Barracuda Wheels

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ROB MCWILLIAMS

ROB MCWILLIAMS

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dose anybody know what wheels will interchange on a 65 barracuda, i own one with 14 inch rims and what seems like the smallest tire you could put on there, looks very stupid if youask me, i work for a wrecker service so i pretty much have my pick, so can i put wheels from a dodge stratus , intrepid , neon, dodge pick up ??? im not trying to go fancy , i just want a steel wheel plain jane , but bigger than a 14
 
Rob if your 65 hasn't been modified, it should have what is called a 5 on 4 inch lug pattern wheel. That is, 5 lugs on a 4 inch bolt circle. It is a pretty small pattern and special to the early Abodes.
The wheels you call out are modern versions of a wheel pattern that is close to your 65 but be cautious as to the fit. What I have seen is they are not quite right. Also the modern wheel has a inset that is designed for modern suspensions and may interfere with some steering parts on your 65.
I believe there are bigger wheels that will work but you will need to make sure of the fit for the safety of your ride.
 
You can get 15" steelie rims in 5X4 bolt pattern. You're limited in tire size due to clearance for the front tires. 65'
 
You’re not going to find anything at a wrecker in 5x4”. If your car has been converted to 5x4.5” you’d have a shot, but not 5x4”. There are aftermarket 15” 5x4” wheels, but nothing factory and no one makes that pattern anymore. And I doubt you’re going to get any A-bodies into the yard with 5x4” 15” wheels.

Do not use 5x100mm wheels. 100mm is not 4”, and while the difference is small length-to-length remember that it’s a bolt pattern, not just a single length. You can cram one on there because of the 7/16” lugs you have, as the holes on the 5x100mm wheel are for larger studs than that. But it will side load your studs, and that’s not good.
 
Yea, Dave that's the point. 100mm isn't 4 inches.
I wouldn't put a set of 100 mm wheels on a beautiful Hot Rod like yours and feel safe about it.
They will go on but the fit is wrong.
 
thanks everyone for the advice , im not dead set on 15's , im a die hard mopar fan , but not big on the abodies, truthfully the only reason i hqve the car is cause it was my dads & he died, only thing i got left of him is the cuda & a pair of Pioneer CS-803 speakers,, loud as hell , beautiful , still sound great , he bought in japan in 83 i think mom married him in 85 , i was born in 82, i grew up blasting those speakers as a kid & can still do the same in my house now.....anyway i just want some meat on the back end of the car, you know the classic muscle car look , skinnys up front and fats in the back, i had 71 mach 1 wheels on my ford ranger years ago they were really wide to for some 14s, but i dont think they make em like that anymore....
 
Rob if your Barracuda is your avatar, it looks pretty good as is but, I'm with you on the muscle car look.
I'm 65 and that's a good look for me too.
Your Barracuda should fit some 235/245 60 14s in the rear if you can find them. The 15s you are talking about are out there, you just need to get the correct ones that fit your wheel mounting bolt pattern. Your hot rod looks great set up many different ways. Good luck.
 
that car was never designed for the wheels you are looking for. The chassis is weak, and the brakes are poor. So, more modifications will be needed. the frame is so weak if you jack up the front you need to keep the doors closed. go to a newer 67 up A Body .I have a 65 GT 273 four speed car, so I have gone down that path.IMHO
 
oldmopardude said:
that car was never designed for the wheels you are looking for. The chassis is weak, and the brakes are poor. So, more modifications will be needed. the frame is so weak if you jack up the front you need to keep the doors closed. go to a newer 67 up A Body .I have a 65 GT 273 four speed car, so I have gone down that path.IMHO
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WOW learn something new everyday in the muscle car world , my doors always shut so nice and clean and quiet and opened that way as well, this past summer the clip for my Z bar came off while driving down the road & as i go from 3rd to 4th, my clutch pedal goes all the way to the floor.......little did i know the clip wasnt a clip it was coat hanger because someone didnt wanna buy a 50 cent clip....point of all this is , i jacked the car up to start trying to figure out what the problem was, found out the issue , fixed said problem, now my fuckin doors drag when they open and close... not horriably bad but enough to notice... i found some 185 50 14 on a car , they look a little wider than what i have on there now so i think im gonna get those and tehy will just have to do
 
someone makes support cross members for the 64-66 A bodied for guys that want to safely drive them with 300+ horsepower,but it has been a while, so my memory escapes me as to who it was.The lack of a second cutout for dual exhaust also hinders getting good exhaust,if you want to keep some semblance of originality. But brakes? there is no room for error when a person puts wide wheels on a nine inch brake. Increase in wheel Mass=Decrease in brake stopping ability.

Even a 10 inch, because eventually the larger wheel/tire combination will try to Influence the direction over the car, not the driver!Lol
 
oldmopardude said:
that car was never designed for the wheels you are looking for. The chassis is weak, and the brakes are poor. So, more modifications will be needed. the frame is so weak if you jack up the front you need to keep the doors closed. go to a newer 67 up A Body .I have a 65 GT 273 four speed car, so I have gone down that path.IMHO
Click to expand...

Not true
 
ROB MCWILLIAMS said:
WOW learn something new everyday in the muscle car world , my doors always shut so nice and clean and quiet and opened that way as well, this past summer the clip for my Z bar came off while driving down the road & as i go from 3rd to 4th, my clutch pedal goes all the way to the floor.......little did i know the clip wasnt a clip it was coat hanger because someone didnt wanna buy a 50 cent clip....point of all this is , i jacked the car up to start trying to figure out what the problem was, found out the issue , fixed said problem, now my fuckin doors drag when they open and close... not horriably bad but enough to notice... i found some 185 50 14 on a car , they look a little wider than what i have on there now so i think im gonna get those and tehy will just have to do
Click to expand...

