I want chrome rims on my 65 t bird, the steels that are on it are 15x5 4.5 bolt patt. what size of the chrome will fit without rubbing something.

Asked by mcsruss Jul 07, 2012 at 10:39 AM about the 1965 Ford Thunderbird

Question type: Car Customization

what size chrome rims do i need to fit the bird without rubbing anything, 15x?

5 Answers

14,305

I don't know what Chrome rims you're looking at. Maybe a nice wire type wheel like the Kelsey-Hayes T-Bird Wire wheels They are expensive but very very nice looking on the T-Birds with a nice wide whitewall. I believe the T-Bird wires are 15 x 6 and you have to run a radial tire not an old type bias ply tire. either way, I would go with a 15 x 6 to be safe. You might get a 15 x 7 under it in the front but probably not in the back. A 15 x 6 is a standard in the industry for full-size cars of the 1960's and 1970's. Good Luck, Kenny.

4 people found this helpful.
905

you can go larger on the diameter, but you will have to make up for it by using lower profile tires. this will decrease your ride comfort.

1 people found this helpful.

Thank you , how about the older style cragar mags does there need to be a spacer so it dosen't rub anything on the brakes. alot of places are selling rims but realy don't know diddly about the applications. and neither do i. thanks for the help.

14,305

The Cragars should work as long as you stay with a 15' x 6'. but a 15x6 Cragar is more for the front of a racecar. The 15 x 7 looks much better but I'm not sure if you'll have enough fender clearance in the back, the front shouldn't be a problem and you might be able to get the 15x 7 in the back with the right backspacing. Any reputable tire and wheel dealer should be able to put your car on the lift, pull off one of the rear tires and let you see what width and offset of any specific wheel will fit correctly on your car without hitting the fender BEFORE you buy anything, especially if you're gonna spend $500.00 or more at their store. Cragars are about $120 each nowadays plus you got mounting, balancing, valve stems, and 20 chrome (McGard brand is guaranteed not to rust) lugnuts at $1.50 each. And that's not even counting tires which can add another $400-$800 to the total price. If you are on a budget, I would go with a steel chrome reverse wheel with babymoon caps. These are called "Smoothies". They typically run a little cheaper than the Cragar S/S and are very retro looking on cars of the 60's plus you don't have to buy chrome lugnuts if you don't want to because no one is going to see them anyway. Here's a good tip: Whatever wheel you buy, make sure the dealer who installs them uses "tape weights" on the backside ONLY of the rims when he balances them. Regular pound-on or push-on wheel weights look terrible on the front of chrome rims and cause rust spots but some dealers will do it anyway especially if it's a young kid working in the shop doing the balancing that just doesn't know any better. They should have the tape weights in stock but ask when you purchase the rims just incase they have to order them too. Also chrome valve stems look nicer than the typical black rubber ones or atleast get the chrome sleeved rubber valve stems with chrome caps..

4 people found this helpful.

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