wheel fitment on 65 valiant

-
younggun2.0

younggun2.0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
4,793
Reaction score
1,516
Location
federal way, wa
i am picking up my 65 valiant next week and am going to need wheels and tires first thing. the car has the big bolt disc swap up front and i have an 8 3/4 rear with the big bolt pattern. factory a-body width. what wheel and tires fit the early A's.

I want to run a 15" wheel set. was looking at a 15x7 with 4.5" back space for the front and rear.

rear tire size 235/60/15 these are 9" total width and 26" tall. would a 245 fit the rear?

front i was looking at 205/60/15. these are 7" wide and 25" tall.

what do you guys think? i know these cars are a tight fit for rubber, the mini tub is not in the cards for this car. it is going to be my girlfriends car and she says she doesnt want it to look like a race car. lol.
 
I put together a couple of 65 Valiants and a 66 using the very combo you list. All the cars were lowered slightly with big sway bars front and rear. Using MOPAR cop 15x7 wheels the 235 rear and 205 front tire sizes were the absolute max in stock fenders. You might even find that different manufacturers of tires with those same sizes will vary enough that some will interfere. I suggest making a deal with the tire store to take back any tires in trade for different ones if there are clearance problems. Good luck!
 
i ran 245 60 14's on my 66 cuda front and rear for years with stock 14 x 5.5" rally wheels
 
I'm finishing up my big bolt pattern conversion and I have 15 x 7 cop car wheels running 215/60R 15 Yokohamas all the way around. I was going to do 225 all the way around, but there are almost no performance tires available for 15s anymore. Had to settle for 215s to get some decent handling tires on all four corners. I wanted them the same size so I could rotate them.

I've driven it a few miles so far with this combo - no rubbing with 1" torsion bars.
 
That's probably the right sizes for your new 65. I have 215/65/15s on the front of my 66 but the fender opening is a different shape.
 
Be careful of 4 1/2 '' backspace on the front. On 3 cars,a Duster, Belvedere, and a 63 Valiant the wheel lip comes very close to the upper a-arm upper ball joint and hits any wheel weight on the inner lip of the rim. Both Aluminum and steel. I had to use stick on weights or trim a little from the a-arm lip.Factory mopar steelies are 15x7 with a 4 1/4'' backspace and work just fine.I ran that size on the 63 Valiant.Just a thought
 
Darter6 said:
Be careful of 4 1/2 '' backspace on the front. On 3 cars,a Duster, Belvedere, and a 63 Valiant the wheel lip comes very close to the upper a-arm upper ball joint and hits any wheel weight on the inner lip of the rim. Both Aluminum and steel. I had to use stick on weights or trim a little from the a-arm lip.Factory mopar steelies are 15x7 with a 4 1/4'' backspace and work just fine.I ran that size on the 63 Valiant.Just a thought
Click to expand...


thanks for the heads up. im thinking i might have to change my wheel choice as they do not come in the exact size i think i need. i am now looking at a 15x6 with 3 1/2" backspace. i think this will be a better choice. i can get a 235/60/15 on them for the rear and a 205/60/15 on the front. that puts the rear tire at 26" tall and the fronts at 25" tall. this i think should fill up the wheel wells nicely.
 
15x7 fit very well.
 

Attachments

  • 03-15-2012 front 15 in Magmum 500.jpg
    113.9 KB · Views: 594
  • 06-08-2012 car after another 5 inches rain front.jpg
    111.4 KB · Views: 591
Cop car wheels (15X7, 4" BS) with 225/60's in the rear and 195/60's in the front, 1" blocks in the rear and t-bars adjusted until the LCA's are horizontal:

i-X776T4b-M.jpg
 
My 65 Valiant: 15 x 6 w/4.5" BS steel wheels, 205-65-15 front, 225-60-15 rear, these tires have same OD. About 1" clearance with upper control arms, Wilwood discs, stock ride height, 8-3/4" rear with B-body drums.
 
Addressing the wheel to UCA clearance issue, this is where mine is at:

i-PzFCznQ-M.jpg
 
the most room I have under a 8 3/4 rear end is a 8.5 wide X 27 inch tall tire and that is in my 65 barracuda but I dont have the rims to accommodate those tires I had American racing wheels custom make me some sbp rims and ran bf Goodrich street legal drag slicks that were on 14x7 inch rear rims and the tires were about 25 inches tall there was no such thing as hooking up unless you were at the track at the right day for track temp and rubber layed down ahead of you . that flair on the wheel well is very deceiving as to how much tire will go under it with out major modification. gl with your ride the main thing is HAVE FUN with it
 
I don't have personal experiance, but have been told late model Mustang wheels will fit, and are available in 16 inch, which will give you better options on tires. I would at least check it out.
 
grimreaper said:
I like the look! Do you know the backspace your wheels have? How much clearance to the leaf springs? Any rubbing on the outside?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Thanks. The rims are 15x8 with a 41/2" B/S no they don't rub but i did many mods to get it where it is now, MP off set hangers,solid spring bushings,
modified /6 leafs.:burnout:
 

Attachments

  • 007.JPG
    106.1 KB · Views: 304
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top