Rims and Tires 101

Vanish wrote:This is a Great Thred !!!!!! Donivan and my self have started a album on this subject some time ago and it never really went any where !!!! I think this would really be helpfull to all of us here !!! all A'S G'S AND E'S IF WE BUILD THIS ALBUM WITH YOUR WHEEL AND TIRE SIZE !!! AND SHOW US PICTURES OF THEM ???????

http://vintage-vans.smugmug.com/gallery/3495334_5UprG#197014477_XrLnm

sure would like to see this idea take off. The 17s on the G in the link, look amazing

Velma is a survivor, she's even got the original cap, rotor, and wires from '66. The the spare is original and has never been on the van, it's an 815-15 Goodyear Power Cushion Bias-Ply. I'm trying to keep her all original, so I'm putting 815-15's back on. (She has 710-15's from the early 70's on her now.) Goodyear sold all of their vintage molds to Kelsey Tire (www.kelseytire.com) but they no longer make an 815-15. I ordered a set of BF Goodrich 1" Whitewalls from Coker instead. I should have them on next week sometime and I'll try to post some pics.

benwah wrote:well im curantly running a 2" block lift on the rear on both my 65a100van and 68 a100vanup. 295 50 15 tire size craigar rims4 1/2"back space . im runnin 14 S in the front cant quite nail the size have to look. my first van 68 a 108 had firestone reverse rims no back space 165 60 15sand ran stock 15 s up front. any questions give me a shout-ben

A few pics Ben sent me a while back...

WOW what a purddy van n pickup!

Any idea what Ter's specs are on his wheels and tires...both trucks please

225 70 15 on stock steels with dog dish hub caps. i grabbed mine off a late seventies dodge van even got the full sized spare bumper jack and all the factory equipment to go with it most the old dodge plym cars and vans etc will have wheels that fit. i believe jeep has the same bolt pattern on like the 90's wrangler and cherokees.

14 in fronts off a late 60's wagon and 15's off a mid ram with chrome rings and old hubcaps

I just installed some 15" rallyes I had along with 215/75/15 white letter tires. I'm very happy. My speedometer is working correctly finally and my spare is a 215/75 also but an old bias ply thing. I think this is what my van came with originally. They fill the wheel well nicely but can look a little narrow from the back...but I can rotate them all with no problems. I'll be adding some acorn style center caps soon that I just bought at Carlisle.

235/75R15 on stock wheels.

I have a set of Cragars with 215/60 15
just put a set of Firestone's on them, pretty happy

i'm not sure how i missed all of this . here is a tire size calulator. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

last year i ran 15in 225 x 70 's 4 in back space all 4 they fit fine. but the van would not fit in the garage. this year i'm running front 14 in 185x 75 on a 6 in rim rears are 245x60 on a 8 in rim with a 4 1/2 in back space both sets of tires are the same height. and the van now fits in the garage...

225/70/14 on Ansen slotted mags

Cooper Cobra GT 215/65-15 on 15x6 standard Keystone rim and Cooper Cobra GT 255/60-15 on 15x8 standard Keystone rim. I'm debating switching to just a slightly taller front (one step up) but overall I like the stance.

Lorin

Some 90's Budnik 16x8 fronts and 17x10s rear. These are my dads I put on for a local show, probably bought before i was born or close after.

I took a 15inch wheel from my '05 Caravan and bolted on my '64 A100 to get an idea of what tire size to choose. The center hub fit perfectly, but the offset was off and the tire rubbed when the steering wheel was turned lock to lock. The tire was a 215-70 R15 and it did look nice. I'm seeing from the other posts that when I put on some steel wheels from a 70's era dodge van, I might be able to go a bit wider. With a 15inch wheel, what height should I stick to so that the speedometer is as close to accurate? Or, is there a way to re-calibrate the speedo?
thanks.

equium wrote:I took a 15inch wheel from my '05 Caravan and bolted on my '64 A100 to get an idea of what tire size to choose. The center hub fit perfectly, but the offset was off and the tire rubbed when the steering wheel was turned lock to lock. The tire was a 215-70 R15 and it did look nice. I'm seeing from the other posts that when I put on some steel wheels from a 70's era dodge van, I might be able to go a bit wider. With a 15inch wheel, what height should I stick to so that the speedometer is as close to accurate? Or, is there a way to re-calibrate the speedo?
thanks.

