# '69 GTO wheels and tires



## liljohn442 (Sep 9, 2010)

I'm buying wheels and tires for my GTO but i dont want any rubbing, but i do want some pretty beefy tires on the front and back. I'm looking at aftermarket rally II's, but im not sure which wheels would fit best without tubbing the car. Any links to an aftermarket rally II seller or any advice on which wheels and tires would fit best will help.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm in the same boat and will be putting wheels and tires on my 69 soon. To help me "figure it all out", I bought one of these.

Bear


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## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

Stock height in rear with a backspace that gives a little more dish than a Rally II, and 275 65 15 Kumho tires. The 295 65 15 BFG drag radials wont fit, just too much tire. You can go to 28" diameter tires with the right backspace, but much more than 285 width will rub. 










For comparison these are stock 15x7 Rally II with 265 50 15 tires, but the 65 GTO has a bit narrower rear wheel well. Plenty of room on a 68-72.


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## 69Goatee (Aug 14, 2009)

I ran BFG T/A 295/50-15 on the rear of my 69 without rubbing on a set of 15x7 Crager Draglites. The rims and tires are in my attic right now, so I can't measure the backspacing. I think the fronts are 245/50-15, also on 15x7 Cragers, and didn't rub when the steering was lock to lock. The rears did fill the wheelwell, looked sweet! I did have airbags in the rear springs, but never had to inflate them for tire clearance. Will get into the attic and measure them on Friday.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

I run a 15 x 9 1/2 with 6" backspace and a M/T ET Street (non radial) 28X12.5 and no rub. This was the max I could sqeeze in the stock wheelwells and that is with rolling the fender lips.

Ha ha, saw your sig with the 81 Regal. I had an 82 with those same pillowy seats. Comfy, but you could take off running faster than that car would get out of the hole!


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## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

The 82 Regal could violently break into the 17 second zone with little more than a 150 shot a huge stall and a set of deep gears. So powerful only butterscotch pudding was capable of holding them back.


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## liljohn442 (Sep 9, 2010)

Brother said he had one of those tools and that I could use it. He also said that i should be able to put 15X10's on the back with the right backspace and 15X7 on the front no problem. Oh and my Regal its not as slow as most are, it's just a Chevy 350 which is nothing to complain about when it comes to my first car.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

liljohn442 said:


> Brother said he had one of those tools and that I could use it. He also said that i should be able to put 15X10's on the back with the right backspace and 15X7 on the front no problem. Oh and my Regal its not as slow as most are, it's just a Chevy 350 which is nothing to complain about when it comes to my first car.


Tire choice will be critical with a 15X10. Too much bulge of the sidewall and "pop"! It can also be difficult to find "affordable" rims with the ideal backspacing off the shelf. I've seen these cars with 16"+ dia rims in 10" but the tires have a short stiff sidewall with very little bulge. 

On the front you really have to watch tire hieght as they will rub on the leading edge of the front fender when you turn. Ask me how I know .

There is a black Regal locally that is very sharp, tubbed, wheelie bars and a blown small block. The plan with my Regal was to eventually put a 455 Buick in it but that never happened. 

And my wife still wants a GN .


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

ALKYGTO said:


> I run a 15 x 9 1/2 with 6" backspace and a M/T ET Street (non radial) 28X12.5 and no rub. This was the max I could sqeeze in the stock wheelwells and that is with rolling the fender lips.


Love the look in that photo! 

I'm very close to having to make the tire decision myself on my 69, and I want the most tire I can fit without rubbing or having to jack up the rear for clearance. Is yours at "more or less" stock ride height in the rear? Also, please tell me about rolling that lip - how you did it and was it before or after paint? I'm planning to retain the wheel opening trim on mine, wondering if that's going to make a difference on tire clearance.

Thanks,
Bear


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Bear, I trimmed my repro quarters to the inside lip of the trim, even though I don't have it on the car the wheelwells are drilled for it. 

"Rolling" the quarters can be done safely after paint, they make a special tool for it that I have seen for rent but I just used a wooden baseball bat. Put a wheel/tire on the car, jack it up and "roll" the bat progressively (little steps) to roll the sheetmetal edge of the wheel opening so it won't cut your tires. 

You may want to take a propane torch and lightly heat the outer surface ( I know it sounds crazy, but it will keep the paint from chipping/cracking) while you do it. I also put blue masking tape around the whole area. I also needed to "massage" the inner wheelwells with a hammer to get them flush with the frame. Gives me about 1/2- 5/8" of clearance inside and out.

Most "old school" wheels have very little backspacing and even a 15X8 with nuetral backspace will move the tire to far outside to clear with "big" tires.


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

BearGFR said:


> Love the look in that photo!
> 
> Bear


I know, I just wish I would have had the headlight doors up! :lol:


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## liljohn442 (Sep 9, 2010)

I'm trying to get Rally II's for my car and I have heard about different sized dish wheels but havent found them yet. I was also probably going to go with radial T/A tires but the width would depend on the wheel size.


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