My Right rear wheel rubbing...

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H2obuffalo

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I recently replaces the shocks in my 72 Swinger with KYB Gas adjust. When I bought he Car had Air shocks on the rear complete with bike pump nozzle. They still held air but were super soft and bouncy...awful. After I replaced them the car sat a bit lower but the right wheel would rub on the inside fender well. We rolled the fender out a tad old school with a baseball bat and that stopped the rub but when i hit a dip or a good bounce the wheel rubs a quick hit.
I think the culprit is the 15 inch back wheels. They have 205 65 r15s.
Are these just too wide? I really like the wheels. they are 70's vintage centerlines and look GREAT!. can I put a more narrow tire on the 15's or is this a shock and leaf spring issue?
your thoughts and ideas are appreciated
Cheers!
 
I recently replaces the shocks in my 72 Swinger with KYB Gas adjust. When I bought he Car had Air shocks on the rear complete with bike pump nozzle. They still held air but were super soft and bouncy...awful. After I replaced them the car sat a bit lower but the right wheel would rub on the inside fender well. We rolled the fender out a tad old school with a baseball bat and that stopped the rub but when i hit a dip or a good bounce the wheel rubs a quick hit.
I think the culprit is the 15 inch back wheels. They have 205 65 r15s.
Are these just too wide? I really like the wheels. they are 70's vintage centerlines and look GREAT!. can I put a more narrow tire on the 15's or is this a shock and leaf spring issue?
your thoughts and ideas are appreciated
Cheers!
It's definitely a leaf spring issues. Your handle water buffalo kind of leads me to believe that you're not a skinny guy? LOL it all depends on the weight and load and maybe you have a strong motor that's transferring wait and it rubs when you get on it? Or go over bumps? But definitely the shocks are to slow down the up-and-down motion not to create a up or down motion.
 
Yeah we tried the old school air shock fix for a while. It's an unsafe bandaid. Just bit the bullet:
Before:
20170325_111151.jpg

After:
20180403_170935.jpg

No more rubbing or danger of having the air shocks blow and have a big problem.
 
Think about the word shock absorber? It's absorbing the shock that the suspension takes. It doesn't raise or lower your car unless it is an air shock that you can blow up.
 
Think about the word shock absorber? It's absorbing the shock that the suspension takes. It doesn't raise or lower your car unless it is an air shock that you can blow up.
Yup that was my understanding, So does anybody know what the narrowest tire size available for 15" centerline wheels that will function well with the 195 70 14's up front?
 
Yup that was my understanding, So does anybody know what the narrowest tire size available for 15" centerline wheels that will function well with the 195 70 14's up front?
Yeah I'm out on that question. I have a duster so I have a lot more rear wheel space.
 
When I first got the duster it did rub with its cheap worn out slant 6 rear leaf springs and I cured it temporarily with some $79 air shocks. Like already stated it's just a temporary fix but it may get ya there for now.
 
It's not that the tires are too wide, it's that the backspace on those rims is totally wrong. Being Centerlines they probably have very little backspace, because with the right backspace you should be able to fit 245/60/15's on a '72 Dart, especially if you already rolled the quarter lip back a bit.

Narrower tires depends on how wide those rims are, if they're 7" wide rims you may not be able to go narrower. For example, a 195/70/15 isn't supposed to be mounted on anything wider than a 6" rim.

So, your options are to buy a new set of springs that will raise the back of the car so the tires don't rub, or buy a set of rims that have the proper backspace for your car. Something in the ballpark of a 15x7 with 4.25" of backspace would be a much better start, although that will depend on what rear axle you've got and what bolt pattern axles and brakes you have.
 
Quick question...
is the rear the original rear?
what is the back spacing of the center-lines?
has any of the rear suspension been changed IE spring perches, spring mounts moved etc.?

You originally stated that the inner fender panel is where it was rubbing than said you used a baseball bat to roll the fender lip.

Is the rub on the inside of the tire to the inner fender or the outside of the tire to the outer fender lip?
 
It's not that the tires are too wide, it's that the backspace on those rims is totally wrong. Being Centerlines they probably have very little backspace, because with the right backspace you should be able to fit 245/60/15's on a '72 Dart, especially if you already rolled the quarter lip back a bit.
Its the original 7 1/4 rear...sigh. The outsid

Narrower tires depends on how wide those rims are, if they're 7" wide rims you may not be able to go narrower. For example, a 195/70/15 isn't supposed to be mounted on anything wider than a 6" rim.