I had a conversation with a local Big O tire employee and was told that a wheel off a Honda Accord and a wheel off a toyota will fit our A's with the proper backspacing. He used to own a '61 econoline as well.

Ok I have read through all this and have had bad experiences in getting rims from the pic-a-part lots. I need to get two steel rims for the dodge and wanted to know what all vehicles have our stock rims on, and is there a good way to tell if it is not bent before buying it and having the tire mounted? Going to try and salvage one rim by welding up the valve stem area as it is small pinhole leaks, but need to definitely get a spare rim. Any help would be great.

Sure there is! When at the junkyard, use some sort of straight edge device, I'll usually pick up a straight piece of trim from the ground or something, Place it on the fender extending out over the lip of the rim. Obviously the tire sticks out some, so if you want to fasten a small stick or pencil or bolt whatever to the end of the trim, at a 90 degree angle to it, pointing in towards the first "inward roll" of the rim. This will give you a fixed point of refrence. Spin the tire/rim on the vehicle and visually gauge how much the rim is or is not bent. (The only way this does not work is if the hub is bent, which is not very common).

Hub check / rim verification.
If you think the hub may be bent, and you REALLY want that rim, mark the rim where it dips in or raises out the most (either or, not both) Then remove the rim/tire from the car, turn it where the mark is almost opposite where it was before and remount. If it raises or dips in the OPPOSITE spot of the mark, the hub is bent. If it raises or dips in the SAME spot as the mark, the rim is bent.

Happy hunting amigo!

Hey man, Thanks. That will save me alot of trips on getting rims. Son went through this with his Neon and it took 5 rims before he got one that was not bent and usable.

Will let you know what I find. If there any other cars or trucks other then the Volare, duster, dart or belvedere that we can use?

I'm running 15' black Daytona rims with used Hoosiers from my buddy's race car. The rims were off of a ford mustang a guy at work had. 1966 dodge a-100

I have finally decided on some wheels to complement my 1968 A100 Sportsman window van. I was leaning towards the Cragar SS for a long time, and while I love the look on shorter, more muscle style vans, I just don't think they would look right on mine.

Having said that, I guess the wheels I am looking at are not using the Unilug system and I am going to have to figure out the correct bolt pattern. This is what the stats on the wheel say:

Wheel Vintiques #939-12-5612358
12 Series Wheel
Size: 15 x 6
Bolt Circle: 4-1/2, 4-3/4
Rear Spacing: 3-5/8

Will that work out? I'm guess that means 5 bolts at 4 1/2" spacing (not sure how it also has 4 3/4").

Also, would I be better going off with a 15 x 6 or a 15 x 7? I have mismatched wheels on it right now from who knows where. What I do know is that I got some tax refund money and want to give my baby some new shoes.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Wheel-Vintiques/939/12-5612358/10002/-1

Sintax find out if the rims you are looking into are compatible with disc brakes.??? just so if you ever do a conversion they will still fit. I hate it when you do a upgrade and then something else does not work.. I'm thinking they will work but it does not hurt to ask...

dix wrote:Sintax find out if the rims you are looking into are compatible with disc brakes.??? just so if you ever do a conversion they will still fit. I hate it when you do a upgrade and then something else does not work.. I'm thinking they will work but it does not hurt to ask...

Awesome idea! Thanks for suggesting that as I do plan to upgrade some day in the near future.

sintax wrote:I'm guess that means 5 bolts at 4 1/2" spacing (not sure how it also has 4 3/4").

Can't say for sure, but I had some wheels where the lug holes were slotted to accomodate 4-1/2" and 4-3/4" (and maybe even bigger). The lug nuts were a tight fit to keep the wheel centered.