt pattern? if small bolt then you can't get away with as much backspace so measure carefully..

here is our dart.. it has large bolt pattern front and rear so its slightly wider then small bolt. these are wheel vintiques 15x7 wheels with a 4.5" backspace.. if i did it again i'd go 4.75 backspace but not sure if a small bolt car and go that much. my big bolt car can do it easily..

tires are 225/60-15 all the way around.. not a big fan od BFG T/A tires.. better choices out there..

oh and those are factory chrysler red line dog dishes that were also on the stock small bolt wheels that i'm now using on the WV large bolt wheels..

View attachment 1715023226

View attachment 1715023227

View attachment 1715023228

View attachment 1715023229

View attachment 1715023230

View attachment 1715023231


Nice Joe. That's a clean looking set up. I know there are many option better than the T/A's, just few with the RWL's that I like. The wheels are the SBP so most 15x7's are 4 inch backspace some 4.25. You happy with the wheel vintiques? The dog dish fit right on? I read somewhere in my research that the mopar dog dish didn't fit and you had to buy theirs. some said the wheels were hard to balance with them not being true. I see you have pictures with caps and without. What are you going with?

I'm also debating whether to go with black rims and RWL's or paint the new ones body color white. A lot of choices but its also a lot of money. Any one have black rims and dog dish on their ride?

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Looks like you got hold of it before Chevy guy jacked it up too much. Pun actually intended.
 
Nice Joe. That's a clean looking set up. I know there are many option better than the T/A's, just few with the RWL's that I like.

The wheels are the SBP so most 15x7's are 4 inch backspace some 4.25. i had them do a custom backspace for an extra $20 per wheel..

You happy with the wheel vintiques? yes very happy with them.. came in the time frame they said and seem to be a quality wheel..

The dog dish fit right on? I read somewhere in my research that the mopar dog dish didn't fit and you had to buy theirs. not sure who said that but they fit nice and tight.. they have been there for a few thousand miles and with the roads around here they would have been off by now if they were going to fall off..lol


some said the wheels were hard to balance with them not being true. no they didn't take much weight at all.. balanced fine. whoever had the issue may have had tire problems not rim issues.


I see you have pictures with caps and without. What are you going with? went with the caps.. the without caps look was the day i put them on and the alignment guy wanted them off so he didn't scratch the rims getting the caps off to align it..

I'm also debating whether to go with black rims and RWL's or paint the new ones body color white. black wall or RWL would look best with body color wheels.. unless its a black car black stock style steel wheels just look out of place in my opinion.
 

dj1801. I bought the car from the Chevy guy in Chicago in October. Thankfully, he only had it a month. He bought it from a guy in Phoeniz, AZ who had it for 7 years. He did an engine rebuild in 2010 and redid the interior. He got it from a dealer in Delaware who got in in trade from the original owner who lived in Norristown, PA. I just turned 79,000 on the odo.

I'm in a small town on the other side of the State, Pennington, about 10 miles north or Trenton near Princeton. I'm in Pt. Pleasant and Belmar during the summer. Straight shot on 195.
 
look at that baby.. just wouldn't look right with black wheels..:)
i actually like it with the black walls too.. makes it look more all business...
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where in jersey at ya located? i'm in the berlin area.. maybe we will run into each other some time this summer.
 
dj1801. I bought the car from the Chevy guy in Chicago in October. Thankfully, he only had it a month. He bought it from a guy in Phoeniz, AZ who had it for 7 years. He did an engine rebuild in 2010 and redid the interior. He got it from a dealer in Delaware who got in in trade from the original owner who lived in Norristown, PA. I just turned 79,000 on the odo.

I'm in a small town on the other side of the State, Pennington, about 10 miles north or Trenton near Princeton. I'm in Pt. Pleasant and Belmar during the summer. Straight shot on 195.

Thanks again Joe. I may have read it on the Summit website as they sell the wheel vintiques and under 'reviews'. The complainers are usually the ones who write a lot of reviews. As always, you've got good information. I've been lurking for a while before I signed up. Your probably right about the black rims so no need to find black powder coated ones.
 
give wheel vintiques a call directly. talk to them.. probably more help then summit.. Wheel Vintiques

my wheels came with a black coating on them for protection... scuffed it, epoxy primered it and then had a body shop match the original color..
 
I'm in a small town on the other side of the State, Pennington, about 10 miles north or Trenton near Princeton. I'm in Pt. Pleasant and Belmar during the summer. Straight shot on 195.

i work in trenton.. small world..
 
where in jersey at ya located? i'm in the berlin area.. maybe we will run into each other some time this summer.

Sounds like a plan. What shows do you have down south Jersey? I've been to the one in Mount Holly. Haven't really been much further south than that. That's why I'm asking all the dumb questions so I can get this Dart road ready for the spring.
 
so many tire size recommendations it get's to be too much. in the end, all said and done what tires front and rear with no modifications to car can I go with? I have brand new stock 14x7 cragar s/s wheels. I want it to look aggressive with the tire setup but don't want cut up my 68 dart gt. you also mentioned a registry, how would I go about finding that? thanks for all the suggestions, look forward to hearing from you guys, thanks brian
 
Hey Brian:
Your correct in the number of choices and sizes. It can be overwhelming. I'm looking to get some larger rims and tires to improve the handling and ride quality of the Dart while maintain an original or day 2 look. I'm not cutting anything, they took my sawzall license away a while ago.
There is a GTS registry for 1967-1969 Dodge Dart GTS's that came from the factory with the 340, 383 or 440 engine. Interesting site with some nice cars. It's www.gtsregistry67-69.com
If that doesn't work you can google it.
Rob
 
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