FredNY66
Member
Hi,
As the tires on my '66 New Yorker simply gave up after many years of service, and that the current size isn't available anymore (225/75R14), I'm switching to 15" rims with 225/75R15. That would be a bigger overall diameter compared to the 14", but closer to the original 855x14 the car had when new. And since the speedometer is rather optimistic today, so fewer revs per mile won't do any harm. And 15" tires are a lot more available... and affordable. And I do have an excellent set of 15" disc brakes hubcaps (bought thanks to this forum!). I could go with 215/75R15 as well. I think however that the C-bodies look better with larger tires than narrower (perfect recent example seen: For Sale - 1966 Disc Brake Wheelcovers Chrysler Dodge Hubcaps - just replace that car's color by Crystal Blue ).
I've looked to the marketplace, it seems there is a number of OEM rims (US Wheels, Wheel Vintiques, Coker...) with the Mopar look in 15x6 with 3.75" backspace (the measure on my 14" shows 4.00" backspace, so that's rather close too). Only the center bore seems to be different between my current 14" rims and the OEM 15" (slightly bigger on the 15"). By reading a few messages on this forum, it seems rather "plug and play" as a conversion without any trouble to be expected, since it is a moderate upgrade in size.
Does my thinking sound right? Am I doing any fundamental mistake?
However, since I still prefer original parts, how difficult would it be to find original 15x6 rims? (not to mention shipment costs, probably prohibitive). Just exploring that option, to make up my mind...
Thanks!
As the tires on my '66 New Yorker simply gave up after many years of service, and that the current size isn't available anymore (225/75R14), I'm switching to 15" rims with 225/75R15. That would be a bigger overall diameter compared to the 14", but closer to the original 855x14 the car had when new. And since the speedometer is rather optimistic today, so fewer revs per mile won't do any harm. And 15" tires are a lot more available... and affordable. And I do have an excellent set of 15" disc brakes hubcaps (bought thanks to this forum!). I could go with 215/75R15 as well. I think however that the C-bodies look better with larger tires than narrower (perfect recent example seen: For Sale - 1966 Disc Brake Wheelcovers Chrysler Dodge Hubcaps - just replace that car's color by Crystal Blue ).
I've looked to the marketplace, it seems there is a number of OEM rims (US Wheels, Wheel Vintiques, Coker...) with the Mopar look in 15x6 with 3.75" backspace (the measure on my 14" shows 4.00" backspace, so that's rather close too). Only the center bore seems to be different between my current 14" rims and the OEM 15" (slightly bigger on the 15"). By reading a few messages on this forum, it seems rather "plug and play" as a conversion without any trouble to be expected, since it is a moderate upgrade in size.
Does my thinking sound right? Am I doing any fundamental mistake?
However, since I still prefer original parts, how difficult would it be to find original 15x6 rims? (not to mention shipment costs, probably prohibitive). Just exploring that option, to make up my mind...
Thanks!