Long story short question.

[Falcon Daman]

I am Building a 64 Falcon sprint (slowly) But first I need to bring it back from the dead. It was my fathers car that he had bought at a Good Guys show in Plesanton in the mid 90's. He put some time into it and then it was stolen. When he got it back the only things missing were the carb and the valve that apparently got sucked into the engine. Fast forward 10 years and I'm buying my parents old house ,included was dads old Falcon (mostly because he is now into motorcycles and didnt want to drag it to the new house)
He has a granada conversion and new A arms sitting in a shed on the side of the house. I want to go with a set of bassett dot legal wheels like these http://www.bassettwheel.com/dot.html
My question is what is the largest size 15 inch wheel and tire and what backspacing that I can squeeze under my stock (for now) Falcon.

[Bryce]

check out my falcon build. click the pro-touring link in my signature.

I run a 7.5" wide tih 4.75 BS. but I have custom front suspension. That will fit in the back maybe even a 15x8 with a 4.75" BS.

But a 15x7 with 4.5 will fit easily.

i also run a 245 tire on all four corners.

Post some pics!

[Falcon Daman]

Your build thread is actually what has inspired me to start on my falcon. I have some mechanical skills, I was a diesel mechanic in the Army for 8 years (glorified parts changer), but I have no real fabrication experience. Ive begun picking up books on suspension design and tuning, and reading them. But I feel I'm a far ways away from designing and building my own suspension.
I will get some pictures up as soon as possible. But be forewarned It looks like a theft recovery......which is exactly what it is.

[Falcon Daman]

Some older pictures from about a year ago.

Also I am curious. Will a 15x8 inch wheel fit on the front or am I going to have clearance issues?

[Bryce]

very cool. THats an awesome compliment!!

good luck with your project.

I dont think the 15x8 will fit the front. maybe with a smaller 245 tire and not as low as mine.

[MonzaRacer]

no 15 x7 is max and you need to make a rough jig and dig up some diffferent size tires that you might want to run.
its not hard to make a jig with wood and simply make groves hold tire at width your looking for.
Wheel Works makes a mock up tool I am getting ready to order, but its pricey,like 375 bucks plus shipping.
But you can do it with wood parts, heck a buddy of mine cut up an old wheel and made something similar, cheap and ugly but it worked.

[Bryce]

If you modify the UCA and remove some material on the out side of teh ball joint you can squeeze a 245 on a 7.5" wide wheel. The diameter of the wheel should be less than 25" to fit better.

[rustomatic]

If you're going for speed, rather than fat (tire) looks, stick to the 15X7 max (4-inch backspacing). You don't want a sidewall stretching out over the edge of the tire; think 215 versus 245. You'll stick corners, rather than fold, slide, and bounce. Consider the weight of your car (zilch), and what a modern car (VW GTI) uses with more weight (3000 versus 2700 pounds) and only 200 horsies at the wheels. Modern cars use a 215 or 225 width on a 7-7.5 inch wheel, and will outhandle the average $50k+ pro-tour car without breaking a sweat. Sometimes, practical beats sexy by miles...

Always remember this: Minis kicked Corvettes on tracks, with a fraction of the motor/tire. Get your car sitting right (low and even) over reasonably sized tires, with differently valved shocks front and rear (hard front, soft rear), and you'll be shocked at what you can throw it into with stock suspension (configuration-wise). The factory didn't have it wrong; they just wanted grandma to be comfy...