How wide of a tire can i put in the rear of my 64? I know i can get 9''

how big did you want to go, 15, 16, 17 18, 20 inch tall? or are you talking about width only?, do you have the wheel well lip folded?, is the vehicle lowered? stock height?, are you planning on doing anything to the suspension?, do you want to change anything later IE rearend brakes? . chaz

I have made the measurements and read other information about the wheel/tire size for 1964 and 1965 Chevelles and El Caminos. The consensus seems to be that an 8" wide wheel with 5" of backspacing works best. This is with a stock original width axle. If you have installed a later model rear axle, you need to adjust for the extra width.

As far as rear tire sizes go, the answer is that a 255/50 (27" dia. & 10" wide) will fit without having to roll the quarter panel wheel lip. Rolling the lip will give extra clearance. A 275/60 (28" dia. & 10.83" wide) will fit, but most likely will rub on the wheel lips during cornering.

I have a set of four 17X8 with 5" backspacing wheels mounted on my 65 El Camino. They are centered in the rear wheelhouse with 0.75” clearance on the inside and 1” clearance on the outside. I did not roll the wheel lip since I am still using the wheel opening trim. I have 235/45R17 tires on the front rims and 255/45R17 tires on the rear rims.

I have installed 1” Hotchkiss lowering springs in the front and lowered the rear ½” by cutting a ½ coil off the rear springs. The only front tire rubbing issues is when one front wheel is at full lock and pushed up into the wheelhouse. The amount of push I’m talking about is when one front tire and the opposite rear tire are supporting the main load of the frame. Such as when you back out of your driveway. Normal driving and turning does not a have any problems.

I'm reviving this topic becuase i have an add-on to the question posed here. 65ElCamino...you said that you have 255/45R17 tires on the back of your Elky...do you think that a 255/45R18 will fit on the back of a 65 chevelle or will I have to take the aspect ratio down a bit? Also, how much backspacing do you use?

The backspacing is 5" as stated in my first reply.

The 255/45R18 tire should fit without any problem. My tire is approx. a 26" dia., yours will be 27". Many have used 28" slicks on their Chevelles without problems.

Ok...so here's an added bonus problem. The other big project which I want to undertake is the addition of front disc brakes. From what I gather this will most likely add track width to the front setup. Won't this mean that I'll need different backspacing on the wheels? So here's the big dilemna...if that's the case...I can't get the brakes until I get new rims (cuz my 14" rims won't work with big brakes) and I can't get my rims until I get my brakes (cuz the track width is going to change) so do I have to do these two very pricey updates at the same time?

Baer's 11" Super Street front kit shouldn't add to the wheel track. Pick up some cheap 15" Rally wheels until you can afford some other wheels.

I've thought about that but even if I were to buy just two rallys with tires on the front and left the 14s on the back (which would look really wierd by the way) that would still run a couple of hundred bucks. Also, I figure if I'm gonna be getting some big wheels I might as well get some big brakes. I'm thinking of getting 12" rotors...anybody have any good recommendations for conversion kits in that ballpark?