I am going to order new wheels for the Chevy,
and I am a novice. I have researched posts and
looked at some of y'all's wheel set ups to make a stab at correct sizing... I am looking at ordering these (TT II's) through Newstalgia
Wheels...

18 x 10 in the rear with 5" backspacing.
18 x 8 for the front with 4.75" backspacing.

Will this work?

For those who have 18" wheels, do you recommend or should I look at 17"? Any thoughts appreciated, and I apologize if this subject is beat or repetitive... I just cannot afford to screw up when ordering.

Oh yea, I am at a loss on tire size to get. graemlins/sad.gif

Much Obliged.

No offense but you haven't done your research if you plan on ordering a 10" wheel with 5" backspacing. It just won't work. 5.5" is the minimum with a 10" rim.
Why would we suggest you try 17's instead of 18's?
It depends on what YOU want,not us. Besides,18's have a much better selection of tire sizes and aspect ratios. The only downside is a little more cost,,maybe.
Just my opinion but I think what you're trying to do will look killer on your ragtop.

Clint-

My bad, I had jotted down some notes and it appears was wrong in the 5" BS - I don't make much sense of this crap I scribbled. I hear you on the above 5.5 and see where others had listed 6" BS for 18" x 10" as well...

As far my asking about 17"/18" - I was curious if there are performance differences (I am not referring as much to the looks).
If there are more tire choices for the 18" that sounds interesting, although that only means I don't know what I need that much more... ha

If the rear is 18" x 10" with 6" BS
and the front is 18" x 8" with 4.5 BS
Will that work? Is the 4.5" up front "correct?"

Thanks!

I have TT II's - 18's on my 69 and the rear wheel wells are the same as yours.


The car has 2 inch dropped spindles up front and Hotchkis two inch drop springs in the rear. I used Hotchkis sway bars front and rear, Hotchkis adjustable uppers and lowers in the rear and polyurethane bushings. I have ZERO wheel hop and the car handles very well in the corners, feeling comparable to my 97 Z-28.

On the rear I have 18 x 10 inch wheels with 6 inches of backspacing. If your car body is centered on the frame you can go to 6.25 inch backspacing and 305 wide tires. If you go to 17 or 18 inch wheels the 6 inch+ backspacing just puts the wheels outside of the contact point for the shocks in their stock location. I have 295/45/18 tires that are 28.4 inches tall. The tires fit fully inside the wheel wells.

Up front I have 18 x 8 wheels with 5 1/8 backspacing front with 255/45/18 tires (27.1 inches tall). I used a Hotchkis sway bar up front as it has a tighter radius on the turns at the bushings that is needed for the 5 1/8 backspacing. Use 5 inch or 4 ¾ if you use a stock sway bar and you should still clear the fender on a sharp turn. It is a balancing act up front with dropped spindles.

Much Obliged, guys...

Just a recommendation but I would stick with 5.5" backspacing on those 18x10 rims as they will fit your car like a glove. Unless you want to squeeze the largest tire possible on them,I would look at a pair of 295/35/18 tires for the rear and 255/40/18's for the front.
IMO,18x8's w/4.75 backspacing will work fine.

Thanks! graemlins/beers.gif