You can still get Ralleye Wheels in 15 x 6 or 15 x 7. There are a couple places that will widen and make your wheel whatever you want. There is also a thread showing different style wheels for the small bolt pattern wheels, 5 x 4.00. Early A bodies have plenty of power and brake well also. Early Barracudas are also pretty aerodynamic. I had no problem running my 64 up to 140 mph. The original K-H discs work fine and even the 10 in drums are good when up to snuff. Be afraid of the 9 inch brakes though. The 65-66 Commando single exhaust is a great system. The 66 Barracuda took SCCA stock class in 1966. There is no real difference in A body suspensions, ever.

Wheel Vintiques 61-565404 Wheel Vintiques 61 Series Chrysler Rallye Silver Wheels | Summit Racing
 
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There is still a limited selection of 5x4 wheels out there new and used. I bought 15 inch 5x4 Cragars a few years ago from Jegs. The are available in an assortment of widths.

I have used old 5x4 pattern wheels on a 100 mm metric car and they worked fine, but I have never done it the other way. They had mag lug nuts. Probably not the best idea, but poor people have poor ways....
 
66fs said:
Not true
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as stephen stated earlier, the original cars weren't designed for the sizes of wheels and Horse power people like today, and you can't argue with the laws of physics. I believe in safety first,,,I can attest to the fact that if you put a 300 HP 340 in an otherwise stock early A body and don't modify anything else, there will be consequences. To this day I never jack up my 65 Dart Hardtop with the doors open, that is why the company Improved and moved up to the 67 up style stronger body, chassis and suspension. a guy can weld a car up all he wants to make it stronger, but I am referring to stock original specifications, and to the guy here that likes an original car.

I love my 65, but it is flimsy in it"s construction, like it is still occupied by a 170 cubic inch 98 horse slant six.(1963)as compared to my 68 GTS.
 
I put sub frame connectors in my 65 Barracuda and now I can jack up behind the front tire and the rear comes right up with it. Used to be quite a flex before that connector. you can still notice the flex when you try and remove the torsion bars. If you got the front K member up on stands and try and remove the torsion bars, you can usually get them out a lot easier by jacking the torsion crossmember a little with a scissor jack. 205/75R14's work great on a 5.5 Ralley rim and fill the well nicely.
 
If you can find a nice set of 14 inch rally rims you may be able to fit a 215 or 225 size tire depending on your fender clearance, but with the original rims a 205/70-14 or 205/60-14 would probably be about the safe limit. You may find a 185/50 is too short for your car - that’s a very small tire.
BTW there is a helpful tire comparison chart on tiresize.com that allows you load in the tire size you have and play with the numbers on the tire size you want.
DON’T FORGET - if your barracuda is still bone stock the lug threads on the drivers side will be reverse (clockwise to loosen).
The lug studs should be marked L and R.,
So when you take it to the tire shop, make sure you let them know so they don’t snap off your lugnuts.
 
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oldmopardude said:
as stephen stated earlier, the original cars weren't designed for the sizes of wheels and Horse power people like today, and you can't argue with the laws of physics. I believe in safety first,,,I can attest to the fact that if you put a 300 HP 340 in an otherwise stock early A body and don't modify anything else, there will be consequences. To this day I never jack up my 65 Dart Hardtop with the doors open, that is why the company Improved and moved up to the 67 up style stronger body, chassis and suspension. a guy can weld a car up all he wants to make it stronger, but I am referring to stock original specifications, and to the guy here that likes an original car.

I love my 65, but it is flimsy in it"s construction, like it is still occupied by a 170 cubic inch 98 horse slant six.(1963)as compared to my 68 GTS.
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I've had early Barracudas for 45 years or better. But they were Formula S cars or clones, so they had all the good stuff. They do everything well. I've had a 300+ hp 273 since 1972. I run 15 x 6.00 wheels on the 66 and have run 15 x 7.00 Ralleyes previously. They fit and work fine. I hate to tell you but later A Bodies were no stiffer. They are all unibodies. Not that that makes a lot of difference. I still have four A Bodies a 66, 67 ,68 Barracudas, and a 73 4 door Dart. If you upgrade your 65 dart to .88 torsion bars, anything but 9 in brakes, and a front sway bar similar to your 68 GTS it will handle the same maybe better.
 
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I ran those on my 66 Barracuda for a while. They fit and worked well. Not sure if the 225/60R15's will work on the front. You might want to go with the 15 x 6 Rallyes. I think I was running 195/50's at that time. Kelsey-Hays Discs and 8 3/4 rear with 10 x 1 3/4 drums. Manual steering.

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Did you run the 15x7 or 15x6 on your '66? Just wondering why you suggest the 6" over the 7" wheel.
 
I ran the 15 x 7 rims front and back, because that was all that was available at the time. I like the tires tucked in better and the 15 x 6 has a 4" backspace so ith should be .75 farther in the wheel well. The custom Minilites are 15 x 6 and I really like them.

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I just put a set of 225/70/14 BFG's on my '66. The fit nice and I think they look great. I'm using the optional stock 14 X 5 1/2" wheels. I have 9" X 28" wrinklewall slicks in the rear of my other '66. That's about as big as you can go without modifying the wheel opening, or going with some custom offset parts. Even still, it's tight and I have to keep an eye on the tire pressure. Fine for drag racing, but, for a slalom car, you'd need something smaller or trim the wheel opening a bit so you don't cut a tire.
 
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