C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip?

[Timothy B.]

I am just about ready now to order tires for my 67, now that I have the rear suspension back together and my front alignment problem fixed. :-) I would like to follow Duke's recommendations and go with 215/70-15 size tires, but I am concerned about rear clearance. Duke refers to possible front interference when entering driveways, but I think I have the clearance in the front except for some minor frame rub at full lock turns which is OK.

For the rear, I took a straightedge and held it up vertically against the sidewalls of my existing 205/75-15 tires and noted the clearance between that line and the lip of the fenders. On one side I have about 1/2" clearance, but on the other there is only 1/4" at the most. I currently have both sides set to about 1/2 deg neg alignment. I suspect that the tire moves inward at the top as the suspension moves up (???), so I am thinking about disconnecting the spring and taking the assy to full motion and seeing how much clearance I get then.

For those of you with experience with this, how much additional width should I expect the new 215/70-15s Pirelli P4000s to have compared to my existing Michelin X radials (1984 vintage on stock 67 rally wheels)??

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

You can check The Tire Rack or the mfgs. web sites for nominal tire dimensions of the specific models you are considering and the currently installed tire. Note the "measuring wheel width". If it is other than six inches add or subract 40 percent of the difference between the measuring wheel width and your 6" wheels.

I have never heard any reports of fender interference with the 215/70ZR-15 Pirelli P4000 Super Touring tires mounted on an OE (or equal offset) '67 wheel, however, with lots of steering angle and a sharp bump, there could be a problem, which is why you should be careful entering steep driveways.

The rear tires see considerable negative camber gain with jounce. If you have sufficient clearance at normal ride height, there should not be a problem on jounce. Also, changing camber by about 1 degree will increase fender lip clearance by about 1/4", and negative 1/2 rear camber is very conservative. I would run it at negative one, which should provide an extra 1/8".

Duke

[Steve Pettit]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

I took Duke's suggestion and ordered a set of the above-referenced tires and set up susp. as outlined. Clearance looks close, but I've not had problems, and I don't really know enough to guesstimate visually, so I went with what I considered to be a sound expert opinion and am very pleased with the result.
Mine is 66 roadster, I don't know if there is significant difference.

Thanks Duke
Regards, Steve

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

Clearance would be tighter on a '67 than a '66 assuming both have OE wheels. The '66 wheels are 5.5" wide with 0.44" offset; '67 Rally and bolt-on wheels are 6.0" wide with .060 offset (as are KOs) , so the outboard plane of the wheel is 0.64" farther outboard.

Duke

[Jean C.]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

Duke, do you know if the offset on factory K/O's is usually the same as the Western Wheel aftermarket K/O's?

Thanks and best regards,
Charlie

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

I've never measured an OE set, but I've measured my seventies vintage early Western repros, and they are about .060" as close as I can measure, which is the same as the '67 Rally wheels.

BTW, when you measure KO offset, in order to get and apples to apples comparison with bolt only wheels you need to mount the adapter to the KO as the inside of the adapter is the equivalent wheel mounting plane.

Duke

[Donald O.]

Re: C2 rear tire fit - how close to the fender lip

Tim,
I have a set on 67 with ralley wheels and have the same tire to wheel opening lip gaps. And, both are not the same side to side.
Don