Biggest 14 inch tire for my 55?

I wanted 15s to go on the front of my 55 chevy car but ran across some 14 inch wheels like I wanted so I want to get the biggest/tallest 14 inch street tread tire I can get but dont want to get too skinny.
I was told that a 215 is as big as you can go in a 70 series,is this true?
I also read somewhere that a 215-75-14 is 26.69 tall which isnt bad, but I wonder if it would be too skinny looking on 14x8 wheels?
Any advice appreciated

 

A 215/75-14 wouldn't look good in the front on an 8" wide wheel in my opinion, that rim size is about 2" too wide.

I'd pass on the 14" wheels and look at 15" sizes only, 14" tire size choices are getting to be pretty limited and have been that way for years now.

Good luck.

 

A 215 is way too small for an 8" rim. You should be looking at a 5.5-6.5" wide wheel for those. I honestly don't know where you would find a really wide 14" tire that tall. Coker is the only one I know who makes a 75 series 14 radial at all (not counting trailer only tires ), maybe you'll have more luck with bias plies?

btw, does an 8" wheel with a nearly 27" overall dia. really fit the front of your car without rubbing like crazy? It would seem that wheel was intended for the rear....

 

It has 245 60s on them now, they are about 25 inches tall and they dont look bad but I would like it if I could get a inch or two taller as I want it as high as possible with my bigger springs and ball joint spacers. I like the gasser/streetfreak look.
The 14s do help exagerate the look of its hieght but it would look better with more tire all the way around.
Skinnies like in my avatar are cool on someone elses car,but I like deeper dish front and back

 

Is a 245 60 the tallest 14 inch 60?

 

Well 60 is the "aspect-ratio" of the tire, which is a really nerdy way of saying the how tall the sidewall is vs. the width. Technically, a wider tire will be a touch taller than a skinny one, but in practical terms if you want taller than a 60 series, you need 65, 70, etc.

 

As you're finding out there's not a lot of choice in 14" tires these days. 215/75 is the tallest you're going to find at the local tire store any more, a 245/60 is quite a bit shorter (go to the Tire Rack site and look up the specs for B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A's) Coker sells 8.00, 8.50 and 9.50 -14 bias ply tires, and I think they may have 225/75 wide white radials. Diamondback may also have some 14" tires in suitable sizes.

 

Thanks! I found some 225/70s that are 26.5 tall.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?skipOver=true&width=225%2F&ratio=70&diameter=14&x=17&y=8