Tire and wheels for 65 Comet
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Gas40, I have a 64 Futura Conv with 16" on front and 17" on rear with 1 1/2" spacers . I also have disc all around. Now I lowered my front end by cutting out one link on the springs, this got me into clearance rubbing issues with the 17" on the front. My sons 65 Ranchero kept the original ride stance and has 17" all around with disc also and no clearance issues. Now we have Falcons not Comets so I'm guessing the wheel wells are the same or close. You should find some from a mustang and see if you can install them for fit purposes. But see the pic the look is awesome. Good luck!
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I reposted the pic as the first one I think missed a bracket and didn't show up. Hope this one makes it.
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Gas40 I thought I'd submit my sons 65 with the original ride height and his 17" all around and again with all wheel disc brakes. He also enjoys the look, his are off a Mustang R he got from a friend.
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I ran into a similar problem with my set up. I did a four wheel disc conversion on the reconstruction of my 64 Falcon and had miss calculated the span of the differential. Pushed my 14" American Torq Thrusters right into the rear fender flanges. I had posted this problem a while back but it got no attention.
Rather than pull the rear end out again and cut it down I started researching all the backsets and offsets out there to come up with something that was going to get in there. Most of the more radical backsets only seem to be available in 17 and 18" wheels. A 14 front 15rear combo would have worked for me but like I said could not find anything with a proper backset.
So I bit the bullet and bought a set of 17 x 8 Mustang bullets with a 5.66bs I will be able to pack a 245 in the rear possibly a 255 if I stiffen up the rear. I still want to keep my stance and not have the wheels dictate the ride height. Would like to get a 225 will settle on a 215 up front might have to do a 16 x 7 wheel set on the front end.
I do not want these things to look like rubber bands on these rims so I would like to do a 45 profile a 40 if I have to but that is pushing it for me.
If I can pack the rubber under my falcon with no rub issues and keep the car slung low I might be able to get over the dia of these rims.
It is funny that a 16" seems so much smaller than a 17" and the 17" seems huge in comparison to the 14" that grown into.
You also have a wider selection of performance rated tires in the 16 through 18 ranges, sticky track tires are almost becoming obsolete in the 14 and 15” sizes. Or at least there are fewer manufactures of these tires.
I would like to know what tire combos you and your Son ended up with on your Falcon and Ranchero. And what size you had on the 17's up front on your red Falcon when you had the rub issues.
Thanks,
Ras Daniel
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Rather than pull the rear end out again and cut it down I started researching all the backsets and offsets out there to come up with something that was going to get in there. Most of the more radical backsets only seem to be available in 17 and 18" wheels. A 14 front 15rear combo would have worked for me but like I said could not find anything with a proper backset.
So I bit the bullet and bought a set of 17 x 8 Mustang bullets with a 5.66bs I will be able to pack a 245 in the rear possibly a 255 if I stiffen up the rear. I still want to keep my stance and not have the wheels dictate the ride height. Would like to get a 225 will settle on a 215 up front might have to do a 16 x 7 wheel set on the front end.
I do not want these things to look like rubber bands on these rims so I would like to do a 45 profile a 40 if I have to but that is pushing it for me.
If I can pack the rubber under my falcon with no rub issues and keep the car slung low I might be able to get over the dia of these rims.
It is funny that a 16" seems so much smaller than a 17" and the 17" seems huge in comparison to the 14" that grown into.
You also have a wider selection of performance rated tires in the 16 through 18 ranges, sticky track tires are almost becoming obsolete in the 14 and 15” sizes. Or at least there are fewer manufactures of these tires.
I would like to know what tire combos you and your Son ended up with on your Falcon and Ranchero. And what size you had on the 17's up front on your red Falcon when you had the rub issues.
Thanks,
Ras Daniel
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96 Posts
Ok fellows here is the info on our wheels and tire setup.
1) The 65 Ranchero has 17" wheels with 255-45-17's all the way around, and I believe he (my son) has 1 1/2" spacers on the front with 1/2" spacers on rear. The car has original ride height and all wheel disc brakes.
2) The 64 Futura has 16" wheels on front with 225-50-16's (1 1/2 spacers) and 17" wheels with 245-45-17's (1 1/2 spacers) on rear. I took out a coil on front suspension and this eliminated the use of the 17", even with the 16" I had to trim and shape the fender well inside and lip. Also all wheel disc brakes. Now just as an added clearance issue on the 64 I had my Currie 9" rear narrowed but I can't remember how much. So I have a good clearance issue on the rear of the car. My sons is original and he has a tight fit, slight rub going over bumps in the road. We'll fix that later.
1) The 65 Ranchero has 17" wheels with 255-45-17's all the way around, and I believe he (my son) has 1 1/2" spacers on the front with 1/2" spacers on rear. The car has original ride height and all wheel disc brakes.
