I have done quite a bit of searching without a definitive answer. Anyways I would like to install Nitto NT555 255/45ZR17 tires on the front of my 1965 Skylark. Rims would be 8" x 17". Nominal backspacing is 4.5". By the way I will be installing upper and lower tubular A-arms. Tire height is 25.94" and the section width is 10.08". So, has anyone done this on an early A-body car?
I have 245/45 17 on 17x8 wheels with 5.25 backspacing on the front of my 65. It is very close but no rubbing lock to lock. My car is lowered as well. I don't think 4.5 backspacing is going to work for an 8 inch wide wheel and a 255 wide tire...it may clear while driving straight but any body role while turning may rub the fender.
Bdp is right,,,I have 245/45/17 on an 8" rim,,5" bs,,and it "just" touches,,,I removed the bolt out of the top center of the wheel well lip and it seems to have helped!! My car is also lowered,,with spc upper control arms,,,stock lowers!!!
Thanks guys, that is the conclusion I am coming to. I will probably go with the 245/45ZR17 tires in the front and special order the 5.25" backspacing on the wheels. The 255 tire may be a tad to big. By the way we will be able to fit the 285/40ZR17s in the rear. We are going to do some wheel well mods on the rear.
Should look sharp with a big tire like that in the rear!!! I stuck to 255/50 in the rear,,,looks good,,,but yours will look better!!! What rims are you going to run??
the biggest I could fit on the rear of my 65 was 255/50/16 on a 16X8 rim with 5 1/2" back spacing and I run a 1970 A body diff ken
Thanks Ken for the info. I have a 71 Buick axle going in and hopefully with a 9.5" wheel. We are going to do a little surgery on the rear wheel well area. The person doing this has done it before with success on another car. However I will not order the wheels and tires until I know for sure. I am not in any rush.
A little update with my 1965 Skylark project now that the car is in the shop. Here are some pictures of the rear differential installation also showing the wheel well modifications. With these mods we were able to get 13" of clearance. This will allow me to install the Nitto 555 285/40ZR17 tires which are 11.4" wide. The backspacing turned out to be 6.375" with the addition of the disc brake kit. This has the rear from a 1971 Skylark. Here are some pictures. In this picture you can see the 17" x 9.5" wheels with 6.5" back spacing. These are on loan until my VN500 wheels come in.
We got the Nitto 285/40ZR17 tires mounted today. I took a few pictures to show how they fit and the clearance in the wheel well. With the wheel well modifications that were done they fit with no problem. Here are some pictures. One a side view of the car.
