Got my 69 almost done an have been taking her out for short rides on the back roads to try out my new gears and posi. Nothing but wheel spin! No dumping the clutch just trying to roll on some power and the car starts drifting. A heck of a lot of fun, but more traction was definitely needed. I have always ran Cragar SS rims (since 1976) and wanted to keep things the same, so I went to order a Cragar SS 8” wide. They only come with 4.25” backspace. So here’s some information I couldn’t find on the internet but thought could help someone looking to run larger tires. I mounted a BF GOODRICH 255 radial TA on a Cragar SS 15”x8” rim and found that I had about 2” clearance from the inner wheel well, and was in danger of hitting the sidewall on the outer fender unless the car was raised higher than it need to be. And the stance was too wide looking. IMHO. 245s were also too close to the outer fender. After going around and around on this I found that I could have the backspacing changed on my new rims. Of course the guy at the tire store said this couldn’t be done and that he’d never heard of it. (Of course that was after I’d returned two sets of tires and his patience was getting thin.) but it worked not only great, but perfectly! I have the 255 on a 15x8 Cragar with 3/4” clearance on the inside and 3/4” clearance on the outside. I had the hub moved outward 1-3/8”. No re-chroming needed. The magic number for backspacing on a 69 with factory differential is 5-5/8” or even 5-3/4”, the tire is 27” tall and I think it’s the perfect fit for the old “muscle car” look. I had the wheels done at Stockton Wheel in CA. The only place apparently that does it. 135.00 per wheel plus shipping. Hope this helps someone.
