[dasyhard]

Aloha all,

Can someone please give me some advice to resolve an issue I have with my prostreet '34 ford. As you may all not know, Hawaii's weather can be unpredictable at times so the rain can downpour in a matter of minutes when it's nice and sunny to begin with. My issue is my 2 rear tires when I purchased the car had the Mickey Thompson Sportsmans and these are not radials. So one night while I was attending our Cruise Night car show, it suddenly poured cats and dogs. So everyone left the scene including myself and while driving at 25mph on a rural road, I entered a slight dip in the road which contained a puddle of water which made my car hydro-plane to the left into the next lane. So now I'm thinking safety first and decided to purchase the Hoosier Radials to replace the Mickey Thompsons which I just did today. Only now I have another issue. After the speed shop replaced the tires on the rims, they mounted both of them on the car. It turns out that the passenger side had over an inch of clearance from the tire to the side of the fender. On the driver's side only had about 1/4 inch clearance from the tire to the side of the fender. Prior to changing my tires, both of them (Mickey Thompsons) were evenly set with the same space to the side of the fenders. I don't understand why this is happening unless both of these new tires are offset in their size to begin with. The speed shop informed me that to correct this issue, they'd have to cut the rear end housing on the driver's side. A friend advised me that this wasn't necessary, just adjust the pan hard bar and that should do it. Can you give me some advice as to which is the most ethical method to use? Thanks.

[poncho62]

If they were not like that before, the tires must be different sizes....not likely

To check this, take the tires/wheels off and swap them to the opposite sides....If the problem is still the same, the axle needs to be moved

[Irelands child]

Do your side-for-side tire swap but you can also measure the tires as far as width across the tread as well as across their widest (cross section) which is the bulge. These tire could be conceivably be manufactured at different times and in different molds and possibly even in different facilities or even in different countries tho .75 is hard to justify. Much of that info is contained on the writing on the sidewall. Next - do you have a wheel that isn't seated on the axle correctly. They usually index with the raised center, tho some of the "universal" fits do it on the lugs. Then, do you have a spacer behind one wheel and not the other.

Of course, last - rear end alignment. If you swing the axle .375 in one direction, you might have to check 'squareness", that is wheel base dimensions, side to side as well as check the wheel tracking. Specs usually say .062 out of alignment fronts vs the rear with less always better.

Cutting the rear - the last possible solution - if it was OK before, then it should be OK afterwards

Let us know what you find.

Dave W

[35WINDOW]

Dave is probably right here, but I had the same issue with my '35, and couldn't check side to side clearance when I put the Chassis together, as the Body wasn't on the Frame, so at the time I just put it together.

I have a 4 bar with a panhard bar, and I had less tire clearance on one side and about 3/4" more than I needed on the other-I simply loosened the mounting bolts, then turned in the Panhard rod end, reinstalled and that centered the rear axle-problem fixed-

[matts37chev]

Originally Posted by poncho62

If they were not like that before, the tires must be different sizes....not likely

To check this, take the tires/wheels off and swap them to the opposite sides....If the problem is still the same, the axle needs to be moved

i would also measure the old tires if you still have them
it sounds like the susp./axle moved over when they lifted the car

[dasyhard]

Thank you for your feedback everyone. The only thing I did thus far is measure both of my mounted tires and they are the same width. I'm hearing different stories from friends if I don't correct the problem (positive and negative). If I left the tires as is, would mechanical problems or tire wear issues arise later.

[dasyhard]

Originally Posted by matts37chev

i would also measure the old tires if you still have them
it sounds like the susp./axle moved over when they lifted the car

Thanks, if this is the case, I should take the car back and make them install it again. It's possible that they did not do it professionally. Because when they first jacked up the car, the jack was positioned under the differential instead of the frame. So the old tires came off easily but when it was time to mount the new tires, it didn't clear the fenders. So the manager got involved and informed the installer to put jack stands on the frame and let the rear end drop and he finally mounted the tires. So after struggling to put one tire on, it dawned on him that he forgot to install the hub so he had to take it off again.

[poncho62]

Sounds to me like these new tires are much larger than the old ones.....Being larger, is it possible that the fender clearance just wasnt noticed before.

The offset should cause any problems, just look a bit odd.....Adjusting the panhard bar will help some

[dasyhard]

Originally Posted by poncho62

Sounds to me like these new tires are much larger than the old ones.....Being larger, is it possible that the fender clearance just wasnt noticed before.

The offset should cause any problems, just look a bit odd.....Adjusting the panhard bar will help some

I think you're right. These new tires are wider than the old tires and the fender clearance wasn't brought to my attention as far as being uneven with each other because they both had sufficient amount of clearance. Thanks.

[matts37chev]

if it has always been like this, and you just didnt notice before because the older tires were narrower, its going to be a big job to fix it right

if the tire that is closer to the fender, still doesnt rub, i would leave it alone.
you can only see one side of the car at a time

you could use the panhard bar to pull it a small amount (maybe enough)
the problem is it will create bind on the other susp. pieces if pulled to far.

if you have the right - lugnut (mag type), wheel stud (large), and wheel offset (centered, not too shallow of back spacing) - combo, you could consider using a thin wheel spacer on that one side.

[dasyhard]

Thanks again everyone....I had the panhard bar adjusted to center the tires/rims and the clearance from fenders to tires are now 1 inch on both sides.

[JohnTN]

Adjusting the panhard bar can center the tires between the fenders, but you still need to be concerned that the rear tires are aligned with the front tires. Couldn't it be that the fenders are slightly off in shape, and one doesn't have the same clearance as the other?

My clearance is a little different, maybe 3/8 inch, but I have had a 4 wheel alignment check to verify alignment front to back.

John

[dasyhard]

Originally Posted by JohnTN

Adjusting the panhard bar can center the tires between the fenders, but you still need to be concerned that the rear tires are aligned with the front tires. Couldn't it be that the fenders are slightly off in shape, and one doesn't have the same clearance as the other?

My clearance is a little different, maybe 3/8 inch, but I have had a 4 wheel alignment check to verify alignment front to back.

John

Thanks John, it never entered my mind that alignment from front to rear could pose a problem. I'll check on it and keep you posted. It pays to have this web-site for guys like me.