Mostly for the additional rake. I would suggest 14x6 with 205x60 on the front and 15x8 with 245x60 in the rear. I have found that a 7" rim on the front of a Duster dosen't look right. Crank the t-bars down so you have 11" from the front k-member bolts to the ground and stock height in the rear. This will give you a nice agressive look that will handle very well on the street.

Cragar SS 15x7 has 4-1/8" backspacing, 15x8 has 4-1/4".
American Racing Torq Thrust II 15x7 has 3-3/4", 15x8 has 3-3/4".

These are stock off-the-shelf wheels on their websites. American Racing has an application guide that lists only up to 15x7 for the Duster. Cragar doesn't have a fitment guide. Can you tell me for certain, without a doubt, from personal experience, swear on a stack of Mopar Muscle magazines, that any or all of these rims will fit on the back of a bone stock 7-1/4" rear '74 Dart Sport?

I do like the aggressive stance that is already inherent in the body lines of the Dart Sport/Duster. It wouldn't take much to enhance the natural look, possibly using the 14" front rims. I haven't really thought about that option. As long as it doesn't jack with the steering or handling... hmmmm.

Back to the drawing board,
Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Ramcharger Wheels,look good,can be found for cheap.I have them on my Feather Duster with a 295 50 15 Its a little big for the rim but it looks nice!But my rear end was cut to fit the 295,but I bet you could fit a 275 no problem stock!
15x8 with 4 in. of BS

Pics?

_________________
1974 Plymouth Gold Duster

Too much rake and you will need to adjust in a bunch more caster angle to compensate. I prefer to keep the wheels/tires the same height all the way around, or just slightly taller in the back... I recommend 15's (although 14's are all you really need on an "a-body") with 70's in front and 60's in back to get a similar tire height, then dump the front out a bit with the torsion bars if so inclined.

D/W

P. S. - I'm so proud that neither your nor your son want to install goofy 17 to 20 inch chrome gee-gaw rims with two-inch-sidewall yokokokohama tires...

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

I'm with you on that Dennis. I never have warmed up to the look of roller skate wheels on a 3000 pound car. Thank goodness, Aaron has the same feelings about it. I would hate to have to disown my youngest son.

Here is what I have decided on (I think):

FRONT
Cragar SS 15"x6" with 215/65R15 (3-3/8" backspace and 26" height)
BACK
Cragar SS 15"x7" with 245/65R15 (4-1/8" backspace and 26.57" height)

Last call for anyone to tell me any of this will be a problem. I have to do something very soon, otherwise, my son may disown me.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Did you say you could get the Cragar in an 8" width? If so, I would go with that on the back. The 7" looks like it puts most of the additional width on the inside. Remember the narrower rear track? (I can't remember the the exact difference, but can look it up if you want) If you want front and rear wheelwells to look similarly "full" go with the 8" width. Otherwise the front will look "bulkier" due to the wider track and less roomy wheelwells (although those 6" wide wheels up front will help a bunch to prevent this)...

I have gotten away with 9" wheels (no idea what the backspace was, but they were chrome steelies custom made for a Duster) and L60-14's on a Twister back in "the day"... Just had to roll the fender lip slightly and it cleared both the spring and fender by about .25"

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Yep, Cragar has 15"x8" with 4-1/4" backspace and American Racing has 15"x8" with 3-3/4" backspace. When we first started considering wheels, I thought about the 8" width, but I haven't been able to settle my concern over not knowing (with absolute certainty) they will fit or not.

Rolling wheel lips is not an option at this point, just having a new paint job done. And I don't want to get involved with relocating springs and such. I just want to simply un-box the wheels; have the tires mounted, balanced, and installed; then step back to admire and take pictures.

I completely understand the logic and geometry of calculating backspace (or offset), but I don't know, physically, where to take the wheel well measurements. Up under there, it is not a perfectly square box. It is curved, with bump-outs for deck lid hinges, and other irregular surfaces.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

With that much backspacing (Cragar) the outer fender lip is not going to be an issue. Your only area of concern should be the leaf spring (although not likely) and the inner wheelhouse, which is really trivial, since it would only rub there under circumstances of extreme axle twist (you're not gonna off-road this thing, are you? ), and even if it does on rare occasion, the surface is relatively smooth, so it wont hurt the tire, the scuff (if any) will be to the inside, and it will just make a black mark or shiney spot way up in the wheelhouse where no one will ever look!

If it helps, I think the custom ralleys on the back of my Duster are 4.125" backspace, and still plenty of room tire-to-spring.
I wouldn't hesitate for 1 second to get the 15 X 8" Cragars for the rear.
D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

My measurements have always said that 5" backspace is about the max for a reasonable width tire for the rim (less than about 1" sticking out). I have 16x8s on my Dart with 5" effective backspace (5.72" bs with 0.75" spacers). 4.5" bs will be no problem at all.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

My specs on rims and tires have been used many times on Dusters and Dart Sports. You can almost say they are "time honored". The Cragar SS's are a nice looking rim and look "right" on a Duster/Sport. The Torque Thrusts look better on a '67-'69 Baracuda. The stagger that everone is talking about, is caused the disk brake package. They push the front tires out about 1". That with the deep rear wheel wells give you the "stagger". The same happens on Darts and Valiants, but it is not as noticeable.

When I installed my disk brakes on my '65 Dart, I had the "stagger". I solved it by using 15x7" rims in the rear and 15x5.5" rims in front. The tires I used were 205x60 on the front and 235x60 on the rear. This looks "right" to me, especially when I dropped the front end to the aforementioned 11". I also used stock Chrysler steel rims and dog dish hub caps. Another "time honored" look.

Good luck with the rim/tire choice, this is pretty much a personal decision.

The drum brake "a-bodies" have a narrower rear track as well. I never knew or heard of disc brake cars having a different front track, but that doesn't mean it isn't so.

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

A-bodies always had a wider front track than rear. IN 67 the front track got 2 inches wider and in 73 the front track got three more inches wider.

Hi All,
Are you folks aware of Falken tires at Discount tire ? They have an H rated 225 x 60 x15 that was rated first in performance by Consumer Reports. AND THEY COST AROUND $50 each.
Also, American Racing is making a copy of the old Minilite wheel that was used on the old Trans AM cars, called "The Silverstone".
Irv

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'62 Lancer Gt ..225 Auto, Offy /Demon/MSD/clifford/DB

Hi Folks,
Can anyone tell me the max. 15" rim width I can use in my '62 Lancer ? I want to use the same size front and rear.
Thanks
Irv