65 Mustang Coupe 17" wheels

[73novaguy]

From what I have read on 65/66 Mustangs I have came to the conclusion that a 17x8 with 4.75 bs with 225/45/17 tires will work best for the front and a 17x8 255/40/17 will work best for rear. My questions are has anyone here tried this and what did you have for clearence issues and what bs did you use for the rear? Any other suggestions? I have done the search and found the Mustang list of tires sizes that supposedly fit, but just wanted to know from someones personal experience what they have had on and what fitments issues. I am actually getting these for my moms car and need to know what fits without having to butcher anything. Currently it is running some sweet 14's. :-)

[Mark Hamburg]

I've got 245/45/17's on the back of my '65 coupe with the same wheel and backspace you're running- They fit nicely. The 255's will be tight even with rolled rear fender lips. Mark Jeffrey at Trans-Am Racing got 265/60/15's on the back of a '65 fastback with some mild fender work and rolled lips.

[73novaguy]

What bs are you running on the rear? What is best place to get a combo setup? I have used coolwheel.com before and had good luck with them, but they are out of stock of the wheels I am looking at for this car. Looking for something along the lines of a TT or V40.

[CraigMBA]

A 235 will fit in the front.

I saw several 275's on cars at Knotts last weekend. It looked pretty frightful.

I think the 245 is the max limit in the rear if you're gonna drive the car hard.

[73novaguy]

Still looking for a bs measurment for the rear. And can you go 17x9 or have to stick with 17x8?

[DJ Mabe]

I remember seeing a guy over on MustangForums running a similar set up? I think he said he's rear was 16x8 with 43/4" BS? I'm not positive but I think that was it. He's running a 255 or maybe even bigger tire on the back. I'll search over there and see if I can't find he's specs.

[Mark Hamburg]

I'm running a 4.75" BS on 17x8's. I've seen 8.5" wide wheels (on the Mark Jeffrey-built fastback using 265/60's on a 15" wheel) and they were right there at the leaf springs. I don't see anyone running 9" wide rear wheels on the 65-66 cars, so I'm guessing they won't fit without some outer fender work. If you're going for max tire width use good rear shackles and at least poly bushings to keep the tires where they belong. I'd also do a Cal-Trac type of link bar to help with spring wrap when those wide tires bite.