1969 Dodge Dart backspacing

CluelessMopar · Jan 7, 2022

Hey guys, I have a 1969 Dart that I've converted to big bolt pattern with front disc brakes and rear drums. I was looking at Bassett D-hole wheels to put on my Dart but was concerned that I may not have enough backspace for the front fenders.

Anyone know if I would have any issues with 15x7 with 3.75 backspace for the fenders?

Bassett Wheels 57RF375: Black DOT D-Hole Wheel Size: 15" x 7" - JEGS High Performance

Consequently is this all too little backspace to use in the rear? I have a 8 3/4

dano · Jan 7, 2022

How was the BBP conversion done front and rear? I'm strongly thinking no to 3.75" BS on a 7" wide wheel.

With both 73-up swap and Dr Diff 13" front's I run a 17x7 with a 19mm offset, which is about a 4.75 back spacing. Rear I have an A-Body 8-3/4 with BBP conversion Axles that use factory BBP brakes (Not SBP A-Body as those are available) I run a 17x8 with a 19mm offset as well, which is about 5.25" of back spacing. Car look like this with them same wheels and tires in each pic.

Stock 73-up disc and 11x2" read drums

Dr Diff 13" front and 11.6" rear discs

CluelessMopar · Jan 7, 2022

dano said:
How was the BBP conversion done front and rear? I'm strongly thinking no to 3.75" BS on a 7" wide wheel.

With both 73-up swap and Dr Diff 13" front's I run a 17x7 with a 19mm offset, which is about a 4.75 back spacing. Rear I have an A-Body 8-3/4 with BBP conversion Axles that use factory BBP brakes (Not SBP A-Body as those are available) I run a 17x8 with a 19mm offset as well, which is about 5.25" of back spacing. Car look like this with them same wheels and tires in each pic.

Rear has moser axles with stock BBP drums & front was all stock RockAuto parts for 76 Dart that I purchased. I had a 17x8 wheel with 5 backspacing on the front and that rubbed up against the fender when turning pretty good. It's been hard to find wheels that are 7 inches with backspace greater than 4 inches

dano · Jan 7, 2022

CluelessMopar said:
Rear has moser axles with stock BBP drums & front was all stock RockAuto parts for 76 Dart that I purchased. I had a 17x8 wheel with 5 backspacing on the front and that rubbed up against the fender when turning pretty good. It's been hard to find wheels that are 7 inches with backspace greater than 4 inches

I had to go custom. I had no luck finding anything off the shelf that would fit without spacers.

What tires size was on your 17x8? I have 215/45/17 on the front and need to go a bit taller, like a 225/50/17.

With a 15x7, 4.5 BS is about perfect with a 225-235 wide tire.

72bluNblu · Jan 7, 2022

With a 15x7”, 3.75” backspace would mean that even a 205/65/15 would be marginal on the fenders. By that I mean it would have the same distance to the fenders as the 275/35/18’s on 18x9’s that I run, and I’ve rolled and pushed my fenders, lengthened the fender brace, etc. So depending on your ride height they might not be a safe bet at all.

I ran my Duster with 73+ brakes and cop rims for awhile, those were 15x7’s with 4.25” backspace and 225/60/15’s just barely cleared with the bodywork stock.

I’m curious too what tires you were running on the 17x8’s with 5” backspace. It’s not quite enough to get decent width tires up front, but it’s not terrible either.

CluelessMopar · Jan 10, 2022

72bluNblu said:
With a 15x7”, 3.75” backspace would mean that even a 205/65/15 would be marginal on the fenders. By that I mean it would have the same distance to the fenders as the 275/35/18’s on 18x9’s that I run, and I’ve rolled and pushed my fenders, lengthened the fender brace, etc. So depending on your ride height they might not be a safe bet at all.

I ran my Duster with 73+ brakes and cop rims for awhile, those were 15x7’s with 4.25” backspace and 225/60/15’s just barely cleared with the bodywork stock.

I’m curious too what tires you were running on the 17x8’s with 5” backspace. It’s not quite enough to get decent width tires up front, but it’s not terrible either.

They were 215/50/17 wheels. I bought a beat up pair of Mustang torque thrust wheels. Unfortunately they rubbed on the fenders pretty badly when turning. I ended up going with a Cragar D-Window wheel with 4.25 backspace and a 205/60/15 tire for the front and 225/60/15 on the rear. Hopefully those work out pretty good. I do like a little bit lower ride height as long as I'm not scraping the headers/exhaust all the time.

abodyjoe · Jan 10, 2022

CluelessMopar said:
Hey guys, I have a 1969 Dart that I've converted to big bolt pattern with front disc brakes and rear drums. I was looking at Bassett D-hole wheels to put on my Dart but was concerned that I may not have enough backspace for the front fenders.

Anyone know if I would have any issues with 15x7 with 3.75 backspace for the fenders?

Bassett Wheels 57RF375: Black DOT D-Hole Wheel Size: 15" x 7" - JEGS High Performance

Consequently is this all too little backspace to use in the rear? I have a 8 3/4

here are pictures of our 70 dart with 15x7 rims that have 4 1/2" backspace. tires are 225/60-15. to me 3.75 is not enough,, if i did it again i'd go 4 3/4 backspace.

car has 73-up big bolt disc brakes up front and an abody 8 3/4 rear with dr diff large bolt axles and 11" drum brakes.