2) The 64 Futura has 16" wheels on front with 225-50-16's (1 1/2 spacers) and 17" wheels with 245-45-17's (1 1/2 spacers) on rear. I took out a coil on front suspension and this eliminated the use of the 17", even with the 16" I had to trim and shape the fender well inside and lip. Also all wheel disc brakes. Now just as an added clearance issue on the 64 I had my Currie 9" rear narrowed but I can't remember how much. So I have a good clearance issue on the rear of the car. My sons is original and he has a tight fit, slight rub going over bumps in the road. We'll fix that later.
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Interesting. I impressed that you got a 255 to clear on the front of the Ranchero. The rims on that car look like the Mustang Cobra rims which I though were 9"?
You never mentioned rim widths or backsets but do you think with the 1 1/2 spacer in the front that you possibly pushed the wheels too far out bound which led to your having to rework the fender wells? Also a 50 series tire is taller than a 45 or a 40 which might have also compounded that issue?
I think a 7" wheel up front is ideal although a 8" will work beyond that you are going to have issues.
The big backspacing (4 3/4"
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on the 17’s works because the barrel of the 17" is big enough to get it up and over the end of the upper control arm. Once you drop down to 16" you need 4 1/2 backspacing, 15" wheel is 3 3/4 BS. If you start going deeper that 4 3/4 up front you will have to start spacing. I have seen another set up on a 64 Falcon with 17x8 was uncertian of the backsets and he got by with 1/2 spacers on the front only and had no issues.
So what backspacing combo and rim size did you go with?
I have been trying to dial in this backspacing, offset and rim size thing for a while now and if the combinations are correct you should avoid issues. The front wheel openings are tight on the front of these Falcons since they were designed for a smaller diameter wheel. 13 and 14" came stock on the 64. I have seen these larger wheel combos work on the early Mustangs and they almost look at home on them.
Ras Daniel
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You never mentioned rim widths or backsets but do you think with the 1 1/2 spacer in the front that you possibly pushed the wheels too far out bound which led to your having to rework the fender wells? Also a 50 series tire is taller than a 45 or a 40 which might have also compounded that issue?
I think a 7" wheel up front is ideal although a 8" will work beyond that you are going to have issues.
The big backspacing (4 3/4"
So what backspacing combo and rim size did you go with?
I have been trying to dial in this backspacing, offset and rim size thing for a while now and if the combinations are correct you should avoid issues. The front wheel openings are tight on the front of these Falcons since they were designed for a smaller diameter wheel. 13 and 14" came stock on the 64. I have seen these larger wheel combos work on the early Mustangs and they almost look at home on them.
Ras Daniel
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96 Posts
Daniel, Well when we got the wheels used for a fair price we didn't do much investigation on proper backspacing and spacers. We just got the wheels and went to work on how and what to do to make them fit. Now again the Ranchero (my sons) are stock Mustang Cobra rims and I believe they ar 17X9. As far as backspacing I couldn't tell you without removing them and measure. But again they came off a stock MC. Now you know we could try a smaller spacer and see if that would give us greater wheel well clearance, but for now he is fine. The wheel well issue came on the 64 with the lowering (cutting a coil off the spring) of the front end. This caused me to go to 16" wheels and I actually like the stance now and my rack and pinion steering setup likes it too. Now again I don't remember the wheel sizes but I believe the rears are 17X9 and the fronts are 16X8. I went smaller to accomodate a smaller tire. Here's another issue when one starts putting these big wheels on: If one doesn't use proper spacers the 16" will hit the upper control arms. BTW May 13th is the All Ford Show put on by SoCal Galaxies, in Anaheim, you plan on attending?
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Yeah, I know a deal is a deal and you make work what you have. I have been putting a lot of thought into this mater as you can see.
Next question, did you do the Shelby drop on the front control arms? I think if you had, it would have freed up more room around the inside of the 16 allowing it a deeper BS.
"BTW May 13th is the All Ford Show put on by SoCal Galaxies, in Anaheim, you plan on attending?"
I will mark the date, do not know if my Falcon will be yp and running by then but if it is I will bring him on down. I am so close to getting this Bird back on the road. I just might show up regardless, nothing like wall to wall Fords.
Thanks for all the input.
Ras Daniel
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Next question, did you do the Shelby drop on the front control arms? I think if you had, it would have freed up more room around the inside of the 16 allowing it a deeper BS.
"BTW May 13th is the All Ford Show put on by SoCal Galaxies, in Anaheim, you plan on attending?"
I will mark the date, do not know if my Falcon will be yp and running by then but if it is I will bring him on down. I am so close to getting this Bird back on the road. I just might show up regardless, nothing like wall to wall Fords.
Thanks for all the input.
Ras Daniel
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96 Posts
Daniel, well hope to see you there. I am coming up with a couple other Falcon buds of mine. Look forward to seeing yours. BTW I did not do anything more that cut a coil off my springs to lower the car. I have been toying with the idea of putting in a tubular front suspension just not sure what brand. I also was more interested in getting my rack and pinion setup done first, and now that it is I can start investigating the new front suspension idea. Hope to see you May 13th we can talk Falcon stuff.
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