Does anyone here know an easy way to measure my car for maximum rim/tire size? I'm installing a set of baer brakes 13" front and 12" rear. I plan on running 17" wheels, possibly 18's. I want the widest possible that will fit without rubbing. Would it just be easier to take it to a tire shop and let them do it? Only problem is that once the brakes are on, I dont have anything that will fit so that I can drive the car.

Most tire shops will not have a clue,Brad. Nor will be they interested in mounting up a bunch of new tires & wheels just to see if they will fit your car. My suggestion is to do a thorough search on this forum and read up on what other combos will work. A few questions;is your front suspension stock or are you running tubular A-arms? What size wheels & tires were you "considering"? I can tell you that you can run some pretty large stuff on these cars,if the wheel backspacing is right.

front suspension is all stock drum stuff, stock A body spindle, rear end is stock. Was considering either 17x7 or 8 front, 18x8 rear, or 18's all around. I do want the widest possible, but I dont want any rubbing, as I do now with left front tire on fender, and it takes all the fun out of driving. I have been doing my research on this setup, but no hard numbers yet.

I am assuming that you have a 67. Have you seen this car yet?

http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/113_0309_year/

They are using 305/45/18s in the rear. Supposedly that car did not have any fender well work done. Hard to believe. I would think you can safely go with a 295/45/18 in the rear on a 18X10 or 18X10.5 wheel, with 6 inches of backspacing. It all depends on the look you are going for. I personally like large diameter wheels and relatively generous sidewalls. For the front you should easily be able to go with a 245 or 255 /45/18, on an 18X8 or 18X8.5 wheel with 4.5-5inches of backspacing.

Andrew

That's exactly the look that I'm looking for, a mix of touring and drag. I like the big wheel look and brakes, but would like enough tire and sidewall to hook up. Thanks Andrew for some hard numbers. ps, how low can you bring that goat down before you rub the fenders?

My rear fender had the lip rolled slightly. This game me and extra 1/2 or so, but it wasn't really needed. I have 18x10.5 wheels with 6 inches of backspacing with a 295/45/18 tire in the rear. The car is lowered about 1.5-2 inches in the rear and I can drop it more if I wanted to without any fear of rubbing. With a 305/45/18 there maybe problems going lower, mostly because a 305 is 29 inches tall. Also keep in mind that I have a 70 so the room that I have may not be the same as a 67. I have had emails from 2 guys that duplicated my wheels and tire combo with great success. One was on a 70 LeMans, the other was a 71 Cutlass. The Cutlass actually used the 305/45/18 Nitto Drag radial. He said it fits great.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out for you.

Andrew