1965 SS tire size with 15'' wheels

Hello members,need some help again.Was wondering what size tires and wheels can i use on my 65 impala ss.I plan on using 15'' wheels and wanted to know biggest tire and wheel combo front and rear.I plan on driving with my wife and three children to cruise ins and shows so i want it functional and killer looks.I'm putting a pretty serious 496 bbc in her so i want as much rubber on road as possible.Might take to track on oldie drag days(lol.)Any help greatly appreciated.Hoping to have out this year.Thanks'DAN>

Dan, Take a look at my black 65 in the Restoration Center. I have 8.5" American mags with 255/60/15 TA's all the way around. I don't think you can go any larger on the front. The tires miss the front fender by about 1/2" when turning. I have had 275/60/15's on 8" Corvette Rallys, on the rear. There was a good 1/2" gap between the wheel wells and tires, and they filled the wheelwell nicely. They do raise the back end up though, obviously being taller than the 255/60's

I had the 70 series sidewalls for a more old school look on my old 66.. 235/70/15 on front, 255/70/15 on back They are tall tires. The fronts only cleared the front fender edge by about a 1/4 inch and the rear tires almost touched the wheel lip so I rolled the lip a bit to prevent cutting a tire.
This was all on typical Corvette 8" deep-dish rally's.

My 65 has the same tire and wheel size as BA's had, but didn't have to roll the wheel well lip.

lol, that's cause I copied off of him because his crap had the Look! :D

LOL, I wasn't going to say that.

Original tire was a bias ply (78 series cross section) 7.75x15. You should be able to install a 235 to a 245 under the rear and a 225 to 235 up front. You can get steam rollers under the back (33.5x17x16 tires) if you where to install wheel tubs.

To find out what the biggest tire and wheel combination is that will fit without rubbing and without modifying the car to get a tire to fit buy this tool as it costs under a $100 and is very useful in answering this question accurately.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PHP-01201/#

Big Dave

H50-15 Mickey Thompson Indy Profile no rubbing at all

I used a 65 series P265-15 on 7" Rallies that worked real well. Found out tha 275 was pushing in on a 7" wide rally!

thanks for all the help guys.looks like i have more choices than i thought.thanks again for all the help..

:hurray:I just tried some 15x10 wheels with 5 inch backspace wearing 28x10.5x15 mickey slicks on rear of my 65 ss last night.they just did touch outer lip barely but there was 2 3/4 to 3 inch gap from wheel or tire rubbing anything on inside.definitley looked pretty cool and mean looking with big tire/wheel combo.I was thinking of trying some 15x10 with 5 1/2 or 6 inch backspace and some 295/65r15 tires on rear.will let ya know what happens.thanks for help.DAN.

that sounds like some good size rubber on the back for sure. I would like to know how you go with the 295s. The wheel well on the 65ss is it any different to 67 4 doors?

Ill let ya know on 295,but my buddy measured wrong on 15x10.they were only 4 inch backspace he said.im gonna measure again tonight.sorry for wrong info but i will let know the real measurements.thanks,dan.Im not sure if 65ss and 67 4 door are different,but i would think they r same.