Wheel and tire rec's for 67 Dart

[Hilderbrand1983]

I'd like to hear your recommendations for wheels and tires for my 1967 Dodge Dart 270. I am mostly interested in sizes, but would also welcome recommended manufacturers.

Thank you, ahead of time, for your patience. If I don't provide the proper info to get an accurate answer, please ask questions!

Rebuilding a 1967 Dodge Dart 270 for street / highway driving. The vehicle came with 9" drum brakes all around with 13" tires with the small-bolt pattern. The rear end is stock at 7 1/4". I have upgraded the front brakes using the 10.95" "Stage 1" disc brake kit from Doctor Diff. This will also upgrade me to the large-bolt pattern at 5x4.5 up front while retaining the 5x4 small-bolt pattern in the rear. I have a couple of questions.

1. Looking forward, I will one day upgrade to the 8 3/4" rear end. What is the largest street tire I could get such that I could buy four of them and, after upgrading the rear end, be able to rotate tires without moving the leaf springs? I understand that no tire fits both the BBP and SBP. My thought is to buy two BBP tires now for the front end and, once I upgrade the rear, I will buy two more. At that time, I will want to be able to rotate tires as on a normal RWD vehicle.

2. Will upgrading to larger tires have an effect on my speedo reading? If yes, can I adjust something mechanically to compensate?

3. How do I determine proper backspacing?

Safety is my priority here. Thanks, again!

 

[dano]

If you looking for a safety skip 15" tires and go to 17". The variety of compounds are much greater, cheaper and the case and tread designs are light years ahead. With the BBP swap you did in the front, the front trac got wider, so you need more backspacing (or positive offset). I run a 17x7 in the front with a 4.75 backspacing, but I run a staggered set up of 215/45/17 front and 245/45/17 in the rear on a 17x8 rim with a 5.375" backspace on a A-body 8-3/4 converted to BBP with 11" drums. A lot of folks have ran a 225 or 235 wide tire all the way round on 67-69 Darts, but wheel backspacing is key. All the other A bodies have different fender wells, so what fits a Duster, Barracuda, etc may not fit your car. 67-69 Dart are probably the most difficulty to fit without rolling fenders, offsetting springs, etc. Ideally for your rear source a 66-67 B-body 8-3/4 and use off the shelf 17x8 1994-2004 Mustang wheels. To rotate you need to jack the rear of the car up and let the rear axle hang so the wheel/tire will come out.

If you want to stay with 15" tires, a 15x7 with 4.5 back spacing and a 225/60/15 is a good combo. Wider 15" wheels with more back spacing cause issues of starting to hit the upper A Arm and tie rods.

Below is my car to give you an idea of fit. I've since swapped to Dr Diff 13" front brakes, another good reason for 17" wheels.

 

[roccodart440]

I'd like to hear your recommendations for wheels and tires for my 1967 Dodge Dart 270. I am mostly interested in sizes, but would also welcome recommended manufacturers.

Thank you, ahead of time, for your patience. If I don't provide the proper info to get an accurate answer, please ask questions!

Rebuilding a 1967 Dodge Dart 270 for street / highway driving. The vehicle came with 9" drum brakes all around with 13" tires with the small-bolt pattern. The rear end is stock at 7 1/4". I have upgraded the front brakes using the 10.95" "Stage 1" disc brake kit from Doctor Diff. This will also upgrade me to the large-bolt pattern at 5x4.5 up front while retaining the 5x4 small-bolt pattern in the rear. I have a couple of questions.

1. Looking forward, I will one day upgrade to the 8 3/4" rear end. What is the largest street tire I could get such that I could buy four of them and, after upgrading the rear end, be able to rotate tires without moving the leaf springs? I understand that no tire fits both the BBP and SBP. My thought is to buy two BBP tires now for the front end and, once I upgrade the rear, I will buy two more. At that time, I will want to be able to rotate tires as on a normal RWD vehicle.

2. Will upgrading to larger tires have an effect on my speedo reading? If yes, can I adjust something mechanically to compensate?

3. How do I determine proper backspacing?

Safety is my priority here. Thanks, again!

1. 9.65 section width. About a 245 tire.

2. A taller/shorts tire than stock will affect the speedo reading. You can get the correct speedo gear or a GPS sender.

3. You measure from the spring to the mounting face. Error on the side of too much backspace then you can adjust if need be.