Ok, here's the situation. I've stumbled onto a pair of 18" wide five wheels for my '36 5 window Coupe. These wheels weren't originally in the build plans, but they're so cool I couldn't pass them up. My overall plan is to just mildly hot rod it (lower front and rear a bit - nothing drastic just a little lower stance, big/little tire combination, few flathead speed parts, new interior, complete mechanical/chassis refresh) and have it on the road in the next few months. So with that being the case, here are my questions, current plans and struggling points. I'm converting to juice brakes (courtesy of EarlyV8Garage) and wanting to run 16" wide fives on the front and 18" wide fives on the rear. Tire selection will be Coker wide whitewalls in the suggested sizes (need some input here on the sizes as selection of whitewalls in 18" is limited): Front - 550 x 16, 2.75" whitewall Rear - 700 x 18, 4.75" whitewall Will these give a nice big/little stance (proportion) and will the 700x18s fit in the rear wheel well? I was originally going to run the 550/700 combination, but in both 16" wheel size, now the 18" has be conflicted. Keep in mind I was planning to remove some rear leaves to lower the car about 2" in the rear. Will that still be possible (or necessary) with the 18" if the tire better fills the well? As far as the front suspension, I was going to have Okie Joe drop another '36 axle for me (he did a great job on a Model A build I'm working on as well) and running a Posie reversed eye spring. With this new tire/wheel combination, will the drop axle be too much (I'm not going for the cartoon look)? Should I just look at the reversed eye spring as a means to take a little out of the front? As far as the 18" wheels themselves, what cap/trim ring options are available? Will the '36 spider caps fit the 18" wheels? I should also mention I'll be using the standard 3speed and the 4.11 banjo out back. Let's hear what the H.A.M.B. has to say!
Sounds like it's going to have a pretty large rake, depends on what your going for. I like 16" all around 7.50/16 on rear 5.50-16 front gives a nice rubber rake on my 16" wires. Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah, that was my original combination. Dropped front axle with posie reversed eye up front, 3 or so leaves out of the rear. These 18" wheels have thrown me for a spin. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sounds like a cool look with the 18s in the back. I'm wanting to do something similar on my project. What did you decide on for tires? Any pics?
Personally I think it will look a bit cartoonish. The front will be about 26" tall with the rears over 32" tall. Not sure how much you can lower the rear of a 36 and fit that tall of a tire in the fender. Just my opinion. mick
I decided to stick with the 16s. The 18s look cool but I was limited on tire selection. Decided to part with my treasured 18s.
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