Pics and advice needed for the best wheel offset to clear on a bagged C10

[Krispykreme64]

So recently I replaced my suspension on my 64 C10 with Accuair, did a Dead end Garage kit on it (mini C-notch, shock re-locators, and re-located the exhaust) did everything correctly but it only goes to the mini C-noth (still 6 inches off the ground) BUT now I want to go all the way to the ground already....... I purchased a set of 18" Mob Steel wheels during all this and the offset i went with is too wide, it's perfect almost too perfect for the stance i have now but lower is not an option. My rear wheels will need to change for sure but my front may clear but not too sure until I can lay it down and mock it up. What's the most common offset everyone is going with on these wheels for bagged trucks? Could really use some input and pics before i spend another $1300 on wheels AGAIN.
And yes I have measured and have an idea, just seeing if anyone else has a better grasp on the subject, this is my first build.

[Cris]

Krispy:

I recently went through trying to optimize for wheel backspace on my 63 fleet. I was trying to get as much tire underneath the truck as possible. You didn't mention if you are running stock spindles up front or have swapped to disc.

I think that a 5" backspace was about as far as I could go inboard. This is, of course somewhat dependent on tire size. I am on stock drum spindles.

I ended up with a 17" x 9" Pro Comp wheel with a 4.75" back space. If you prefer to talk offset that is a -0.25" offset. My tires are 275-55-17's and fit without rubbing (though I am only dropped 4 1/2" in front and 6" in the rear).

[zachiatrist]

Make sure and check to see if your panhard bar mount (if you have one) isn't hitting the bottom of the bed. Mine didn't go as low as it could at first, I had to 1: cut a hole in the bed so the rear diff could have room to go through.. and 2: chisel out a bunch of wood under the bed so the panhard bar mount had room to go up into.. and 3: cut the rear wheel holes wider so the bed wood stopped resting on top of the rear calipers, and put some 67-72 4" wider wheel tubs in.

I'm on Coys C-33 Wheels.. specs are:

fronts - 18" x 7" 4.25 Backspace
rears - 18" x 9.5" 5.5 Backspace

I'm also on Accuair, not laying frame, only have a c-notch with 2" lowering blocks and strongarms. But if I do decide to go lower, my wheels look to have plenty of room. Hope that helps.

[Krispykreme64]

Thank you for the replies.

I did do a CPP 4 wheel disc brake conversion on the truck with 2" drop spindles. I always have to look on paper but if i remember correctly I did 18"x8" with 4" offset in the front and 18"x9" with 4.5" offset in the rear. tires aren't much wider. I can barely stick my finger between the rear tire and the wheel well, so i know i'm going to need to do more negative spacing on the rear for sure if i go to the ground, but not too sure about the front. The front may clear the fender if i go lower but its going to be very close i believe but the camber change when i let it down may tuck it in far enough to clear, the rear needs something different for sure.

[Cris]

Krispy:

The disc conversions widen the track so you can definitely go (a lot) more than 4" backspace in front. The rears you probably have another 1/2" or so to go.

[pete57]

Originally Posted by Krispykreme64

So recently I replaced my suspension on my 64 C10 with Accuair, did a Dead end Garage kit on it (mini C-notch, shock re-locators, and re-located the exhaust) did everything correctly but it only goes to the mini C-noth (still 6 inches off the ground) BUT now I want to go all the way to the ground already....... I purchased a set of 18" Mob Steel wheels during all this and the offset i went with is too wide, it's perfect almost too perfect for the stance i have now but lower is not an option. My rear wheels will need to change for sure but my front may clear but not too sure until I can lay it down and mock it up. What's the most common offset everyone is going with on these wheels for bagged trucks? Could really use some input and pics before i spend another $1300 on wheels AGAIN.
And yes I have measured and have an idea, just seeing if anyone else has a better grasp on the subject, this is my first build.

Dont want to get off topic but what size tires are you running? Your setup looks just like what ive been wanting for my '64. Im only a 3/4 drop now but think yours looks perfect in the pic. Love the truck..

[vin63]

My question is: are you sure the tire is contacting the inner bed side/wheel tub preventing the rear going down further? In my experience, the other thing to check is the top of the rearend center section contacting the bottom of the bed.

Originally Posted by Krispykreme64

So recently I replaced my suspension on my 64 C10 with Accuair, did a Dead end Garage kit on it (mini C-notch, shock re-locators, and re-located the exhaust) did everything correctly but it only goes to the mini C-noth (still 6 inches off the ground) BUT now I want to go all the way to the ground already....... I purchased a set of 18" Mob Steel wheels during all this and the offset i went with is too wide, it's perfect almost too perfect for the stance i have now but lower is not an option...

