I'd like to get some new wheels for my car, but I have no idea what the back-spacing should be. There's not a whole lot of room to play around in those wheelwells! As a matter of fact, when I put the skirts on, it touches the tire (not particularly beefy 205/75) ANy ideas?
I would keep the costs down by adding some Caddy, Merc or Olds caps. They look great on that car. KNUX!
Early 1950s cars (Chevy, Ford, etc.) had 5-inch wide rims originally. A lot of times they've been replaced over the years with 6-inch wide rims from the '70s or '80s. I had clearance problems on a '50 Ford with skirts for the same reason. The only surefire way to get a good fit is to use original early '50s wheels, or order a new set of 15 x 5 rims from someone like Early Wheel (www.earlywheel.com). If you're running any kind of aftermarket rims, they tend to have a little less backspacing that factory rims, making the problem even worse. I put 15 x 6 chrome rims on my '50 and could no longer use the skirts at all, even though they (barely) cleared the same size tires with the 15 x 6 steel rims that were on it when I bought it. Front-wheel drive wheels will give you too much backspacing, and then you'll be rubbing springs and inner wheelwells.
But if I'm looking at a vendor's product, and they actually list the backspacing, what's the number I'm looking for?
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