69 Dart on 16's question.

[MagicMan]

I am looking at going to 16" wheels on my 69 dart, I like the idea of 16's for far better tire choices and availability than 14's or 15's and I think 17's are too much, too many ricers in the area. I am looking at the plain old Black Cragar D window wheels but I am not sure on the backspacing. They offer a 16 x 7 with 4" backspacing and a 16 x 8 with 5" backspacing. I am thinking maybe the 7's in front with a 215/50r16 or so tire and the 8's in the rear with a 245/50r16 ? Is anybody running these backspacings or know if this combo will even come close to working ? I know the 245's are going to be tight, but they are cheap because they are a common size on many modern cars (Mustangs/Camaro's etc.)

As far as suspension I am running 73-75 BBP front disc brake setup and in the rear I currently have the 74 7.25 BBP rear end with Mopar Oval track leafs.

Thanks All !

 

[dano]

What is the difference in over all width Drum to Drum of you 7-1/4 vs an A body 8-3/4? For the front with disc's, You'll need more offset. 4.5" back spacing would be closer. I went 4.75" back spacing on my custom rims as advised by another 67-69 dart owner here and that seemed to work well.

 

[MagicMan]

Was the 4.75" back spacing on a 7" or 8" wide wheel ?

 

[dano]

Was the 4.75" back spacing on a 7" or 8" wide wheel ?

7". People have run 8's up front but for my specific set up I needed two different offsets front and rear anyway, so I went 7" up front, 8" in the rear. I looked at 16" and they come with enough offset for what I needed in what I wanted and 16" tires cost more or the same as 17".