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Need tire help for Chevelle

4K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  6567GTO 
#1 ·
After a ten year vacation from drag racing ( a blown alky altered) I'm now getting back into the rodding thing. I just bought a cherry '64 Chevelle with a 406 SBC. Previous owner claims 10 sec easy and I'm wanting to put it to the test. The car has Michelin tires front and rear. Rear ones being 235 60R 15's. I have about 3/4" between the outside of the tire and the inner lip of the rear quarter panel. There's about 3 inches inside clearance tire to inner well (frame). Question is this...how wide of a tire (street legal slick) can I run and with what width wheel. Any offset help would be appreciated too. Thanks. Rick
 

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#2 ·
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Measure it
 
#3 ·
Gosh Troy I hadn't thought of that one, thanks for the help. I was actually looking for something a bit more definitive that involved tire flex and growth when doing a burnout, or suspension movement. If no one else has anything better to add then I'll get that tape measure out.
 
#4 ·
One thing you have to find out is whether it has an earlier (64-67) rear or a later rear end which are wider by 5/8" per side. If it has an earlier rear you can use a 15 x 8" rim with with a 4 1/2" backspace and a 275 60-15 tire. If it has a later rear you'll need to get a rim with a backspace of 5". Try using a set of 11.5" wide M/T ET Street Drag Tires which are the same as their slicks but legal on the street cuz of the grooves cut in them. :mwink: A lot of racres I know have used these and their ET Drag Tire with no difference in ET's. The diameter will depend on what gears you have in the back and what RPM you want to go through the traps at.
 
#6 ·
Thanks GTO for the info. I just pulled the wheel and measured everything. Not sure about the rearend being early or late, but it has a set of 15x8 Cragar SS's on now and there's about 1.25" inside clearance to the lower corner of the shock mount hanging below the axle. The wheel has 4" offset. I just don't see how an 11.5 tire will fit in there. I got a pair of 26x8.5x15 MT slicks mounted with the car. They measure almost the same at all the critical spots. Any pro's /cons on the Hoosier DOT slicks? They've got a 26x9x15 that's a bit wider but still the same OD. Also-- Tim thanks for the chevelle site. going there now.
 
#7 ·
Hey Goat...I was thinking of asking the early and late rear question. I was thinking of going to the earlier A body rear to pick up some more clearance in my 72 Monte. If I only get 5/8 on each side I'm not going to worry about it. With the Centerlines I have 4 7/16 backspacing and am kinda tight to the wheel lip but have a few inches I can go in. Anyone ever roll a wheel lip that had a moulding attached to it? I have done other wheel lips, but none with the moulding attached!
And do you have hard numbers for length of the 64-67 rears and the 68-72?
I've checked around, I haven't found too many 8 inch rims with 5 inches of backspacing that wouldn't have been a custom order!
 
#8 · (Edited)
Sorry, I should have specified that the ET Street is actually a 9" wide tread. The 11 1/2" refers to the section width. When you order ET Drags they're measured by the tread width and not the section width. They're backwards and it geats confusing. I'm running 28" x 11.5" x 15" M/T ET Streets on my 65 GTO which has a similar quarter size to your Chevelle on 15 x 8 Vette Rally rims with a 5" backspace. And I have a later rear which is wider. If I was to buy M/T ET Drag Tires I would have to buy 28" x 9" x 15". Hope this helps. They're an awesome tire. I haven't tried Hoosiers "yet" but plan to some day.

Sandflea, I can't remember, I used to have that info written down so I'll have to look for it.


p.s. - On the street I'm running 15 x 8 Torque Thrust II's that only were offered up to a 4 1/2" backspace and 275 60 R15's. It's tight, but they fit. I had to roll one wheel well lip slightly.
 
#10 ·
Tire update...

Guys, Just an update on the tire situation. I bought a set of 10.50x26" tall (have 3.73 gears) MT DOT slicks, out them on Weld draglite XP's with 4.5" backspacing. They fit fine with about 1/2" clearance between the tire and inner lip of the fenderwell. I took it to Gateway in St Louis and only got to make one pass(got there a bit late). The tires didn't swell out after the burnout or on the launch. Everything went fine, car an a 11.65/121. Also put on NOS cheater system but didn't try it. Will go back next week a couple of nights and get a better try on those tires. Thanks for the help. Sure makes a fun street car!
 
#11 ·
Good deal! 11.65 @ 121 is awesome for a street car. Have fun with it. I just went to the track this past thursday and had a blast. My best so far is only a 12.60 @ 109 but theres more in her. I let 2 other friends borrow my 28x10.5" M/T ET Streets, both of them 65's (GTO and LeMans) and they fit both cars each having different rear. One, an older more narrow rear, the other a later rear like mine has.
 
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