PG99

I have a 59 that has stock 15" wheels on it. I would like to give the car more of a street drag car stance.
Has anyone else done this?
If so what size wheels and tires in the front and rear?

Thaks

paul

DZAUTO

First, will the 59 retain all of its factory chassis/suspension components?
If so, then some things need to be taken into consideration: driving, steering, handling.
UP FRONT
With the the suspension/steering technology of these old cars, it is both important to keep undue stresses to a minimum on the front suspension components (ALLLLLLL joints are metal-to-metal) and practical to stay with a narrow radial tire with plenty of inflation (32-33psi).
The wider the front wheel, the greater the stresses imparted to the front suspension joints.
With a fat tire, the stiffer the steering becomes, ESPECIALLY when standing still or moving VERY slowly.
It's your car, your money and you are the one who gets to do the maintenance on a worn out frontend. But I would strongly suggest not going over a 16in wide front wheel with stock offset. Use a 75 series radial tire. This will keep steering effort in an acceptable range. Adding a fast steering adapter will quicken the steering response------------------but will also stiffen up the steering effort.

ON THE REAR
For clearance, a 7in wide wheel will clear the leaf spring with an acceptable gap and it will stay within the wheel opening. If you want to go with the wide, fat look, the rear spings will somehow need to be jacked up so that the tire doesn't rub the wheel opening. This would increase the harshness of the ride from the rear.

My 56 has 15x6 steel wheels up front and 15x7 on the rear with 225/75R15 radials on all 4 wheels (a 205 or 215 would improve steering effort up front). Not the wide look that is popular today (and in some cases, stupid looking), but an excellent compromise for enjoyable driving.







Tom Parsons

PG99

Tom
Thank you for the response.

I am running the 205's right now and they just look ok . I might try the 225's in the rear to give a little better look.

PG

66jack

#7 or #13

http://www.buzzfeed.com/carwarriors/...mizations-ever

John S 1961

I agree, these cars are built to run on tall skinny tires, I like my 215/70/15's. I also prefer driving on tall skinny tires, You can feel the road and feel the car sliding a little before your velocity becomes too great. Seems more fun to me. I dont really get the wide low profile C4/C5 tire deal on these old used cars. Now if your drag racing you can get a 10" tire on a 9" rim, I have seen.

vetrod62

My car is pretty much the same as the car was in the 60s and early 70s except they were Cragars then. rear tires stick out, so you have to make sure the car does not "squat" upon accelleration.
Fronts are P215/60r15 on 7" rims.
Rears are 26"x10"x15" on 10" rims.

And I did street race regulary.

cv67

That is just awesome right there, classic stuff

Looks like its about to slap someone upside the head. lol

Stan's Customs

Aaamen!!!

DZAUTO

I have absolutely ZERO issues with this stance whatsoever.
BUT, as I was pointing out above, the car's chassis/suspension MUST be modified to permit adequate clearance for this tire/wheel combination.
If this is anything like the look to be achieved, just understand that the stock chassis/suspension won't accomodate the combination.

Tom Parsons

INMYBLOOD

That is one serious playground.

OldKarz

That's what I was thinking........Love the cars!!

vetrod62

My front end is completely stock and has never been rebuilt, It has 4" blocks to raise it up. Owned like this for 45 years. The rear is a little more work. Rear springs re-arched, 2 extra leaves, shackles reversed. A chevy rear would work, but I run a 57 Olds/Pont rear for strength.

Play ground for 8 grand kids, 6 of them close in age.

PG99

Thanks for all the responses

My suspension is stock so I will just play with rear tire size to see what that looks like

PG