Speaking of Minilites...

That's what I have my heart set on the next time I buy a set of wheels for my Dart: http://www.minilitewheels.com/ They make them in 15x8" by the way.

_________________
'68 Dodge Dart 4dr Sedan

...I'll have to remember that next time my &*%%@#^ car needs Falken tires!

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

...those can look good on certain Chryco cars, too, especially "A-bodies" - I was gonna suggest them earlier, but couldn't remember whatchacallem...

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Not so. The suspension pickup points are the same for all years of the A-body. In '67, the K-member and the upper shock mounts changed to accomadate the 383. The width between the front frame rails did not change. This is why you can take the complete front suspension (minus the center link, pitman arm and idler arm) from a '75 Dart and install it on a '65 Dart without any problems. This includes the front sway bar, with the approbiate modifications to the '65s K-member.

The "stagger" was caused by the disk brake setup used in '73 to '76. They pushed the front wheels out about an 1" per side. This setup used the spindle from the '66 - '71 B-body and '70-74 E-body. This along with the curved sheet metal on the rear fenders of Duster/Sports/Demons makes the stock rear wheels look small and "staggered".

You can compare those cars to the drum brake versions and the '67 - '69 Baracuda which do not have the "stagger".

Uh... You don't measure tracking by frame width or suspension "pick-up" points.

The following info from the 1975 Service Manual:

Carline: V & L (A-body)

Tread (Tracking):

Front w/ drum brakes: 58.6"
Front w/ disc brakes: 59.1"
Rear w/ 7-1/4 axle: 55.6"
Rear w/ 8-1/4 axle: 55.6"

So, as you can see, definitely as far as the 75's go, but I assure you other years are similar, you are half-right about the wider tracking disc brakes, but woefully misinformed on all the rest.

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

So apparently the LCA pivot points were moved out on the 67-up Ks, and the UCA points too, but not the frame rails? That was not what I have understood, but have never measured myself. The LCAs and UCAs are all the same lengths, by themselves.

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

66 Valint service manual
Tread

front 55.95 inches
rear 55.56 inches

_________________
Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

Not sure which component(s) the actual difference comes from, I have always understood that it was done for handling reasons - even though it looks odd and silly, it helps the car neutral steer through corners. Lou, you're unquestionably an expert on handling matters - does that explanation sound plausible?

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

...so the difference was there in the early A-bodies, but not nearly as much, good to know.

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

A tape measure dosen't lie. The frame rails are the same width between a '65 and a '75. Surprised the hell out of me, when I measured them. I too, was also under the impression that the rails were spread to accomadate the 383.

The front and rear "track" is subjective. A car with 13x4.5" rims will have a differant track then a car with 14x5.0" rims, which will have a differant "track" then one with 14x5.5' rims. Track is measured from the center of the tire. Not from where the rim bolts to the axle.

Did anyone say it did?


No it isn't, it's an objective, definitive measurement.
Not necessarily. All depends of the rim's offset. That's really what were talking about here anyway, how '74 Sport can utilize differing offsets with different widths to balance the look of the "by design" much narrower rear track of his son's car.
Absolutely correct. ...and the manufacturer based the measurement on four identically offset wheels of equal width. Therefore, the difference in tracking ("tread") between front and rear as measured by the manufacturer is equal to the difference in width between mounting surfaces, front and rear.

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Well, gentlemen, after many weeks of consternation over this issue, it all becomes academic tomorrow. We wound up getting Torq Thrust II's -- 15"x6" with 2mm offset (website says 3-3/8" backspace) and 15"x8" with 18mm offset (website says 3-3/4" backspace). Tomorrow, the tires will be in that I ordered at Discount Tire. We settled on BF Goodrich T/A Radials -- 205/60-R15 up front (24.69" dia.) and 235/60-R15 in back (26.10" dia.) for a total difference in height of 1.41" (not too bad for rake).

With the 8" rims in back, we still had almost 2.5" clearance off the springs. The 235 fills out the wheel well nicely, and the sidewall lines up just inside the wheel lip. We went with the 205 up front, because we tried 215/65-R15 (26.00" dia.) and had barely 3/8" clearance from wheel lip, with steering turned to left. It also hits the stiffening brace spanning from fender to frame rail. The difference in diameters will yield approximately 5/8" more clearance (26.00"-24.69" / 2 = 0.66").

I'll post some pics as soon as I get the tires mounted. Friday, Aaron goes to San Antonio to compete with his FFA project at the fair and livestock show. I'll have a nice surprise waiting for him when he gets home Saturday.

Thanks for everyone's input. I was fairly sure what we wanted, but in the long run, it simply boiled down to test fitting to see if the combination would work.

Jerry

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

The measurement between the front frame rails on my '65 Dart is 28.25". What is it on your Duster?

I have no idea, but I'm gonna guess 28.25"............ why

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

To prove a point. One of the themes of this thread is that Chrysler spread the frame rails to acommadate the 383 in '67, and thus the "stagger". My contention is that Chrysler did not spread the frame rails and the "stagger" only happens with '73 and later Duster's and Sport's with front disk brakes.

A simple measurement will tell all.