New Wheel Setup vs. Stock

[2LZ]

Got a quandary. I like the 15" American Racing five, polished spoke, old school wheels that are so popular. Matched with the BFG 205/60-15 TA's.
Mrs. 2LZ? She REALLY likes the stock hubcaps, pictured below.

My question is (to settle the quandary), how wide a tire can be put on the stock 14" rim, and does anyone do this with hub-centric spacers to move the wheel out an inch or so to fill in the wheel wells. Currently, the car looks like it's on stiletto heals.....and the tires, though they look new, are ancient and full of cracks so they need replacing anyway.

[joelsplace]

Stock wheels are 13"

[jimbrandberg]

Although stock Corvair wheels are indeed 13", I don't think those are stock Corvair wheel covers so they may be 14" wheels.
A full inch is a pretty thick wheel spacer.
I'm not familiar with what's available in 14" tires these days. For 13" whitewalls a person pretty much only has Maxxis 185/80/R13 as a maximum in something reasonably priced.
In your case I would measure the wheels for width and backspacing to do some research. There's a good webpage by Bryan Blackwell (sp?) on wheels and tires for the Corvair, maybe at "autoxer.com".
Please don't forget that wheel spacers and aluminum wheels require longer wheel studs. I think stock lug nuts have like 12 turns of thread engagement. At $2.50 apiece for studs plus bulge or other lug nuts it's a significant but necessary cost. Some wheels are made for 1/2" rather than 7/16 wheel studs plus if you're losing the hub-centric feature of the stock wheel proper hardware is essential.
I'm not well versed on backspacing from memory.
A lot of folks will go to 7" wheels even though 6" may be well sufficient for their tire choice. I'm not necessarily a bigger is better guy when it comes to Corvair tires.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[RexJohnson]

Mag wheel covers were a Corvair option. I'm pretty sure they became available in '65. They were also available in 14" and maybe 15". Those do look like the 13" size but you can look at the tire sidewall to see what size they are. These wheel covers and the 3 spoke wires look bigger because they cover the entire rim which hides the weights for a cleaner look.

[2LZ]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll have to go out and look. I thought they were 14's but in all honesty, the shoes are the last on the list so I haven't really checked them out. I'll get back to ya......

[2LZ]

I stand corrected. As jimbrandberg stated, the wheel covers are full width and cover everything to the edge. The rim measured 13" "bead to bead". I think moving on to the 15's is going to be the best solution, especially for tire size options.
Though.....Mrs. 2LZ choice would have been far less expensive.

[66vairguy]

Now the 14" or 15" tire availability isn't much different. Fortunately 14" tires are still made for the "muscle" car folks. I run 205/70x14 front and 225/60x14 rear.

As someone stated the fake mag covers were made in both 13" and 14". Same with the LM wire wheel covers. Some folks that want the stock look with 14" use the 14" Chevy wire wheel hubcaps. Unless you measure them they look exactly the same as the 13" covers.

Just me, but the higher profile 14" tires give a better ride. That and the wagon wheel rubberband tire thing is so common now folks like seeing the "ballon" tire look on old cars.

[Lane66Monza]

If you think front disc brakes are in the future, go with the 15" wheels.

The link shows my 2 66 Vairs with 15" wheels. Both have Goodyear tires and front disc brakes. Never to use drum brakes on front again. Still looking for simplest rear disc brake (& proportiong valve) with parking brake for my coupe.

viewtopic.php?p=133765&hilit=Wheel#p133765

[gbullman]

My experience when looking for wheels is that it is harder to get wheels with enough backspacing to pull the tire into the ideal centerline. So I doubt you will ever need spacers with replacement wheels.

I’m running 215/60 R14s on 14x7 wheels with 4 1/4” backspacing and like how they fill the wheel wells. And no rubbing interference issues at all. And I didn’t notice any difference in handling or ride (in fact if anything both are improved a bit but I also did springs and shocks at the same time.

[KenHenry]

Here's my 65 with stock looking 15" wheels and tires. From a previous post on CCF:

"The wheels were used on GM models from 1974-1990 including 1980-1990 Caprice, 74-77 Chevelle, 74-75 Monte Carlo. They will have the code TF, RF, or FL near the valve stem. Backspacing is 4" and offset is 0.5", so compared to stock Corvair wheels the inner lip moves out 0.25" and the outer lip moves out 0.75". The wheel covers were use on 71-76 Chevys including Impala, Caprice, and Monte Carlo. Of course they don't come with a spinner, but these can be easily transferred from Corvair wheel covers because they have the same mounting pattern. These 15" covers seem a little less "dished" than the Corvair wheel covers but still look pretty close... Ken"

I think they are moved out and addition 0.25" at this point since adding front and rear discs. I should also add that the tires are 195/65R15 and give nearly perfect speedometer/odometer readings... Ken

Untitled by kenhenry_06268, on Flickr

[bbodie52]

I love your red 1965 Corsa coupe... for obvious reasons (shown below).

The picture below shows me with my father back in 1965 with our then new Corsa convertible in the original Mist Blue. I took my first driver's license test in that car in San Jose, California in 1969.

Warren Bodie and son Brad in 1965 with our 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible at Edwards AFB, CA

In 1973 I was married and was heading for my first Air Force assignment in Warner Robins, Georgia following six months of electronics training in Biloxi, Mississippi. My parents presented my pregnant wife and I with their beloved 1965 Corsa convertible as a graduation present. We were 20 years old and ventured out in that Corsa on a cross-country trip from Thousand Oaks, California to Robins AFB. (2,317 miles)





Tracy Ann Bodie with our 1965 Corvair Corsa - Fall 1973 - Warner Robins, GA

In 1979 we had been transferred to Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, where I had the Corsa repainted in red and fitted it with a set of Ansen Sprint 14x7 wheels and Goodyear Polyglas E70 x 14 tires. In 1980 we shipped the Corsa to our next assignment near Ramstein Air Base in Southwest Germany.

1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible 140hp 4x1 - Spring 1980 - Base Housing - Hanscom AFB, MA

I retired from the Air Force after 24 years of service in 1996, and my son and his wife ended up with the 1965 Corsa. We were without a Corvair for a few years in Pennsylvania, but when we relocated to western North Carolina some years later I could no longer stand being without a Corvair, so I picked up a 1966 Corsa convertible from a source in central Florida. At age 71 my wife and I are back where we belong... in a Corvair!!

1966 Blue Corsa Convertible

1966 Blue Corsa Convertible

[KenHenry]

Thanks Brad !