[Krispykreme64]

The mistake I made when doing all of my measuring for the wheels the first time was measuring everything with the original drum brakes (did not think the brake conversion would widen the stance) also did this because the bed was fixing to be taken off so i did the measuring while the bed was still on.

I've already put the truck on air ride (in the picture posted up top) just didn't do much cutting to the frame and body (just a small C Notch in the rear) so the truck does NOT lay down to the ground.
What I'm wanting to do is start over and make the truck lay down all the way to the ground, front and rear.

THE FRONT
My problem right now is that my stance on the truck is wide. The front wheels are good FOR NOW but do not think they'll clear the fenders if I decide to cup the lower control arms, cut the front fenders, and make the cross member touch the ground... If they do clear i'd be surprised.

THE REAR
The rear is real wide, if i lay the truck down as is (making the rear diff. touch the bed) the outside of the rear tire touches the inside of the rear quarter panel and rubs on the center bolt that's holding the top of the wheel tub in place. I have plenty of room to spare from the inside of the tire to the inside tub. It will go all the way down just can't go too low while driving because it starts tearing up the side wall of the tire on that bolt.

My main concern would be if i need to go with a skinnier offset, what offset should i go with (whats the offset everyone goes with for the best fit) if i decide to lay this puppy down to the ground.....
My guess would be maybe to go 1/2" skinnier offset on the front and maybe a full inch skinnier offset on the rear. But that's just a guess. Just wanting to know what everyone else is doing or if my guess is the right path to take.

[Krispykreme64]

Originally Posted by pete57

Dont want to get off topic but what size tires are you running? Your setup looks just like what ive been wanting for my '64. Im only a 3/4 drop now but think yours looks perfect in the pic. Love the truck..

Front 235-50-18
Rear 275-45-18

I had a 3/4 drop on mine before i did the air ride and ran
255-70-15 in the rear and 235-70-15 in the front

[vin63]

Originally Posted by Krispykreme64

THE REAR
The rear is real wide, if i lay the truck down as is (making the rear diff. touch the bed) the outside of the rear tire touches the inside of the rear quarter panel and rubs on the center bolt that's holding the top of the wheel tub in place. I have plenty of room to spare from the inside of the tire to the inside tub. It will go all the way down just can't go too low while driving because it starts tearing up the side wall of the tire on that bolt.

The front is really limited to the inner fender, if it's unmodified without a pocket for the wheel and tire to tuck up into. The inner fender will rest on top of my 26-inch tall tire when my front air springs are aired down.

For the rear, I had to raise my bed 1-inch and run a sheetmetal Ford 9-inch and the top of the center of the housing still would contact the bottom of bedwood. I put an access door for my rearend filler and some electrical relays/fuel pump I installed there. Some people fabricate and bed-width hump to allow the rearend housing to travel past the bed floor.

As far as the backspacing on your wheel/tire combo, you really have to measure carefully, taking into account the tire section (not just the advertised tread width).Here is my bed to accommodate my chassis:

[Krispykreme64]

Originally Posted by vin63

The front is really limited to the inner fender, if it's unmodified without a pocket for the wheel and tire to tuck up into. The inner fender will rest on top of my 26-inch tall tire when my front air springs are aired down.

For the rear, I had to raise my bed 1-inch and run a sheetmetal Ford 9-inch and the top of the center of the housing still would contact the bottom of bedwood. I put an access door for my rearend filler and some electrical relays/fuel pump I installed there. Some people fabricate and bed-width hump to allow the rearend housing to travel past the bed floor.

As far as the backspacing on your wheel/tire combo, you really have to measure carefully, taking into account the tire section (not just the advertised tread width).Here is my bed to accommodate my chassis:

That's good looking work.

My rear end touches the bed wood and actually pushes it up about 1/4"... (just enough to where you can see the wood move up not too much) thank god i put 1 inch bumpers in the C Notch because i'd probably be cracking boards.
My second go around i'm going to raise my bed probably 6 to 8 inches because I'll be doing a step notch in place of my existing C Notch so i can go lower. I like the way it looks now just need more drop.
On the backspacing that's what I'm thinking. I'm just going to need to crack down on some measuring, maybe find one of those wheel measuring tools. Just trying to see if anyone or everyone has a typical offset they use for dropping their trucks to the ground. Being my first build I'm learning that building a truck on your own has an expensive learning curve.