DionR said

I can't speak from experience, but I've been looking at rims for my 74 Duster as well and have done a fair amount of research so I will tell you what I know.

First, I think about 4" is the minimum sidewall for a tire based on my experiences with replacing tires on my wifes PT and what I seen other people be successful with. This is what I consider the foundation for a wheel and tire selection.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd ran an 18/19 combo on his Duster, and the front tires only had about 3.5" of sidewall in the front and a little less than 4" in the rear with 225/40 and 285/35 tires. The max diameter that seems to fit in the front is about 26, so you could run maybe a 225/45 or a 255/40 tire in the front. I've seen some that have run a 28" diameter tire in the rear, so you could go with a 285/35R20 in the rear and probably make it work.

Myself, I think 18 and 20 is too big for the car, but I haven't seen that setup either.

I am thinking 17 and 18, myself. Probably a 245/45R17 and 275/40R18 as there seems to be a wide selection of tires and the rims are easy to get. Might go 275/40 in the front as well, but still 17 as I think the bigger haunches of the Duster look better with a stagger. Time will tell.

For wheels, I have been looking at the ones from AmericanMuscle.com. They are comparatively inexpensive and have a wide selection that fit. Probably something in a 17x8 with a 30mm offset for the front and an 18x9 with a 24mm offset in the rear. If I go with a 275 tire in the front I will use a 17x9 wheel with a 24mm offset.

Either front wheel should fit without a hassle (other than hub interference), but the rear will require a wider axle of some type. Not a big fan of spacers but something like a 1/4" one to clear the springs doesn't bother me as it isn't really any different than a disk rotor. An A-Body 8.75 with BBP axles is wider than a SBP one, and the 18x9 wheel should fit fine if I move the springs in with the relocation kit. Wracks71 on here did it with 17x9 wheels with the same offset and 3/8" spacers and didn't move the springs but it was a little tight. Other options are an early B-Body axle, or maybe a later (like '69) one with a wheel that has a bit more positive offset.

Still working it out, time will tell.

Might look at this thread, there's a wealth of info there on 17" wheels that might help.

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