15" Wheel Swap for 1966 Polara

[Fishfan]

Hi fellers,

I'm thinking about chucking my 14" wheels for 15" wheels. For one thing it's getting harder and harder to find 14" tires. For another my wheels are in pretty bad shape. Wheel covers won't stay on tight, I have to constantly nudge them back into place to keep them from working their way off. I assume this is because the wheels have become deformed over time (the wheel covers are new as of a couple of years ago, I bought them to try to solve this problem).

What's the bolt pattern for MOPARS of that era? Would it be different by model? Any suggestions for wheels? My car is not sporty. More of granddad's car.

 

[LocuMob]

5x4.5" bolt pattern. You can find 235/70/14's all day long or smaller, unless you are going for a 275 tire. Wheels shouldn't be deformed unless they were driven on with flat tires for quite a distance. Check the tabs on the wheels covers to make sure they are aligned properly, some may be bent in slightly.

 

[CBODY67]

"Wheel flex" is the reason for the wheel covers not wanting to stay on the wheels AND in the correct position. On our '66 Newport 383, only the rh frt wheel cover moved and I finally just installed it with the valve stem slot away from the valve stem. Otherwise, the wheel cover would rotate until the valve stem physically stopped it, which could have caused problems. I tried bending the retention tabs and all of that to no avail. This was with '66 New Yorker wheel covers, but the standard Newport covers did the same thing on that car. This is with the 14x5.5" wheels. No issues with the 14x6.5" (station wagon) wheels I put on the '67 Newport CE23 383 4bbl car.

In some tire brands, even the 15" tires are getting harder to find, especially whitewalls.

You might look around for '76 Charger SE Rally wheels, which are 15x6.5" wheels. Add the center cap you like best and some trim rings. Or watch the upcoming holiday sales for American VN501 (Magnum 500 similar aluminum) wheels. They usually come in 4.0" backspacing, or less. With the preferred backspacing on 7" wide wheels being 4.25", and 4.0" being acceptable for tire clearance.

Usually, P225/75R-15 will look about right. Which are the same width as the power disc brake cars' 8.45x15 tires. As the factory tires (w/factory ac) were 8.55x14, might need to re-check your speedometer calibration afterward.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[Fishfan]

5x4.5" bolt pattern. You can find 235/70/14's all day long or smaller, unless you are going for a 275 tire. Wheels shouldn't be deformed unless they were driven on with flat tires for quite a distance. Check the tabs on the wheels covers to make sure they are aligned properly, some may be bent in slightly.

My current tires, which I hate because I ordered them hastily and don't have the white walls, are 215/75R14. I tried the portawall white wall add-ons and they pretty much suck. The FSM says the tires should be 8.25" which is 209.55mm.

The question is how wide can I go with my tires. You suggest 235. What's the rule of thumb? How narrow can I go? Always err wider?

 

[LocuMob]

My current tires, which I hate because I ordered them hastily and don't have the white walls, are 215/75R14. I tried the portawall white wall add-ons and they pretty much suck. The FSM says the tires should be 8.25" which is 209.55mm.

The question is how wide can I go with my tires. You suggest 235. What's the rule of thumb? How narrow can I go? Always err wider?

I go as big as I can. I put a 225/70/14 on a '68 Monaco 500, and I wish I would have gone with the 235. That's a good size tire for a stock wheel on a slab.

 

[TxDon]

5x4.5" bolt pattern. You can find 235/70/14's all day long or smaller, unless you are going for a 275 tire. Wheels shouldn't be deformed unless they were driven on with flat tires for quite a distance. Check the tabs on the wheels covers to make sure they are aligned properly, some may be bent in slightly.

Scott, where are you finding 235/70/14s and are they whitewalls?

 

[LocuMob]

Scott, where are you finding 235/70/14s and are they whitewalls?

Yeah, they aren't whitewalls. Cooper Cobra GT is the brand I usually go with.

Just looked again, no 235/70/14, 225/70 is the largest size available in a 14" flavor. That's what I put on the Cicada when it needed new shoes.

 

[CBODY67]

I originally put P225.75R-14 Kellys on the '67 Newport. When I found the 14x6.5" station wagon wheels on a '65 T&C in the local salvage yard, I got them. Put P245/70R-14 BFG Advantage TA whitewalls on it (in about '82 or so, Coker was the only place that had them, out of production for about a year at that time). and everything fit correctly. The station wagons could go up to 9.00x14 on the slabs.

One reason I went with the Advantage TAs was that they are 6-ply fabric-belt radials, not steel-belted. There were some concerns about steel belteds being a bit harsh on impact harshness, back then. No problems other than the tires have a higher rolling resistance than other tires. I can barely push the car in the driveway, if needed. Whereas I can easily push my '77 Camaro with P225/70R-15 Radial TAs on it. FWIW.

In the BFG spec sheet, the P245/70R-14s are the same exact dimensions as an H70-14 tire I happened to come across, which is good. The odometer readings are dead-on on the Interstate mile markers, which is good.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[polara66hardtop]

I Installed the 1968 15x6 steel wheels from a 68 Chrysler disc brake car. I then used mopar 15 inch caps.I stuck with 215-75rx15 tires in order to have the best ride, 225-75 worked but the Michelin tire I used is larger, and the car tends to go wherever the tires want to go. other brands tend to be smaller despite being advertised as the same size. some cordobas had 15x6.5 wheels, that work better with a 225/75x15. my 1977 6.5 wheels recommended 225/75x15 or G70 15.

 

[MoparMike]

You asked "how wide can I go?" I have 225/50/17 on a 7" rim on the front and 275/50/17 on the back of my 65 Monaco. There are no fitment or rubbing issues. The only thing is that to get the rears off and on the car has to be jacked up by the front spring perch to let the rear end hang. The car is still in the body shop which limits how good the pictures are.

 

[fury fan]

I would recommend a 225/75-15 whitewall for the Grandpa look you mentioned.
225/70-15 or 235/60-15 would be better for a sportier wheel.
If you get a 235/75-15, make sure to NOT get a blackwall as it will look like a truck tires on your car. (see the bottom pic of a mistake I made)

If going the wheelcover route, Used Hubcaps and Center Caps from Hubcaps.com is a good place to look at pics, then buy them cheaper somewhere else.

Outside of wheelcovers, look at:
Road Wheels (always 15")

Magnum 500s (came in 14 and 15")

Rallye wheels (came in 14 and 15" and also 2 bolt patterns, 5x4" and 5x4-1/2")

IMO, the Rallye wheel with the later cap (shown on the left) along with WW tires is a decent look for a C-body. I like it better than the earlier cap. Here's a pic of early caps with WW tires. Early caps came in silver and darker gray.

Plain stamped rims, police car rims, Magnum 500 and the Rallye wheels/caps are all being reproduced - more expensive, but more convenient.
Road Wheels are used-market only.


Or you could go the painted wheel/dogdish route. These caps almost NEVER fall off. Be aware that these small caps come in 2 diameters, which match the wheels. IIRC 67 was a transition year from larger caps to smaller ones. The 'unknown export' and 2823008 caps are larger, all the others are the smaller size.

Here are 2 threads that show LOTS of options.
Exactly What Wheels & Tires Fit C Bodies?
C-Body Wheel and Tire Survey