Wheels / Tires: Should I buy these Wheels and tires?

[Timj]

I need to get a bit of advice from you guys. I have an opportunity to buy a set of wheels and tires from a fellow off of craigslist. The tires are not mounted on the rims , so I had to guess/measure the fit on my 63 Lark daily driver. The tires are 205/70/15 white wall Uniroyals that look real good and the wheels are from a 1994 Chrysler Concorde. I put the wheels on and they do rub on the tie rod end and upper control arm. The guy was really nice and said to keep them and ask for your opinion before I buy them. I purchased from Autozone a set of wheel spacers on a hunch late last night. They did allow the wheel to then fit properly and not rub. I have really bad dry rotted 14" 66' mustang wheels and tires on it now. The 15" wheels seem hard to find around here and would allow me to use the hub caps I have. I have found used tires here for 40.00 each that look worse than what I have. The fellow wants 140.00 for all. Thanks in advance for your input.
Tim

[1962larksedan]

15" rims from a 2002 down Ford Crown Victoria and friends will bolt right up to your Stude although you'll need to use the Ford lug nuts due to their wider tapers. Tires: please don't use radials that are more than 4-5 years old since they're much more likely to disintegrate.

[GinettaG12P]

Pig in a poke. You don't know if 205/70/15 tires will fit under your fenders with the spacers in place. You don't know how much extra strain the use of the spacers will put on your wheel bearings. You don't know how the extra scrub radius will affect your steering geometry. With this many unknowns, I would walk away from the deal.

[gordr]

My .02? Check the date on the tires. If they are fairly new, time-wise, and in good to excellent tread condition, buy them and resell or trash the rims. Tires of that size and quality are going to run around $100 each new, or better. The '94 Concorde rims are for a front-wheel-drive car, and have way too much offset. Buy a set of the Ford rims as described above, or go to your local Pick and Pull, and get 15" Ford Ranger rims.

The tires alone are worth the $140, if not badly worn or stale-dated.

[Warren Webb]

You can also use Chrysler 5th Ave (and the Dodge & Plymouth versions) wheels from the rear wheel drive version. I have those on my Hawk & 66 Daytona. If you see them on the police car version, better yet! Those wheels are super strong.

[Dick Steinkamp]

I'm not a big fan of 205 70 15's on our Studes. IMHO, there is not enough sidewall and the tires get lost in the wheel openings. 205 75 15 is a better choice.

[1962larksedan]

You can also use Chrysler 5th Ave (and the Dodge & Plymouth versions) wheels from the rear wheel drive version. I have those on my Hawk & 66 Daytona. If you see them on the police car version, better yet! Those wheels are super strong.

I agree. Why I mentioned the Ford rims is they're easier to find in the wrecking yards, especially in the Rust Belt since the RWD Mopars went away 25 years ago (1989 model year) and Ford kept their similar offset wheel till 2002.

[Timj]

Thanks Guys, I am headed to the Pull-a-Part tomorrow. I keep you updated.

[EssexExport]

You have to figure those tires could be 20 years old or even more than that.

[WinM1895]

1979/81 LTD, 1982/02 Crown Vic, 1979/02 Mercury Grand Marquis used the same 15" wheels that are 5 lug, 4.50" bolt circle.

Could be 6.00" or 6.50" wide...measured across from the inside flanges.

Some 1980/83 F100's have 5 lug 4.50" wheels, some have 5 lug, 5.50" bolt circle wheels.