Eric Pierce
New Member
I need some suggestions on how to gain clearance for 10,5" wheels on the rear of my '87 GT. The rear of the car will not be lowered. Thanks in advance.
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Rear Tire Clearance Suggestions
- Thread starter Eric Pierce
- Start date
What wheels/tires are you wanting to know about? Are we talking drag radials/slicks in 10.5" width? How tall? 26"? 28"
Eric Pierce
New Member
Wheels are 10.5 x 17, tires are 275 45 17 with 10.5 dread
Sorry, the internet connection failed during my response. The wheels are 10.5 x 17, tires are 275 45 17 with 10.75 tread width / 25.7 overall diameter.
You have them on the car now? Inner wheel well and outer lip are 2 common areas that need massaged. Roll the lip, if it's hitting there. If it's hitting the inner wheel well, a small sledge hammer will usually get you some extra room. The 87-93 gt usually has more trouble, due to the aprons/body kit. Typically, the lower area of the plastic aprons (front and/or rear) will need a little trimming. Shouldn't be anything drastic, with the size you're talking about. Sometimes, you may need to trim the metal toward the lower front area of the rear wheel opening... down near the rocker panel. For those who really don't want to trim metal, I believe some adjustable lower control arms will gain you some space.
I forgot to add... remove the quad shocks if you haven't already. I forget because, other than my 88gt, my other foxes are all older (no quad shocks). Aftermarket LOWER control arms are always a necessity on these cars, imho, and will do more to eliminate wheel hop than quad shocks. I'm also not a big fan of aftermarket upper control arms, unless you have reinforced torque boxes (welded). In fact, these cars really need reinforced torque boxes if you plan on racing or really hooking on the street. The stock upper control arms with an added piece of steel to box it in is plenty strong enough, while allowing just enough flex.