Biggest tire under a stock suspension dart????
I am running a 68 dart gt with a 8 3/4 rear end with super stock springs. I have a brand new set of 14x7 sbp cragar s/s wheels. I need to desperately find out what size tires I can run under my car without any modifications to the body, offset shackles, etc. nothing at all no modifications. the cragars are regular stock offset sbp. I have asked this on here before and got 100 different answers. I know that there is someone on here that can nail it dead on. as always I look to my mopar family for their help and understanding. there is so much knowledge here on this board that I know there is someone that can answer this. I hope I am not asking for too much. thanks brian
You'll see a bunch of different answers because it really depends on
YOUR car. The body tolerances on these cars wasn't that great from the factory, so having wheel tubs that are a 1/4" different from one car to another is common. Heck it's not uncommon for the SAME car to be off by a 1/4" from the right side to the left side. That can easily be the difference of whether a certain tire combination fits or not. Pre-'70 cars seem to be a little tighter for clearance as well, so you have to pay attention to the year too. Also, you can
only look at Dart's or Scamp's. Many of the replies above are Duster's, demon's and Barracuda's, and all of them can fit a 275 with no mods at all. That bodystyle has an extra
inch in width in the wheel tubs compared to a Dart or Scamp, and that's in comparison to my '71 Dart. Even the pre-70 Valiant's aren't a good comparison, because they have a higher wheel opening. The low opening on a Dart means you have to clear the widest part of the sidewall even on cars that sit high in the back.
Next we have to know the exact backspacing. "Stock" sbp backspacing for an aftermarket wheel doesn't say much. Cragar S/S's have come in a bunch of different backspaces for a 14x7, and they can be anywhere from 2.75" to 4.125" right off the shelf.
Finally, if you absolutely don't want to do
anything to the body, the absolute widest I'd recommend is a 245, and that's if the backspacing is perfect. Some folks have managed to get 255's on some Dart's with stock spring locations and no mods, but other's have had them rub. So, I wouldn't buy a set of 255's unless I was willing to do some fitting and trimming. And really it's probably moot because I can't find a 255 for a 14" rim with the right profile anyway.
So, with everything in the stock locations and no trimming or modifications, even with the proper backspacing, you're probably stuck with a 235 or 245 at best.