20" wheels on an early A body ('65) Backspace questions

[PhillipM]

Were bagging our power tour car and are wanting to put a set of 20" wheels on it. Does anyone know what the front wheel backspace measurement should be on a 20x8.5?

[PT Goat]

Should be somewhere around 4.75, but it is going to depend what brakes you are running.

[1sick65]

Has the car been mini-tubbed? If not, good luck fitting a 20x8.5.

[PhillipM]

Has the car been mini-tubbed? If not, good luck fitting a 20x8.5.

It sounds like you have experience in this area. What are size/backspace are you running? I could mini tub it but didn't really want to. If I did how far are we talking about 2"-3"? I have never really delt with this early of an A body so I am looking for all the help I can get. Plus are 245 35 20s too wide for the car?

Thank you.

~Phillip

[JayR]

It sounds like you have experience in this area. What are size/backspace are you running? I could mini tub it but didn't really want to. If I did how far are we talking about 2"-3"? I have never really delt with this early of an A body so I am looking for all the help I can get. Plus are 245 35 20s too wide for the car?

Thank you.

~Phillip

If 245/35/20 is all the rear wheelwells will hold, it's time to minitub, IMO. Too skinny and NO sidewall and I love 20s on musclecars but that's just not enough tire out back. That's a front tire for a bigger car, not a rear on a musclecar.

[PhillipM]

I agree.. Hopefully Dennis can shed some more light on this.

~Phillip

[1sick65]

It sounds like you have experience in this area. What are size/backspace are you running? I could mini tub it but didn't really want to. If I did how far are we talking about 2"-3"? I have never really delt with this early of an A body so I am looking for all the help I can get. Plus are 245 35 20s too wide for the car?

Thank you.

~Phillip

My rear wheels are 20x9.5 with a 4.5 backspacing. I still have about 1.5 inches between the frame and the back of the tire/wheel. I did however end up rolling the lip of the quater panel for a little more room. If I remember right, I think I'm runnning a 275 45 20. I will have to double check.

When my car was mini-tubbed, they cut the exsiting wheel housing, and moved it over to the outside of the frame. If you take your time, you can mini-tub the car and still maintain the factory look in the trunk.

[molyorange 77]

I think he asked for the FRONT wheel backspace! Not doing a mini-tub.

[JayR]

I think he asked for the FRONT wheel backspace! Not doing a mini-tub.

Noted! Guess I saw 20" and assumed rears.....

[1sick65]

I'm running a 18x7 on the front with a 4" backspacing. The lip on the fender has to rolled to give us some more room. With the air out of the bags, I can turn the wheel 90% both left and right without any rubbing.

The inner fenders was cut on top (just over from where the inner and outer fenders bolt up) for clearance purposes, however you can not tell when looking under the hood.

If you plan to run a 20x8.5 on the front, to get the car low, you will have to use rubberbands for tires. The bigger the tire, the higher the car will have to set to ensure you do not have any rubbing issues.

[1sick65]

Noted! Guess I saw 20" and assumed rears.....

Don't feel bad Jason, I did the same thing.

[PhillipM]

Originally i was talking about the fronts but soon realized that 20s up front will be a little much. we will probably at least step down to a 19 up front. as for the back we have done a few mini tub jobs before and it isnt too bad to just move it to the frame rail.. further than that is another story.. going to get some tires today and see what goes up there. thanks again for the help!

[1sick65]

Originally i was talking about the fronts but soon realized that 20s up front will be a little much. we will probably at least step down to a 19 up front. as for the back we have done a few mini tub jobs before and it isnt too bad to just move it to the frame rail.. further than that is another story.. going to get some tires today and see what goes up there. thanks again for the help!

Not a problem. If you have experience in mini-tubs, it should be a breeze. 19's up front would look killer. I have considered buying new wheels, 19's and 20's, if I could find someone to buy my 18's and 20's.

[gearheads78]

I will be measuring my 66 Olds for 255-40-18 x 9 and 285-40-18 x 10 in the next couple of weekends. I need to get the C6 brakes mocked up to order my wheels. I will share the results when I have them.
Goal is be on Power Tour also.