Need help with tire size for 63 Galaxie

[428Marauder]

I’m an idiot when it comes to this stuff, which number is what, what will fit, etc and I ordered some tires from Jegs for my 63 Galaxie 427 and they are too wide. They are Mickey Thomspons, 245/60R15 and they are on the stock 15 by 5.5 Kelsey Hayes wheels. They rub on the inside at the leaf spring mount. There is another version of this tire that is a 235. Will that fit? Is there anybody out there running these wheels on a stock car with a tire package they really like? Does anyone know the backspacing on these? If I measure it looks like 4 inches. TIA.

[cammerfe]

The standard size of tire for my '64 Custom (lowest end of the Galaxie full-size line-up) was a 6.70-15. The 15 inch wheels on my Custom were part of the mandatory add-ons that were part of ordering a 427 engine. I  believe they were six inches wide.Since I intended to make a change of tires anyway, I didn't order any 'up-sizing' of the tires.

Brother Lon had a '63 Galaxie 500 rag-top at that time and it came with 14 inch tires, as I remember. Since the tire designations have entirely changed, perhaps you'll be able to find a cross-over reference. For what it's worth, a set of M&H Racemaster 8 inch slicks would go on the 15 inch wheels that came on my car and fit with no problem. Hope this is at least a bit of help.

KS

[StarlinerRon]

To run a tire that wide you will need a "reversed" wheel ie less backspace plus you should have a wider wheel for a tire that wide. I use a 15x8 with 2" backspace on my 61 Starliner which has the same wheelwell as your 63 Gal. You should use at least a 7" width wheel. With 60 series tires you may have a problem getting the tire on because of the limited space between the wheelwell and the brake drum. If so you can unbolt the lower shock mount and let the rear axle drop down a few inches on one side at a time.
Good luck,
Ron.

[fe468stroker]

You will need to change wheels as others have said.  The original tires were 83 series in modern terms (tall and narrow).  The higher the series number the taller the tire.  Going from an 83 series to a 60 series is a big jump in height and width.  Another consideration is the height of the tire and rear end ratio.  Say your car has 3.00 gear ratio stock, going to a 60 series will effectively raise the ratio to around 3.25.  Poor man's quick gear change LOL.

[428Marauder]

My calculations say these should fit, but as I said I am bad at this stuff. Thoughts?

https://www.jegs.com/i/Coker-Tire/257/24742/10002/-1

[MRadke]

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

I was able to keep the same diameter while going to a wider wheel package using a calculator like this.

[fe468stroker]

The P205/60R15 is only rated at 1300 lbs at max inflation.  A heavy car like yours is pushing the limit.  Also that size would lower the car quite a bit so ground clearance might be an issue.  Consider going with 70 series tires which will give you better width than stock and closer to stock height using your stock wheels.  P215/70R15 or P225/70R15 would be the ticket.

[428Marauder]

Oh no. I haven’t bought anything from Jegs in a long time and I don’t remember them having a bad reputation but the way they are handling this seems pretty lacking (trying to run these tires damaged my car). At first they said they wouldn’t take them back at all, supervisor said they would and now he is not answering when I call and not returning my calls. I did a search for some recent reviews and they are really not good. Damn. Looks like I am just screwed.

[frnkeore]

To run a tire that wide you will need a "reversed" wheel ie less backspace plus you should have a wider wheel for a tire that wide. I use a 15x8 with 2" backspace on my 61 Starliner which has the same wheelwell as your 63 Gal. You should use at least a 7" width wheel. With 60 series tires you may have a problem getting the tire on because of the limited space between the wheelwell and the brake drum. If so you can unbolt the lower shock mount and let the rear axle drop down a few inches on one side at a time.
Good luck,
Ron.

I think the above, is the way to go, with those 245 60 15's. Deflating them, when installing them, is another thing to try.

I've fought this fight, with most of my cars and you should leave 1" (1/2" bare min) from anything that can make contact with the tire, because the tire flexes with side loading. You really need that min of 7" wheel width for that 245 tire. You can also get wheel spacers to move the wheel and tire out. There only about $30 a pair, on Ebay.

[428Marauder]

The problem with spacers (besides the obvious) is that these tires shouldn’t be on 5.5 inch wide rims in the first place. I would still need to get new tires.

[Gregwill16]

You may have missed it but I mentioned on the FE Forum that your best bet is probably a 205/70. Even they are recommended for a minimum 6" rim, so anything above that such as the 215 is worse. The 205/70 is only slightly shorter than the 245/60, but about 1.5" narrower. I think that is probably the largest tire that will fit the car and on the 5.5" KH rim.

[428Marauder]

You may have missed it but I mentioned on the FE Forum that your best bet is probably a 205/70. Even they are recommended for a minimum 6" rim, so anything above that such as the 215 is worse. The 205/70 is only slightly shorter than the 245/60, but about 1.5" narrower. I think that is probably the largest tire that will fit the car and on the 5.5" KH rim.

Yes, I saw that which led me to the 205/60s I posted which are close to that size and also available through Jegs. However at this time they are not returning my calls and I will probably just buy new tires locally and return these for a credit.

[428Marauder]

Found a local place that suggests 215/70s and I will probably go with those.

[StarlinerRon]

Wow $181 a tire, what a ripoff!!!

[428Marauder]

Wow $181 a tire, what a ripoff!!!

Yeah, 4 tires at the local shop is $425 out the door. I would highly recommend avoiding Jegs if at all possible.