rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I am building a 1969 c10 reg cab short box 2wd. I am almost done my frame just installed a scotts hot rod supper slam front end kit and a cpp rear air ride kit. I step notched the frame just behind the cab and boxed it.

now that you know what i have done so far what i am aiming for here is a good street truck i can drive in the summer that will handle decently well and have lots of power to put a smile on my face with. for power it will be getting a gm ls 376/515 crate engine backed up by a t56 6 speed.

I have two questions the first being what backspacing are you guy running on your rims i want 20s all the way around with probably 9x20 in the front and 13x20 in the rear. This truck will lay frame and i will tub out the rear as well as raise the bed floor up for the stepped up frame.

my second question is what rear ends are you guys running i have a guy that can build me one locally and i know i will have to narrow it. I just want to see what you guys are running with your bagged truck and what widths you running.

I have built lots of vehicles but up to this point its been allot of 4x4s this is my first low ridder build i have done any info , tips and pictures you have for me would be great thanks in advance for the help.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Moved to suspension forum so you'll get better, more educated responses.

To go with a 13" wide rear tire as you said you will need to narrow the rear.

On backspacing, every truck will be different and will depend on how you lower it (spindles/dropmember/etc)

If you have more info on your plans for the front and rear that will help

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

13" wide rear wheels does not 'require' narrowing the rear housing. It requires the proper back-spacing.

If you want a 13" wheel w/a deep lip & less back-spacing, then you need to plan on narrowing the housing (or buying a suitable swap housing). If you look around (search the net), an aftermarket 9"/12-bolt g-body rear housing would be a good choice as it's 4" narrower (2" per side) vs. a 6x-69 12-bolt housing. You might be able to find one @ a good price & just whack the existing brackets off & weld on some truck arm brackets. This is what I was searching for (for my RetroRod project) until I came across a built 12-bolt that was the right length, new gears, posi & axles for the price of an aftermarket 9" housing/axle pkg.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Is it even legal to run 13" rear wheels without a DEEEEEP lip???? :D

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Absolutely not!! Everybody needs deeeep lip wheels....

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

There are limitations in my book. I absolutely do not like the almost flush look up front & a 6-7" deep lip out back. It does not look good to me. I prefer keep the lip within 2-3" of each other.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

So I am not the only one that the super deep dish bothers? I LOVE wide wheels, but feel that the dish front to back should be comparable.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Agreed

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Ummm I have 13" wide wheels..I just had my stock rallies cut and widened??? it was cheap and I didn't have to swap axles or shorten them either??? tub yes!!! and I run 15 or 18" wide M/T's all the time

theres pics in my build

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Narrowing a rear housing w/the internals installed? How do you determine there was no distortion from the process? How could you determine end to end accurracy of fixture alignment?

Sure.... it's possible to do just like lots of guys weld their differential spider gears for a 'poor-mans' spool. That doesn't mean it's correct. I'd like to learn what your process is.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I'm running 18x12 on a stock width '69 rear. my bs on the rears is 7.5". I followed SCOTI & N2trux philosophy on this, plus I didn't want or have the money to spend on custom, super deep lip wheels AND narrow the rear. As you can see in the pic below, there is plenty of room from the inside wheel to the framerail. I have a stepside bed, and I'll graft in some fleetside tubs to clear the wheels, but nothing has or will be done to the frame or rearend housing. For me, I feel like I have a good match from front to rear as far as the 'look' goes, and then surprise, surprise when you see it from the back with a 335/30 tire tucked up under there.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

hey bosshogg......what brand tires and wheels.,...any pics of the wheels? love the tread!! how tall are the rears compared to the front???

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

wheels are the Boss 338, kinda like belly buttons around here these days... I have more pics of them on my profile page.

Tires are BFG gforce kdw's, 245/40/18 front, 25.7" tall, 335/30/18 rear, 25.9" tall. I would have liked to run the 275/35's in front, but of course, they came out after I got the 245's...

