Will my tire fit?? 55-59

[jaws61]

Hello
I'm curious if anyone has run a 245/60r15 or bigger Tire for the front on a 1955-59 truck? I'm going to be using IFS from Horton weld and want to know if I can run that tire before I get started.
Thanks!!

[Foot Stomper]

The width of the tire is going to cause you the most angst.
Tie rod end on a sharp left turn will rub the tire... limiting your turning radius...just saying.

[jaws61]

Thanks.

[mr48chev]

I wouldn't think you would have a tie rod end problem with the MII style setup. Stock axle, yes it will rub on some wide tires on turns if you don't have the right wheel offset. A 16 inch or larger rim should eliminate most of that problem though. Then it becomes fender inner panel clearance.

[Coupeguy2001]

You can probably figure out a turn stop if it doesn't already have one on your suspension to keep that from happening.

I have 255/50/17's on my 57, and it rubs the fender in a full turn.
I could also raise the truck up another inch in the front, and it probably wouldn't touch.
Just that skinnier tires look so anemic, especially on a lowered truck.

I have the wheels and original tire size for a 1996 Chevy Impala SS on my truck.
The tires are 27 inches tall, 11 inches wide and tread is 10 inches across.
Plus, there is enough tire from the rim to the ground to look reasonably normal.
I didn't measure the inner fenders on the front, but for normal driving, the tires fill the wheel wells, and look size appropriate for the wheel opening.
So if you use 17's, I think you will be happy.
When I planned out my truck for the suspension change, It was with the tire size in mind.

I wanted to be able to rotate the tires to keep the tire wear even, and also, if I got a tire problem on the road somewhere, I wanted to be able to bring a rear tire up from the back to put on the front in case I could not find the correct tire size . Still, running different size tires on the back will cause the rear axle to have significant wear issues, it will be just to get you to the next place to get a tire. Also, All 4 wheels would be the same, and because I used a production wheel, i could replace it relatively easy from a catalog, or Ebay, or craigslist, etc.

Go to Tire rack.com, pick the tires you like, go to the specs page, and start figuring out what will fit after making some cardboard templates to simulate the front axle position.
Remember, your rear fenders are 12" wide from the bedside to the inside of the fender lip.
there are more 17 and 18 sizes to choose from to put your tires where you want them in the wheel well,
The only thing is how much tire do you want? obviously, the largest in the rear that you can get in there without chopping up everything to put the truck together quickly,
or radius the bed and add some sort of tub to get big meats in the back. On the front, you have to get creative to do just that.

Remember, with tire size, and driveshaft RPM, you want to limit the driveshaft speed by using tall tires, and moderate rear axle ratios.
It was shown to me that in trucks of our vintage, the driveshaft RPM could be a factor in vibration and the driveline coming apart at high speed, that is why the 60 and later trucks built for highway use have 2 piece drive shafts. To eliminate the bending of the shaft, GM and other manufacturers shorten the two shafts, put a support bearing in the middle, and eliminate some flex, also, the center bearing in the shafts is in a cushioned bracket, and eliminates some clutch chatter and vibration transmitting to the frame.




I used the baseball bat method to begin rolling up the fender lip, and then finished with C clamps and 3 paint stir sticks, and didn't chip the paint.

[jaws61]

Thanks Coupeguy2001
That was a huge help and I've been playing with the tire rack site, super helpful. Thanks

[2tractors]

Hey Coupguy, what type front end do you have? I'm building with the 84 vette IFS.