What have folks done to resolve tire rubbing fender issues. Fronts when making a hard turn, rears side rubbing inner fender panels. 3" lowering blocks in the rear, Jameco (king pin)front end. Thanks, Steve
Just off the Top of my head I would say it's your choice of Tires and Wheels. I don't have that issue in my 51but I know what your talking about. Narrower wheels, shorter front tires, less wheel offset. Something has to change.
I put a pair of 225/75R15's on 1/2" wider Ford wheels on the back of my '51 club coupe. They hit the insides of the fender every once in a while. I've been living with it because it makes more noise than damage, but I should do something about it. I have heard that there is a Maverick rear end that is almost a bolt-in that is an inch or two narrower than stock. I may look into this further, or maybe just go to 215/75R15's next time, or maybe make a new set of wheels with more backspace. I love the bigger tires though.
My old eyes can't make out that tiny photo and when you save it the resolution is so crappy you can't expand it but I'd say you have about three sizes too large of tires on it to get the "big ass whitewall" cartoon car look. The Correct size tire is on the one Pist=N=Broke posted.
This car was for sale here locally in the past month and I didn't have the coin to buy it. Here it is with the new owner at the show last weekend. Note how well the tires fit in the wheel wells that I had to lighten up the photo to show.
Installed an 8" Maverick rear end in my '54 Ranch Wagon. 56 1/2" WMS to WMS. 225/75R15's on steel wheels. No rubbing. The spring mounts need to be relocated. I cut off the old ones and since I'm no welder paid to have the new mounts welded on. The guy who did it used an alignment bar and stitch welded the mounts to insure the housing didn't warp. Also, the axle register on the Maverick rear end is about 2 3/4" which is larger than the stock Ford wheels from the 50's so you'll need new wheels. I'm running 15x7 on the rear and 15x6 on the front. According to the guy who set up my third member, the later Maverick rear ends from a Grabber where stronger than the earlier 8 inch ones from the earlier models. By the time I purchased the rear end, had 3.50's and new bearings installed, new brakes, hardware and drums, and moved the mounts it wasn't cheap but better than the old 44 with 4.11's that it replaced. IMO.
So just a little more added info on my Car. For those that have been here a while you may remember back 18 years ago when I built it. I gave all the specifics back then and as far as inches go (yes they matter) you have to be ready to go the extra mile to get things just right. It payed off and I'm still driving it today and on it's 3rd set of tires (current ones in this photo). I was dead set on and built my wheels just to run those Hubcaps. Might sound insane but back then I actually posted photos of it. These hubcaps are 14" so presented a little extra issue being I also run Disc brakes, but I got-er-done. We can no longer just order up specific needs to get spot on when necessary. Custom wheel shops never seem to hit the mark anymore. Lucky for me I'm no stranger to machine work and a little cut-n-weld work. My instant recall left the house years ago but I'd be glad to get the actual tire size off the car. I doubt it will be exactly where you want to go. I guess what I saying here is you may just need to work with what you have now and move your centers a little to get your specific needs taken care of. It seldom matters what someone else has when it comes to specific needs of another person's car. This would be another one of those cases.
On several of my cars I've welded Tubing to the inside of the front fender roll to make it strong so a little rubbing doesn't matter. If it's low it is supose to rub, that's part of the custom car thing. "Rub On"
The easiest and cheapest way is to add the proper size wheel spacer to the car. I have 20mm front and 30mm rear on an off topic car. They have been on for years with no issues. Some don't like spacers, but there are many race cars using them with good results. Just an opinion, but much cheaper than changing axels, tires, etc.
Isn't this going the wrong way? I know if I added spacers to the rear of my car, it would just make the problem worse.
On my 50, to get this low (and it's not on bags) I made new inner fenders as the tires would rub on them,and I'm running 15x6 Ford steel wheels (60's era) that's have slightly more backspace than the original wheels. No more rubbing. The rear doesn't apply as a wagon and car have different wheel wells.
The original poster said his rear tires were rubbing on the inner fenders. a 1/4" thick spacer between the drum and the wheel would probably solve the issue. A 1/2" thick spacer may solve the problem all together, or it may move the rub to the outer fender edge.
I'll bet he meant they were rubbing on the inner side of the fenders (on the inside of the outside). Having been through this myself, there is a lot of room on the inside of the tire.
This may not help your situation....but, FYI, I have Aerostar coils in front, 4" dearched springs w/2" blocks in rear with NO rubbing problems front or rear on my 51. Tire size is 205/75R×15 on steel wheels, which is the equivalent to 6.70×15 that they came with. If you are running 225/75×15, that's equivalent to 7.60×15 which came on Buicks..way too big.
I'm thinking he is running what is equivalent to an L78 that would have been on Cadillacs or Lincolns.
Hello, The simple look of wide white walls will show up on tires that will fit inside the wheel wells. It is not worth it to get larger tires, just so you can have wider whitewalls. The correct size tires with wide whites will look better and obviously be much safer on road trips near and far. Here is a short film I took in 2019 of almost the exact 50 Ford coupe rolling down the street during a Christmas vacation season in So Cal. The tires seem to be the correct size, yet the whitewalls look large. Even with low profile tires, the whitewalls will look wide. Just because they will be tucked up into the wheel openings. Jnaki The procedure is to take those wheels and get some new smaller size tires with the widest white walls you can find. If they are all the same size tires, then they will fit inside the openings and you will not have problems if one gets a flat or two using the same size spare. Being lowered does have its problems. But, hopefully, even when the new smaller tires are put on, if more than the driver is in the car, you do know that the whole lowered car may get a lot lower and then become a hazard while driving. Then it is the simple solution of different lowering techniques and heights. (possible new springs and shocks) If your tires seem to fit for you, you might check out the lowering heights vs. the rubbing. December cruising So Cal We did some height adjusting/lowering on my brother’s 1951 Oldsmobile two door sedan. The first try was too low and the normal tires rubbed on every turn and bump. So, we had to get new springs and not lower it so much in front. The rear was easier than replacing the coils. The big/little tires were not the style on sedans and coupes. But, once in place, a front end alignment was mandatory. YRMV
I run 15x5.5 or 15x6 on the front of all my cars that are low and a narrow tire (like a 195 or 205 in a 70 or 75 series...) to give more turning . if it is rubbing the top of the inner fender, remove or cut and make a raised section..
You should post your tire size. From what I see, you seem to have bias plys, so you are on the right direction. I guess they are just too big. I had to put 6,70 instead of 7,20 on my Merc. It is also lowered and the bigger tires would always rub in the front.
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