What size wheels

[themam2000k]

Hi all,

I have not posted in a while. Finally have some time now to play with the 69 Newport. I wanted to buy some wheels but was not sure what would fit. I know it takes 5x4.5 but was not sure about the offset.

Can anyone tell me what their aftermarket wheel sizes are so I can get some new shoes for my beast. Lol


I see a lot of wheels on other Chrysler’s that people are selling and wondered if chrysler 300 wheels would work.


Thanks in advance for any help!

Dave

 

[65sporty]

I am assuming you are talking the same vintage 300 as your Newport, yes the wheels will interchange. Lots of us here are partial to the Chrysler Road Wheel. I know they call them all road wheels but this is what I think of any way.

 

[themam2000k]

Thanks for the quick reply. I was actually thinking of the new 300s but those wheels in your pic look great!

It seems like the wheel hubs are tucked WAY back into the wheel well on these cars so I was wondering how far of an offset I need.

I was going to try and find some huge pimp wheels and vinyl wrap the car. I don’t want to do anything permanent since it’s a 56k survivor car.

 

[polara71]

 

[BigblueC]

I was going to try and find some huge pimp wheels and vinyl wrap the car.

Prepare for incoming fire

 

[CBODY67]

The factory wheels for C-body Chryslers of that vintage were usually 15x6 sized, with the noted bolt circle specs. The "HD" or Police wheels were 15x6.5, so not much difference that way.

The pictured road wheels were 15x6, but some 15x7 versions existed with the later Chrysler LeBaron (Aspen-Volare body) cars. Those usually had a body-color insert rather than the silver paint of the earlier W23 Class II 16-Slot Road Wheels. The pictured wheels became quite popular in the middle 1970s on Chryslers and Cordobas, still in the 15x6 size, but with slightly different center caps. The center caps have three special bolts that retain them from the back side of the wheel. A self-tapping bolt with a copper flat washer under the head. OF a particular length! You can use hardware bolts, but they are usually slightly longer AND will "dimple" the outer surface of the center cap's base unless the flat washer is used between them and the wheel.

The downside is that when the center cap bolts can loosen, rattles can happen. "Attention to assembly" is needed, but having caps with good threads is important, plus the specific bolts (or replications thereof).

There is ONE major distinction between cars with inner and outer front wheel bearings and those with "front hub assemblies". The center hole in the wheel is different. Might have the same bolt circle, but the newer ones won't fit over the front wheel bearing "cone" of the existing front hub. The part of the wheel where it contacts the front hub assy, on the newer cars so equipped, is usually more toward the outside edge of the wheel, rather than being more centered between the edges of the rim's width. Think "replaceable inner/outer wheel bearings" = older rwd vehicles, one-piece bolt-on front hub assembly = fwd/newer rwd vehicles, for example.

"Backspacing" relates to "wheel offset", but ONLY with particular rim widths. "Offset" is related to how the wheel's mounting surface (inside, where it touches the brake drum/rotor) relates to the centerline of the wheel's rim. Same offset can have different backspacing specs relating to the wheel's rim width. BOTH measurements are valid, but the backspacing spec is usually how aftermarket wheels are mentioned.

Usually, if you stay with a factory production wheel of the era in which the vehicle was designed/produced, in factory-available rim widths, everything should work pretty well. 15x6 and 15x6.5 wheels should be no issue. There were some 15x6.5 Rallye wheels that came on '76 Charger SEs that will work too. There were some 15x7 Rallye wheels which came on 1970s-era E-body Challengers and Barracudas, but they'll be much more expensive (but also in repro) than the similar 15x6.5s and might need some measuring, to make sure about things. Max section width of the tires will probably need to be 9" or less, for clearance reasons.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[amazinblue82]

You also may have seen charts like these to get the basic terminology correct.

Like CBODY67 says, if you know the factory wheel settings and back spacing, DEPENDING on tire size, you usually cant go wrong with an aftermarket wheel/tire combo that is close to that.

start changing the wheel diameter and/or offset from the OEM spec for the car, and fiddling with different tires, you need to keep your clearances in mind between the new setup and the body, skirts, suspension, hub center hole, etc. less you'll be in for a nasty (dangerous and/or expensive) surprise potentially.

also, if you see certain wheels on certain cars, you may NOT know how they achieved that. There may be spacers between the hub and the wheel that wont show in the pics that created the conditions for that setup to work.

last as was pointed out, folks here have various views on what kinds of wheels look best on C bodies. end of the day, its your car and your money .. but thats just my view.

that said, people with information will also help you decide how to evaluate your decision, whatever it is, before you spend a buncha time/money on something that just wont work no matter how it looks when you're done.

good luck.

 

[JC68vert300]

You can find your factory wheel sizes in your FSM under the wheel and bearings section. Here is the section from my 1968.

 

[JC68vert300]

Here are the wheel sizes from my 1968 FSM

 

[CBODY67]

As a note, the disc brake cars had 15" wheels to clear the calipers.

CBODY67

 

[73Coupe]

....snip....The center caps have three special bolts that retain them from the back side of the wheel. A self-tapping bolt with a copper flat washer under the head. OF a particular length! You can use hardware bolts, but they are usually....snip....
CBODY67

They really used copper washers? What would be the point of copper here?

Also note here that the bolt heads were flat in order to fit within the dimple on the back side of the wheel mounting boss, therefore allowing the wheel to fit flush against the hub. I learned this the hard way with a couple replacement hardware store bolts.

 

[CBODY67]

I suspect copper was used for its general "softness" compared to steel. Would better allow for temperature-related metal expansion/contraction of dissimilar metals, so the bolts didn't get loose over time. I did use normal bolts from our nut/bolt bins, but they'd usually put those dimples on the outside of the center cap. The washers were also "captive" and didn't fall off of the threads.

CBODY67