70 cuda wheel problems , help someone .

[68gtx]

ok , here we go , my buddy purchased a 70 cuda with fat and skinny wheels on it , doesn't like the look, we did some online research and he wanted the cragas ss look. Our issue is front tire clearance , Tires hitting he front of the fender lip when turning . We bought a 15x7 inch wheel with 4.0 backspace like everyone i read said is pretty standard . We used a 235/60/15 tire " bf goodrich radial t/a " . The car had a wildwood drum to disc brake conversion on it and wildwood said to us that this can increase the track width on the car . So we ordered a factory brake kit with spindles from summit to hopefully gain back the width added by the spacer plates and adapters. Well with the factory style spindles and brakes the tire now seems to hit the lip up a little bit further up . Still does not clear. We found that some people on here use 15x7's with a 245 tire on them with no issues. We are stumped . Does anyone have any ideas? could this car have the wrong k member ? could it be too wide? Anyone have any ideas? maybe the car has jobber fenders on it and the wheel holes are different .

 

[68gtx]

 

[68gtx]

View attachment 87216

 

[scar426]

Well, I have the 235/60 r15s on stock Rallye wheels (with plenty of clearance) with a honking heavy butt 440, so...... I would suggest that you need to adjust the torsion bars. Or if they are bad, replace them.

 

[scar426]

 

[68gtx]

if we turn up the torsion bars it will clear but if you go over a bump while turned it will do damage . right now it contacts the fender down low below the level of the lower body line . It seems the fender opening curves back towards the rear on both sides and this is where it rubs

 

[scar426]

if we turn up the torsion bars it will clear but if you go over a bump while turned it will do damage . right now it contacts the fender down low below the level of the lower body line . It seems the fender opening curves back towards the rear on both sides and this is where it rubs

hmm assuming you have the proper shocks up front (not racing shocks usually used for big and skinny tire set ups) you shouldn't have an issue with the tire hitting on a turn. That being said, and I'm not really sure how they would do it, but if the K member was setback further from the stock location (i.e. for weight transfer perhaps), then maybe I could see the tires rubbing downlow and to the rear of the fender well, but.....Was this an actual racecar in a previous life?? perhaps some under car pics for the more educated here to look at and help diagnose. Good Luck!

 

[68gtx]

ill get my buddy to take a photo , the tire hits when you turn on the front side of the fender towards the front valance .i have added a picture below of where it hits the fenders when you turn side to side . going straight ahead there is lots of room .

 

[68gtx]

 

[68gtx]

 

[moparleo]

What is the condition/type of strut rod bushings do you have ? The strut rods move the lower control arm forward and backward. This moves the tire forward or backward.
Just something to check. But when you change things from stock you will always run into compatibility issues. Factory Rally wheels 15x6.5/7" with 235/60-15 have always cleared when the alignment and ride height are set to factory specs.

 

[aar2244]

2 things come to mind, adjustable strut rods can pull the lower control arm forward causing this situation or the car has been hit and thrown the geometry out.

 

[moparleo]

Have you tried a Mopar factory wheel yet or still trying to use the Cragar's? The factory wheel backspace is 4 1/4-4 1/2"
I have never seen 4" bs as standard.