Tires and wheel question.
moparlee,
14 x 7 Cragar SS is available with either a 4 1/8" or 2 5/8" backspace.
14 x 8 Cragar SS is available with either a 4 1/4" or 3" backspace.
15 x 7 Cragar SS is available with a 4 1/8" backspace
15 x 8 Cragar SS is available with a 4 1/4" backspace
These numbers are from Newstalgia Wheels' website. Maybe they'll weld a set with a custom backspace? Somebody that's already ordered some of the wheels they are supposed to be making soon might know. If the backspacing on a 7" wheel was decreased by about 1/4" or 3/8" you might be able to get more tire to fit. The main reason I did this was because I was wondering if I could run a 14 x 8 or a 15 x 8 wheel on the rear of my car. If I ran the wider wheel I'd probably have to run a narrower tire due to the limited clearance at the leaf spring and the increase in backspacing. It's already so close that I can't fit my little finger between the tire & the spring. Plus, it gets a bit tight on the outside, so the 8" wheel probably wouldn't work. Playing with different brake widths etc. might allow a wider tire. I don't think moving the springs in would help unless the car was mini tubbed. I wouldn't want to do that on this type of car because the inner part of the tub is visable under the back glass, & it would probably also affect how the fold down rear seat latches when upright.
Like you said, I figured these pics might give somebody with a similar car an idea of how things would fit.
:burnout: