If you had a 68 I could help ya... I run Cobra sizes on my car, 17x8 4" BS up front, 17x9.5 5.5" BS on the rear. I can say that these work well with good springs and shocks- with old front springs sagging they would rub in a hard corner. The 9.5s are pushing it in the rear- if the car leans too much on a launch (another junk sagging spring issue) it would rub the 275 tire on the frame a bit...

 

PS Have you called Centerline and asked tech what they think?

 

I haven't called any of the companies. I figured there were enough people around running them that I could get a good pic and BS recommendation from somebody who's got it right. Going to the wheel stores, they don't want to help you unless you bring the car in or sell them on the idea that you really are going to buy from them. Every retailer fears the internet now and is skeptical about just giving out info for you to go order on Ebay or something.

Anybody have an older one with wheels? I have a bunch of pics saved from some of your cars so I know they're out there.

Thanks for any help
Dave

 

Hope this helps..

When I measured the stock steels on my '62, I came up with a 14"x6" rim, with a 3" backspace. Exactly zero offset.

Using that as a starting point, I picked a 15x7" rim, 3.75" backspace and a big tire on it (225/70R15) which was 27" in diameter.

The idea is to keep the wheels on the same centerlines to avoid any complications (changes in steering geometry, rubbing fenderwells, etc.) I got close as I could, since 3.5" backspace wasn't an option in the rim style I wanted.

Here's what they look like:

As you can see, plenty of room inside the rear fender.

You can do the same calculations. You are going to big rims, but you will probably be running low profile tires on them. So, if your tire of choice is under 27" in diameter on an 8" wide rim, it looks like you'll be OK with any backspace between 4" (closest to fender lip, but on the OEM centerlines) to 5" ( closest to the inside fenderwells) on the rear. Front looks like staying closer to 4" - 4.25" because of the upper ball joint on the control arms. On an 18" rim, it may not be an issue..inside lip of the rim is above the ball joint?

I know folks do two different rim widths/backspaces all the time. I don't know what your needs are, but I tend to want all (including the spare) to be the same for the purposes of rotating them.

If I were to plunk down my money, I'd get one rim and tire with a 4.25" backspace and hang them on the car before buying a full set of five.

 

Curt, Thanks for the pics and info. I don't plan to have the leafs there anymore so I'm going to use part of that space as well. My 4 link will be inside the rails. I usually follow your idea of same offset for rotation but this time I'm going for a neater look with big beef in the rear even though I'm only going with a 400-450hp 393W. The fronts are going to be my worry because I won't know what I need until I get the Fatman kit installed. I don't want to be limited to 7" rim in back because the front is so.

A buddy is bringing Mustang 17x8 over tomorrow so we can test fit and get an idea. I have the drivers side wheels off and the suspension is at ride height. We'll see how it does tomorrow.



On a side note, I got the chrome around the windows off today and like the look. I'm going to paint the window runs to match the car color. I also took off that back cheese grater looking piece just under the trunk lid. It's going to stay off too and I'll fil all the holes. I'm taking all the badges off except the FORD and GALAXIE on the hood and trunk too. I like slim lines with little accents. The side trim will stay on the fenders and doors but the few vertical slats on the tail inside the trim will be removed as well. I think I might keep the driprail chrome as well as the pillar moulding on the rear pillar. THe slim trim around the tail lights and the one on the trunk just under the GALAXIE will also stay. Everything else will go.

It's also got an agreed upon color now by her and I. We're going with the Bright Blue Metalic that is on my Stang. That with a good thick clearcoat will really shine well against the chrome and rims.

As soon as I get the money for the stang and it's out of the garage, I'll pull the Galaxie in and start a build project page on her.

 

I'd go 4.5" rear b/s and 3.5" (4 max) front. That is what I run on my 64, 4.5 and 3.5" and it works fine with 15" Weld wheels.

 

Got any pics from the front side of the car with them on?

 

See pics here:

http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/makin-progress/462620-orange-64-galaxie-progess-13.html

http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/makin-progress/462620-orange-64-galaxie-progess-11.html

Scroll thru the pics to see, no hitting, rubbing or nothing. It's a tricky thing getting the rears put on, actually gotta deflate one tire quite a bit. 18" OR 17" tires probably would slide right on. 305/45/18's on Lightning rims slid on nice, backspace was almost a foot off though.