So, your options are to buy a new set of springs that will raise the back of the car so the tires don't rub, or buy a set of rims that have the proper backspace for your car. Something in the ballpark of a 15x7 with 4.25" of backspace would be a much better start, although that will depend on what rear axle you've got and what bolt pattern axles and brakes you have.[/QUOT
Quick question...
is the rear the original rear?
what is the back spacing of the center-lines?
has any of the rear suspension been changed IE spring perches, spring mounts moved etc.?

You originally stated that the inner fender panel is where it was rubbing than said you used a baseball bat to roll the fender lip.

Is the rub on the inside of the tire to the inner fender or the outside of the tire to the outer fender lip?
Quick question...
is the rear the original rear?
what is the back spacing of the center-lines?
has any of the rear suspension been changed IE spring perches, spring mounts moved etc.?

You originally stated that the inner fender panel is where it was rubbing than said you used a baseball bat to roll the fender lip.

Is the rub on the inside of the tire to the inner fender or the outside of the tire to the outer fender lip?
Its tge original 7 1/4" rear...sigh, spring perches are un modified. The outside of the tire rubs the fender in big dips. After reading all of your posts and running a ruler around the spaces. I have come to the conclusion that the 15" rear centerlines have too shallow of a bowl to use on my swinger and stick out just a bit too much. Looks like Ill have to find myself a set of ralleye wheels to swap them out. Im sure ill find a good home for them. I'm not going to cut open any wells so thank you all for the information.
Theres a picture of the paint on the tire.

20180416_174252.jpg


20180416_190618.jpg
 
I agree, wrong wheels. You ought to be able to put a 225/60 or 235/60 tire on it with no rubbing anywhere without modifying anything. Like 72bluNblu stated, a 7" wheel needs 4.25-4.50" backspacing to work with stock springs and no other modifications.
 
Its tge original 7 1/4" rear...sigh, spring perches are un modified. The outside of the tire rubs the fender in big dips. After reading all of your posts and running a ruler around the spaces. I have come to the conclusion that the 15" rear centerlines have too shallow of a bowl to use on my swinger and stick out just a bit too much. Looks like Ill have to find myself a set of ralleye wheels to swap them out. Im sure ill find a good home for them. I'm not going to cut open any wells so thank you all for the information.
Theres a picture of the paint on the tire.

View attachment 1715166000

View attachment 1715166001
Hold on now!
Have you considred r/r on the 7.25 diff? We replaced ours with a shortened furd 8.8 while we were doing the springs and gained all kinds of room on the outside. Got closer to the spring on the inside, but that can be adjusted with a spacer. We have 215 70r15 on there now but could easily go 235 I think. Just a thought. You get a better gear ratio and disc brakes........

Edit: uhhhh is that small bp? Well, nevermind, haha. Enjoy the Ralley's!
 
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I will have a nice used set of rear springs for sale soon. 340 springs, nothing wrong with them. Pm if you need.
 
What type of wheel setup is on the rear? Have you made sure the wheels are the same offset? The two rallyes on the back of my demon are about 1/4” difference. Im using sbp to lbp adapters in the back anyway, one side uses a 1” adapter while the other side is a 3/4” adapter and both sides are the same distance from the springs, the one odd backspace wheel even has the valve stem set in farther, one side my cap protudes the beauty ring and the other side is almost flush but sticks out a hair past the beauty ring. Just a thought
 
Hi again, so after much consideration I have found the simple solution for me goes as follows. I got a set of steel wheels from a fellow mopar brother. They came from a similar year gold Duster. Cleaned them up. Sanded, primed and painted. The back space is over 4 inches on the steel. It is amazing what can be done when my budget forces my hand. Wow what a difference. No more thumps and scary scrub-jerks. The taller slightly skinnier tires act like part of the suspension (as likely they were designed to duh!) This should hold me over until I can get proper suspension upgrades. 340 springs and sway bars. Plus it now looks like a drag car. Love em.
Think I'll do the front to match.
Thanks again for all the advice.
Cheers!
 
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