Tire hitting fender
On the "typical" thing, it's splitting hairs. For me, since Barracuda's were the ONLY A-body that didn't have the lower fender braces, I would say that it's typical to have them vs not, regardless of the valance. B/E's aren't really relevant to this discussion.
As for it being easier to move the lower fender, I'm gonna disagree again. I pushed my lower fenders out over 2", and that's with the '71 Dart fenders and valance. I don't think the valance makes a difference at all as far as moving the fender for tire clearance.
These are the mods I made to clear my 275's. The picture is with my Dart fenders, but, I used the same lower fender brace on my Duster fenders as I was running the 275's prior to my Demon conversion.
Man a 205/60/14 is only 23.7" tall, that'll look super goofy.
I would try a 215/60/14 or even a 205/70/14. The 215/60/14 is 25.2" tall, so that's quite a bit shorter than your 215/70/14's, you'd pick up over a 1/4" of clearance just with those. A 205/70/14 is taller at 25.4", but it's also narrower which will also help. I'd say it's a toss up between those two. But they only come in BFG T/A's, I see you have Cooper Cobra's at the moment.
I looked up those AR's, the 14x6's only have 3.42" of backspace. Unfortunately I don't see anything else that would improve your situation in a 14" wheel that's in that style. 15's yes, but again that would mean all new wheels and tires.
I think if you go to 215/60/14's or 205/70/14's, played with your alignment and body fits a little you should be able to make it work. Have you tried loosening all the bolts on the fender and sliding it forward? It will unfortunately mess with your door gap, but even a little would be a big deal for the tire clearance.
On the "typical" thing, it's splitting hairs. For me, since Barracuda's were the ONLY A-body that didn't have the lower fender braces, I would say that it's typical to have them vs not, regardless of the valance. B/E's aren't really relevant to this discussion.
As for it being easier to move the lower fender, I'm gonna disagree again. I pushed my lower fenders out over 2", and that's with the '71 Dart fenders and valance. I don't think the valance makes a difference at all as far as moving the fender for tire clearance.
These are the mods I made to clear my 275's. The picture is with my Dart fenders, but, I used the same lower fender brace on my Duster fenders as I was running the 275's prior to my Demon conversion.
Man a 205/60/14 is only 23.7" tall, that'll look super goofy.
I would try a 215/60/14 or even a 205/70/14. The 215/60/14 is 25.2" tall, so that's quite a bit shorter than your 215/70/14's, you'd pick up over a 1/4" of clearance just with those. A 205/70/14 is taller at 25.4", but it's also narrower which will also help. I'd say it's a toss up between those two. But they only come in BFG T/A's, I see you have Cooper Cobra's at the moment.
I looked up those AR's, the 14x6's only have 3.42" of backspace. Unfortunately I don't see anything else that would improve your situation in a 14" wheel that's in that style. 15's yes, but again that would mean all new wheels and tires.
I think if you go to 215/60/14's or 205/70/14's, played with your alignment and body fits a little you should be able to make it work. Have you tried loosening all the bolts on the fender and sliding it forward? It will unfortunately mess with your door gap, but even a little would be a big deal for the tire clearance.
