livin

What's the largest tire I can put onto my 67's 6 inch Rally's with no fender damage?

Right now I have 205x75x15 and I am worried that I need to go smaller!

any ideas, greatly appreciated... I need first hand experience.

Thanks,
livin
p.s. this is for the yellow car!

macdarren

I think you can do a 215/65 or 215/70 without problems, 225 is also possible depending on body variations. If you stay with the 75 series I don't think I would do more than the 215 as that makes for a tall tire and it starts to get the tire buldge right up into the fender. I haven't done alot of experiments with the rally wheel as I decided to go alloy but those are numbers that worked for me. Others will know more.

livin

Thanks Darren,

I look forward to more answers... I am hoping a set of shocks will do the trick, and I can stay with these 205/75/15's. They are just reallllllllyyyyyy close to the fenders right now.

thanks again.

67pete

My experience was that the front inner wheel well / frame(near the firewall) was the first part to hit / rub with full wheel lock, even with the orignal tire from the factory. This may not be a high speed situation but with possible sharp edges there it still might be something to check also.

wmf62

shocks will have little effect on ride height, unless you use air shocks. about all you can do is raise the rearend in order to get more travel distance.
Bill

Paul L

I don't know the largest but I haven't had any problems with Pirelli 215-70R/15. The wheels are 6" American Racing. When I bought those tires I was informed that that size mimics the original 7.75-15.

66since71

I am really surprised they are very close to the fenders. That size should fit, no brainer. (it is the closest modern replacement for the stock 775x15s)

Have you checked that the rallys are the correct ones for the car (offset and width). I can imagine, for example, that 15x7s from a 68 corvette might be a problem (too much outboard offset).
(never mind on this one... I just saw your other post where the wheels were repainted, and the DC code on the wheels is correct. Nice paint job, by the way.)

Is it possible the car was hit and repaired poorly where the clearance problem is?

JohnZ

You shouldn't have any issues at all with 205/75's - they're exactly the same cross-section width and diameter as the original 7.75's.

DFA

I have 205x75x15s on my 66 and have not had any problems at all. I running the Michelin Radials.
DFA

LouieM

Based on my experience over many years of putting them on around fifteen 63-67s of my own, the 215/65/15 size is the largest you can fit on with absolutely no chance of going fender damage. This includes autocrossing my current 67 roadster. I discovered last year that the LF tire did slightly ding the fender lip during an autocross spinout, because the original springs on the car were too soft and allowed too much compression to happen during that violent manuever. However, that's as far as damage to any Sting Ray I've owned with 216/65/15 tires, including a nearly 5,000-mile drive in 2004 that included unpaved roads coming out of Yellowstone Park. I also like that I can fit a 215/65/15 spare in the tire tub if I use the "long" tub bolts, although the tub lid stays open (downward) about an inch. My 2 cents.

livin

Thanks everyone.

My fenders have never been altered, flared, or repaired. The 205-75-15's are ridiculously close, more so on one side. I will take pictures later today and post them. You won't believe it.

Thanks for all the advice this was a informative thread for me so far.... I really appreciate your answers.

Thanks
livin

livin

How do you raise the rear end? I am guessing my leaf must be very soft... cause we are talking milimeters of clearance on one side, the other is a little better. The car hasn't ever been wrecked, so I guess this is what they are talking about when they say poor panel fit from the factory!

Can I raise my rear end up off those tires?

Paul L

You must have 7 or 8" wheels.

wmf62

raising the rear of the car is as simple as getting shorter bolts to replace the ones on the end of each spring. every inch shorter bolt should raise the car a corresponding amount. BE VERY CAREFUL when you do this, make sure the spring end is jacked up in such a manner that it doesn't get loose, if can cause some serious damage to life & limb if it hits you....
Bill

livin

you know I haven't measured the wheels, but as the original owner told me, they are the originals. My Rally Wheels have the codes on them DC, KH and GM.... well I know what the GM stands for.... as I understand, I think the DC means they are 67 wheels and I am guessing that the KH is a date code? any help here....

if they are indeed the originals, which I am willing to bet a few bucks on.... (just a few ) then they would be 6 inch rims.

I bought these tires from the local tire shop, where a friend of mine works, and another friend owns. They are Goodyears and are single ply, they were ordered for another car that didn't take delivery of them, and since the size was correct and it is my buddies shop, I tried to make them work for my corvette..... I am guessing that they are passenger car tires and maybe the side-wall isn't stiff enough under load..... maybe thats a load of you know what...

I think I am going to buy some new 6 inch Chrome Rally's and just run the center caps...... One of the originals is not completely true and it needs better restoration than what I did for show.

thanks again guys!!!!

LouieM

If the springs on your car are original, they certainly have sagged by now, just like every other midyear's springs. You can get your originals re-arced or buy new ones, and this will restore your ride height. I used new ones on my 67, but kept the originals in the garage.

BTW all midyears have different fender-to-tire clearances between the left and right sides of the car. Sloppy assembly is the cause. However, 215/65/15 tires still fit every midyear on which I've tried them.

livin

Louie M, I think you have actually hit the nail on the head. I am going to look for a spring tomorrow. I may as well throw a big block spring in there, and some new shocks while I am at it.... of coure once you go that far, I may as well pull the rear end redo the traling arms and bushings, replace the ebrake springs with Stainless steel ones....Oh no, here I go again....

Joel 67

DC is 15x6 with disc brakes. KH is Kelsey Hayes, the manufacturer. There should also be date codes on the wheels lip near the valve stem, but they are impossible to see with the trim rings mounted.

LouieM

livin -- Glad to know my suggestion is useful. When I changed springs I put in stock-rate F41 (heavy duty) springs both front and rear. These were optional on my 67 originally. This produces a slightly rougher ride, but also limits spring travel, so the tires will NEVER kiss the fenders on the autocross course again. For shocks I use Bilstein Heavy Duty ones, and these give essentially the same performance as the originals. If you go with Bilsteins, be absolutely sure to avoid the Sport shocks -- they make any vehicle ride like a dump truck on the street. Others may disagree, but I actually drive my car a few thousand miles per year. The Heavy Duty shocks are meant for the street, and the Sports for the track, although the names suggest otherwise.

Lou

livin

Thanks again LOU!

You are full of useful information. I really appreciate it.

best,
Jacob