ok ,lets say you have a stock 8 inch rear end ,will a 15x8x4.5 fit in the wheel well ,and what does the x4.5 mean ,call me stupid ,but i just dont know 2GATES Im running a 1957 ford station wagon 9 inch rear end that is 1 inch wider from out side drum to out side drum than a stock 8 inch,will this rim size still fit or is it to wide to fit inside the wheel well
4.5 is the backspace. It makes the wheel sit too far inboard on my Maverick, but other people have run them on their Mavericks with no problem...
Considering you have 1" extra on each side, a 4.5" BS will be equivalent to a 3.5" BS on a stock Mav. I will tell you now that an 8" rim with 4.5" BS has a better chance of fitting than an 8" rim with 3.5" BS. If it has a touch too much BS with 4.5", you can add a very thin spacer to adjust the BS down a bit. However, if it doesn't have enough backspace with 3.5", you can only get other rims with more BS, or narrow your rear. Make sense? 4.5" BS does fit some Mavs, but 4" to 4.25" seems to fit most consistently. With an additional inch of axle length per side, you will need, in theory, 5" to 5.25" of BS for an 8" rim. That said... Are you sure you have an inch extra? I thought that 9" was only .75" wider per side? If so, 4.75" to 5" BS is proper. The only thing you can do at this point is carefully measure and test fit everything. Good luck Dave
wheels ratio411, i checked my paper work and the 8 inch from outside drum to drum is 56. 5" and the 57 ford wagon 9" is 57 "from outside drum to drum so what your saying is that wheel will fit no problem ,yes Jimmy2gates
If you set the rearend in the car, clamp a piece of flat steel to the outer face of the brake drum. Then measure from that flat piece of steel to your outside edge of your leaf spring, that will be your maximum backspacing number. I like to be minimum of 1/2" away from the leafspring with tires. In my experience you have provided correct numbers on the rearend out of the 57 ford. I will call this setup on the bubble, close either way, but a small wheel spacer should allow for clearance if rub happens. Dan ps 4.5" backspacing on my 72 grabber worked fine. Same wheels on my Stallion I had to add wheel spacers,, lesson to be learned,, nothing is certain on 1/2" of backspacing on these cars when you are in the 4" range.
dam it well i got under the car and measured ,and from what i can see i only have 2.5 inches from the outer brake drum backing plate face to the outer leaf spring ,i quess its not going to work ,im bumed, strange Ratio411 thought it would work ,f @#%&*#k 2gates
NO You have to use a straightedge and measure from the FRONT of the brake drum. Where the back of your wheel will sit against the drum.
IS THIS A yahooooooooo ok Ratio411 ,i think i understood you ,i jacked up the car ,pulled the rim off ,i put a level across the face of the drum were the studs come out at the furthest out part of the face of the drum ,then measured from the back side of the level witch is flush with the drum to the outside of the leaf spring witch is closest to the back of the drum and got a measurement of 6.5 inches . if this is correct ,then thoughts wheels will fit ,,is this correct so i can thank you 10 times over and give a BIG YAHOOOOOOO :bananaman Jimmy2gates ,maybe ive had to many beer ,cuz now im thinking 6.5 inches between drum and leaf and a 8 inch rim with a 4.5 sb isnt going to work ,im not drunk ,but three more and i am ,oh well .
The combination of a Ford 9 inch from a 57 and a wheel with 4.5 backspace works just fine, that is the exact combo I am using on my car, so have another drink and buy the rims.
