Wheel sizes

I have a 69 Chevelle SS and I bought some wheels that were 8 1/2" side and they hit the quarter panel lips I would like to buy some different wheels and tires and I would like to know just how wide I can go and with what back spacing I need to achieve the look I am after can anyone Help me :screwy:

What look are you going for, Classic, Hot Rod, or? What kind of wheels did you buy? A Corvette 15x8 will fit easily (either the steel wheels with the "derby cap and ring", or the alloys)...the ones from '68-'82. Those have about a 4 inch back spacing, and 4 inches out. You'll still have room to go wider in and out, depending on the tire you use. You could use a 10 inch wide wheel with about 5 inches of back spacing and a 275/50-15 tire. But it's best to take your wheel off and pull out your tape measure. Lay a straight edge that's about 2 to 3 ft. long (or a piece of 2x4) across the brake drum and measure how far out the fender lip is, as well as how far in the inner fender is. And once you've measured over and over again, and you're sure you've got it right...measure again. Then before you buy your wheels, ask if you can measure them before you buy them. Even if the parts catalog says a wheel has a certain backspacing, sometimes they don't take into account the bead/lip of the wheel, which could add 1/2 inch on both sides of the wheel.

I'm going for the hot rod look but not the hacked up rear with air shocks I just want as wide as possible on weld wheels that will tuck up in the wheel well ya know. a 275 or wider is great if I can get a 60 series for more heigth I want it to look like it has "mini tubs" or close to it I saw a 66 with 315/50's but never got a chance to ask the guy what the backspacing on them was I have a 10bolt out of a 72 el camino under my car now...is the wheelbase of the rear end any different on those from the earlier rear out of cameros or chevelles where it would make a differance? and how much extra would you give after you measure you backspacing for example if you measured from the front of the drum and you had exactly 6" to the inner fender would you get a wheel of 5" backspacing or 5 1/2?? Just wondering how much to allow for the tire to "Balloon"out? thank you for all the info!!

Actually, the earlier Chevelle/ElCamino rearends (64-67) are about a couple inches narrower. But you can make up for that with the right backspacing. If I remember correctly, my 68 ElCamino had about 13 inches from wheel tub to wheel lip (without cutting or bending). If you have 6 inches of room (I think your car might have more like 7 or 8) from the drum face to the inner tub, I'd give an inch of room...so yeah 5 inches. You'll need a little clearance for the sidewall of the tire, but also some room for rearend shift when you take turns. Because of the rubber bushings in the control arms, it will move slightly side to side during turns. But you still should measure the actual backspace on the wheel to make sure. The good thing about Weld wheels is that they have a variety of backspacings, compared to like, Cragar S/S, which is mostly standard or reversed. Those 315/50's are probably mounted on 10 inch wheels, and I'm sure it's pretty tight in there, unless he bent the fender lip up slightly (you can't tell unless you bend down and look), which is a common thing to do. But getting the correct backspacing is critical, so measuring, even if it does get tedious (measure driver and passenger sides), is worth the time. Measure measure measure :).

Thanks you've helped a lot I'm going home today to measure and measure some more... and the 315's that I mensioned were tight.......verry tight they had just enough room between the tire and the inner fender for me to stick my finger in there but just barely. I could squeeze my finger but it was close. I didn't even think to feel of the lip to see if it was rolled or not. Thank you for all of your time and awnsers they have helped me alot!!
thanks