Too bad no one makes a 335/35 anymore because a 275/40 front and 335/35 rear would be BEAST :sumo:.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

do you think the tires are going to fill the wells ok?? they are alot shorter than the stock 29" tires..I fought over that when I was building my truck I wanted wheel/tire combo that would keep things close to stock

on a side note how do you like that Scotts front end....and I look forward to seeing your combo with the body on

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I was going to PM this but figured if you took my post wrong, others might have as well. So, I wanted to set the record straight (in public)..... You're right, it was both (question & statement). The question/s portion:
The statement portion:
It appears you were successful so it can be done. I question only if it should be done that way or if there are better, more accurrate methods. I wasn't attacking you or the integrity of your work. If you were offended, I apologize.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Ugh..... you guys are bad for me. Now I want to tub my truck and go the Bo$$Hogg route.

:m6:

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Is this what you had in mind topher??

don't do what I did, just skip my little bs and go for the throat....

22x14's with the 405 width Pirelli's.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

That's a very, deep, dish.........

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Thats the exact look i am aiming for bosshogg i might even go with 22s after seeing that pic

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Come to think of it, those rear wheels might be 24's - I don't have the hard copy of it, thanks to a coworker that 'borrowed' that issue from me. You can find it online at www.truckinweb.com, under the 'featured trucks' tab.
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Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

hey bosshogg what is the backspacing and width for the front rims in the first pic you posted ?

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

22x8.5, but I don't know the bs on them - but from the looks its a lot, since the wheel face it almost flush with the wheel lip. The rears are 24x14's I did check on that too.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

sorry i was talking about the first pic you posed of just the frame with the 18x12 on the rear with 7.5 backspacing do you know whats on the front of that c10 ?

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Yeah, I hope I know, since that's my truck (frame) :lol:

The fronts are 18x8 with 4.5" backspace.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

Ken,

I like deep dish pizzas!!!!!!

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I know this "debate" is already over but.....I like it both ways, :D. These are what I put on my 68, 20 x 12's with 7" BS and 18 x 8's with 5" BS. I did this because I didn't want to narrow the rearend. If time and money were no object, I would have narrowed the rear at least 2" on each side. That being said, I really like the look that I have....

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

^^^ and we can see THAT WORKS with a disc brake set up

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I realize this thread is old but I am wondering where you found 18x12 boss wheels?
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Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

He had them built from what I remember.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I would suggest a Percy's Wheelrite and measure about 1000 times if you're going to spend that kind of coin on your wheels.

I agree with everything that has been said. .. Yes, a lot of combinations will work but what do you want it to look like on your truck (?) That (to me) is where you want to go with it. I think the narrowed rear end housing and 10" lip (obvious exaggeration) is a little too much but I still like a wider wheel tucked under the fender.

With a stock 69 housing you should be able to do a 10" wheel in the rear with 5" backspacing. (not tubbed) I like the look of a mild Mini-tub, in fact I'm considering it too. So, 22x13 with 8" BS and 3" mini tub without narrowing the rear end would work (in my mind) Narrow the rear end 3" on either side, and do the same wheel with 5" BS and it would sit about the same. 3" mini tub + 3" narrowed. That would be a huge lip. :D .. (prob a bit too much) Just examples and thinking out loud really. It really depends on how deep you want that lip'ped look. IMO, I'd look at narrowing the rear end if you have the $$. OR swap in a 9" or something (?) like others have said.

Re: rim backspacing and to narrow or not to narrow
 

I dont know guys.... in my other auto-circles.. deep dish wheels are on the way out. I had some on another vehicle and grew tired of the daily wipe downs needed to keep the brake grime, condensation, and dirty water spots off.


Edit -- im running 20x9.5 rims all the way around with a 5 inch back spacing. tires are 275/40/20. I got non-directional rubber too so I can rotate them without worrying about it.