Greetings, I am new to the community and forum. I did a quick search, but didn’t find what I was looking for. So I thought I would post here to look for recommendations. I recently purchased a 1969 XR7 convertible. It was a barn find and a fun restoration project. I am looking for recommendations on tires/wheel sizes that won’t rub, but still will give the car a great look. Any recommendations and pictures appreciated. I will post some pics of this one soon.
If you want to stay with 14" rims, I had 205-60-14 on front and 245-60-14 on the rear. BF Goodrich Radial TA will have those 2 sizes, but you will need a wider rear rim (I had 8") fro the rear.
Lots of other options depending on how old school or retro you want to go
First off, Welcome to the forum. You need to do a deep dive into the search option on this site because there are a lot of wheel/tire options that have been discussed, and I feel sure you can find what you are looking for. You might also let us know what you are looking to do.
Edit
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/search.php?keywords=tire%2Fwheel+size&sid=5f990f8767e527776570bdf36e15bccc
Here are my suggestions.
I put 15 x 8 magnum 500s on the front of my 69,
with 235/60-15
on the rear i put 15 x 10 magnums,
and 265/60 -15,
i think i could have gone bigger on the rear but the front was max unless I massaged the lower edge on the front lip.
The car is close to std ride height.
The crucial part is the back spacing on what ever you go for…!
I’m migrating to a 17-7/8 setup this spring…better choice in tires (225/50 and 245/45). I’m looking at the Legendary wheels WCCC offers…one of the Shelby versions.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to visualize wheels against my car’s color. If I was dealing with a local tire shop, I could probably have them deliver 2-3 wheels and then finalize before purchasing a complete set. However, I want to support the Cougar vendors…which makes it a bit harder.
From what I’ve seen here people are using 14” to 18” diameter wheels. Wheel width and corresponding tire width work hand in hand and are tied to look and what you want to do with the car. Are you leaning toward a stock look and feel better or custom look? Stockish would keep you in a 14” or 15” diameter. Tire selection can be somewhat limiting in 14” and 15”.
I have a ‘69 base convertible and use 17”x 8” wheels with 245/45-17 tires. Plenty of clearance in the rear. Fronts required some tweaking of the adjustable strut rods I installed to move the wheel backward in the wheel well and now clear fine.