 

Just remember mustang wheels typically have a pretty deep backspacing- 94-04 stang wheels are 5.65" if I remember right- definitely between 5.5" and 5.75" though regardless...

Just a thought.

 

Oh, I know it's going to be an issue but at least it helps me get an idea. I can space and mount what I like and then take the balance off the BS of the wheel.

Thanks for the heads up though.

 

You mentioned that you are running a fatman clip and a 4 link. The lower the backspacing the smaller the wheel lip that shows. On my 61 I have a fatman,4 link,air bags and run 18x8 in front with 4.5" backspacing and
20x8 1/2" with 4" backspacing in back. I could of run 4.5" in back also but didn't want the tire to rub when the bags were fully deflated.

I can turn the front wheel from side to side with no problems rubbing.

4 1/2" backspacing for the most part is what I have done on all my early 60's full size fords.

 

I've posted this numerous times.... 17x9 w/ 4.5" back spacing, F&R. 235/55r17 tires. 66 Custom 4 door.

 

I've run numerous 8" wide rims on the back of my '63's and have found that 4 1/2" backspacing has worked best for me. I've never run wide rims on the fronts so I can't help ya there.

Good Luck with the project

 

Ggrahn,
Do you have any pics of that? I ran 245/45's on my 17x8's and thought that was the lowest I'd go on them. 235's on a 9" rim sounds a bit too small to me. It might work OK on a 66. I don't know if there is a difference on the 66 versus the 63.

I think I'm settled on a 17 or 18 by 8 inch rim I can run a 275/40 on the rear and it'll be a 26" tire. The fronts can be a 245/40 or 45 and it'll look great as long as the 4.5" BS puts them out enough. If not, I can always run a spacer and bring it out up to 1/4 inch more. I think it'll be fine.

Thanks guys for all the inputs. I just don't want to get something to have to sell it off because it's wrong. That's the good part about the forums. We learn from others ideas, experiences and mistakes. I've taught a lot of people on my mistakes with the racecar.

I'll start posting pics as soon as i get some work done on her.

Dave

 

I have 20x8's all the way around on my 71 w/a 4-1/2 b.s. works out perfect up or aired all the way out. Also have 17's on a 70 Merc with 4-1/2 b.s. sits perfect.

Also have a 68 w/ 17's, but the front has 5" b.s. and is too much, and had to space it out a 1/4" to keep upper a-arms from rubbing (I pulled the wheels off a car I traded for).

My rule is a 4 1/2" b.s. is the way to go on the Galaxies.

 

it may look odd running the same 8" wheel with a 245 tire on the front and a 275 tire on the back- 245s are pretty much perfect fitment to an 8" wheel... 275 is going to be rolling out around the lip on that same 8" wheel...

thats why I run the staggered 8 and 9.5" combo

PS dont 8" wheels with a 4.5" backspace on a 68 look like they are shoved way deep into the wheelwells?! Maybe its just my personal perference...

 

Oops. I meant 17x8. Those number as so close together.

 

That actually looks good there. I hope they look the same (spacing wise) on a 63. Thanks.

I thought 275 was too much for an 8" too until I tried it. It depends on the brand tire you use. I've seen a few different ones work great. I ran that combo on my stang and they were the perfect match height wise and the wer pattern was great. Lots of guys do it actually now. There wasn't as much side bubble as you'd think. The key is the 40 sizing kieeping the sidewall size down.

I'll have to dig up a pic of the stang with it like that.

Thanks guys

I'm just deciding on the right wheel now.

Dave

 

I was looking at the picture of the 66 and I noticed that the cut out for the wheel on the fender is round where my 64 has a flat top I wonder if this is why the tire hits on my 64? Any thoughts?

 

I have Pirelli P Zero Neros. They are the upper of the two tires under that name. Only reason I got them was a VERY good connection at Discount Tire.

 

Here is my Gal `s pic, 8x17 Are torq Thrust II`s
235-45-17

 

64Galaxie514, What size tires are you running on your rim setup. Looks good.