Help needed to find a nice wheel combo, 72 swinger

-
mr_incredibill

mr_incredibill

Active Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Messages
27
Reaction score
9
Location
Berne (Switzerland)
Guys hi

once more, an annoying question, the wheel question. actually i have a set of Cragar SS in 14x?? on my 'new' 72 swinger. there are three issues with those wheels

1. too small in diameter and with
2. don't like chrome/bright wheels
3. don't like the cragar ss at all

actually it looks like that:

Dartwheels_original.jpg



what's my vision?

- Black, matte or satin
- steelies
- deep dish

i found a rim which more or less fits to my vision and i did some photoshop
on wheelsforless.com they 'should' fit, thats what the car configuratior is telling me. on all pics i see online, those wheels ar on trucks/SUV's.

sketch
DartwheelsAR_Black_Baja.jpg


Can anybody help me out with my issue with

1. a more or less similar wheel style
2. dimensions 15" (backspacing, width)
3. bolt pattern etc for a 72 318 dart swinger. i think, axles are original. disks in front

thanks for your help!
 
You'll have to figure out what bolt pattern you have. It should be 5x4" if it's original, and that will limit your wheel choices substantially. At this point though I'm not sure I would assume anything is stock if you don't know the history, so it could have been converted to BBP.

tech-boltcircle.gif


What rear axle do you have? A-body rear axles were not all the same width, it depends on what axle is actually in there. The 7.25's are not the same width as the 8 3/4's, and that will change your backspacing needs.
 
72bluNblu said:
You'll have to figure out what bolt pattern you have. It should be 5x4" if it's original, and that will limit your wheel choices substantially. At this point though I'm not sure I would assume anything is stock if you don't know the history, so it could have been converted to BBP.

View attachment 1715200694

What rear axle do you have? A-body rear axles were not all the same width, it depends on what axle is actually in there. The 7.25's are not the same width as the 8 3/4's, and that will change your backspacing needs.
Click to expand...

tnx! will check the axle. i know the history more or less, the sellers grandma bought the swinger in 1972 and he was the 2nd owner but i'll check

sorry, I'm a noob and from europe :-/ what is BBP and, the other thing i read was SBP or s'thing like that
 
A-bodies came exclusively with the 5x4” “small bolt pattern” (or SBP) from ‘67-72, that was for both disk front and 4 wheel drum cars.

Then starting in 1973 the factory front disk equipped A bodies switched to the same 5x4.5” “big bolt pattern” (BBP) that already came on pretty much every other Mopar car. The slant-6, 4 wheel drum A-bodies kept the 5x4” pattern all the way to ‘75. In ‘76 disks became a federal mandate and so all the A-bodies went BBP.

More than likely your ‘72 has the 5x4”, small bolt pattern like it did from the factory. But the conversion is pretty popular, so it doesn’t hurt to check.
 
I like Cragar ss's. I would keep the front's and add 15x7's and 255-60's to the rear. 4 1/4 or so backspace. I run that combo on my Swinger only with Rallys. But it's your car and your choice.
001.jpg
 
I have never liked the Cragars either on A-bodies. They seem to make the wheel assemblies look out of scale.
The Rallys look really good in deep-dish.
ET-IIs would look good in either satin or painted satin-black.

These cars look good with bigNlittles; 14 on front 15 out back. Too much rim or sidewall in the front, muddies the beauty. Checkout the proportions, and stance on toolmanmikes............... puurfect
 
thanks for your answers so far.
i checked which axle i have, it's the 7.25 stock axle (see pic)
IMG_0295 2.jpg


to make it easier to compare which axle is mounted on the car i found a nice explanation pic

IMG_0244.jpg


So if i got a 7.25 axle, it's for sure i have SBP?

Here's a pic of the actual, sry, awful wheel

IMG_0296.jpg
 
if it were my car, id go with slotted mags, but i think you might like these better

[FOR SALE] - 15 x 7 small bolt Wheels

or , if you like TMMs set up (which of course you can paint black)
there are these
[FOR SALE] - 15” sbp aftermarket rally rims

now, whatever you do, dont just throw those SS in the trash when you get the new ones, you'll be able to get a few hundred dollars for them easily, SBP wheels are hard to find, and those are still pretty popular
 
thanks!!! this is the style of wheel i like yes.

another question if permitted: if i have the 5 bolt pattern, so this wheel always has small bolts or od it possible to have a big bolt pattern then?

and, in front i have disc brakes so i think bbp.
 
Last edited:
Anything is possible but it is probable you have 5x4, small bolt pattern
Even with Kelsey Hayes disc brakes (factory option) it would be 5x4
72blunblu told you how to measure, I would just do that

(Also, I didn't realize you weren't stateside when I posted those wheels, I see now they may not be the best option)
 
perhaps not, but what your looking for is basic and should be available

you know, they still make slotted mags in 15X7
 
i run 15X8s on the back of my duster, but i have a different sheet metal then you and more room
but im sure the answer is out there

take a couple of hours, and scan through this thread
Post your wheel and tire combos.
 
mr_incredibill said:
believe me, I spent some 'decades' in this thread hoping to find someone with a 72 dart, 7.25 axle, SBP and 8x15 on the rear axle....
Click to expand...

There's really no need to go to a 15x8 in the back is the thing. A 245/60/15 is the largest tire you can safely plan on getting back there unless you're willing to trim/roll the quarter lips, and those work great on a 15x7. I mean, you can run a 15x8, but keep in mind that you probably have about 11" of space to work with from the spring to the quarter. A 1/2" on either side needs to be clearance, so that only gives you 10" to work with, and a 15x8 is 9" wide outside lip to outside lip.

With a SBP 7.25 and a 15x7 you should be looking for a 4" to 4.25" backspace, but measuring would be your best bet. Take the rim off and measure the distance between the wheel mounting surface and the springs, and then the WMS to the quarter lip. A tape measure and a square work fine for that, just remember you want to measure the horizontal distance from the WMS to the spring and quarter, not the distance on an angle. Which is why a square works well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top