72 Chevelle Convertible .. big tires scraping

Maintenance/Repairs
1

My 72 has one flaw … when carrying passengers in back seat, the tires scrape the top edge of the wheel well. Shocks are in rgeat shape. Solutions? (Tossing passengers out of the car is not an option.)

2

Either your springs are worn out and need replacing, or based on your title, your tires are over-sized.

3

I had a 72 with same problem…big tires & no room for them. Air shocks was my solution.

4

Thanks guys. You know, I have deep-dish Cragars on the rear … less deep on the front. Would I gain anything by getting shallower wheels … just an inch or so?

5

Yes, you’d gain new wheel bearings.

Changing the wheel’s offset as you mention would result in changing the load on the wheel bearings. You’ll wear bearings out dramatically faster.

6

Where are they scrapping at???..The outside edge??

Are these tires OEM size…or wide profile tires (which many of us put on our muscle cars back then)???

7

Yup. They’re over-sized tires … just like ‘back then.’

8

so either get normal tires or upgrade the suspension to handle it, or roll the fenders for more clearance.

9

Someone also suggested spacers for the rear coils. The coils are really tight … small spaces between each level. Would that be a good idea or not?

10

Someone also suggested spacers for the rear coils.
Would that be a good idea or not?

It will raise the car and it will likely eliminate your tire scraping.
However your vehicle handling and ride will suffer due to the higher center of gravity.

11

I know the deep dish Cragars are nostalgic and all, but, maybe you should just get a set of stock Chevelle SS wheels and put the widest tire you can on them? IMHO the SS wheels look better anyways.

12

Maybe because I’m older…but I find the OEM look of those cars to be far better then almost any modified look. Personally I’d go with the stock size of rims and tires. I think they look the best and there’s no compromise in drivability.

As for what you can do now…Either raise the vehicle (which I don’t recommend because of loss of steering control)…or cut out the inner fender wells (which I’ve seen done and don’t recommend that either.