Background
and Problem 1
Making a statement with wheels and tires has always been essential
rodding, regardless of your preference. That is, whether you like
them tall or short, fat or thin, with or without whites, bias
or radial, polished or natural, painted steelie or shiny, etc.
I could go on but you get the point. Wheels and tires are a matter
of individual preference and individual preference is what hot
rodding is all about.
Our
preference for this car was going to be a some big and little
combination based upon the tried and true American Racing Torq
Thrust (as American Racing would say "In Thrust We Trust").
If you're thinking - another car with Torq Thrusts, how imaginative
- what we can say? We always wanted a set so there it is. In this
case, they are of the Torq Thrust II variation. Specifically,
17 X 8 out back and 15 X 6 in front. Given that the rears are
going to be taller, a larger diameter is in order and we think
that a two inch difference looks better than one. However, that's
also a matter of individual preference.
For
tires, we started with a set of 245/50 X 17's out back and 195/60
X 15's in front. The reason I say started is because that's not
where we are now. As mockup progressed, it became obvious that,
while the 245/50's were certainly wide enough for '32 fender wells
(too wide in fact but more on that later), they didn't have the
height for the look we wanted in terms of filling the fender opening.
So, after a lot of looking around and comparing sizes that would
still fit on a 17 X 8 wheel, we settled on a set of 255/55 X 17's.
A bit wider and, with the 55 aspect ratio, suitably taller.
Problem
2
As mentioned above, when referring to the fact that the 245/50's
were too wide, we discovered that, with this width and backside
setting of wheel, the sidewall would just touch the body. On the
'32, the body is slightly wider than the frame. So, it was either
lose the tires or alter the body. We decided to alter the body.
