I am preparing to purchase a set of wheels for my 54 coupe, and I am trying to pick appropriate wheel sizes thet will fit over front disc brakes on the stock spindles.
I was thinking a 15x6 on the front with a relatively narrow tire like a
205. For the rear I was planning a 15x7, but would consider a 15x8 if if would fit.Would anyone be willing to share rim widths and backspacing that fits?
I am probably looking at painted steel wheels with caps, smoothies maybe? Thanks, Brian
Brian,
check out the MoPar cop car wheels on my '55, those fit well. If you could find some "baby moon" caps for a MoPar wheel I think they would be darn near perfect. I think they're 15x7" with about 3/4" offset. You'd need more backspacing to make a 15x8" work; there's little space on the outside but lots on the inside.
nate
There are new steel wheels available through some NAPA stores - NWRA #40273, about $50.00 each or you can find them in Turning Wheels. They are 15 X 6 (7 inches wide at the outer edges) and have a 4" backspace or about a + 13mm offset. The fit over the old or new (Turner?) disk brakes very well. I don't know any numbers for anything else, of a recent production, but the bolt circle is 5 X 4.5 in. or roughly 5 X
114.3 mm. You'll need the larger lugnuts (7/16-20 LH), as the stock Stude nut is a tad small for the lug hole. The wheels work on the front very well, but if you go to a 15X7 ( 8 inches wide), with the same offset, you may contact the upper a-frame on tight turns. The rear can stand almost anything up to a 15 X 8 without any problem. The front can go out to zero offset without a problem, but that depends on what tire you use. Here's a file I keep on wheels
You'll like the cleaning aspect of 'smoothie' wheels. Just a quick wipe and they are clean. Watch the hubcap mount style on the centers. Most smoothies are made for an internal snap in baby moon cap. You have to order them special for the larger (internal snap) baby moon cap. or for an outside snap hubcap. I'd recommend Wheel Vintiques, or Stockton wheel. They both make a superb strong wheel, to whatever spec you want. Jeff
Nate,
I think we're thinking along the exact same lines... I just haven't found the wheelcovers I like for the MoPar wheels yet. (for financial reasons, I haven't been looking that hard.) The middle two links are to a Chevy style wheel that looks very, very similar to what I have - main difference is 5 cooling holes instead of 6.
nate
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