Will 7" vintage mopar rim fit my 1948 Dodge coupe?

[ebruns1]

Hey Fellas,

A local tire guy has some decent vintage 7" wide mopar rims for sale.  They have the 4 nubs for a hubcap and the locating pin hole so they are maybe 50's or 60's, I don't know when they phased out the hubcap nubs (anyone know offhand?).  My original rims are shot (badly rusted) so I need replacements, and I will be getting modern radials at some point.  Probably 215/75/15's since they are the closest to the original size bias ply (Is this true?).  I have heard the 215/75's have fit fine for a few folks here on the forum.  But my question is on the rim width itself.  Would a 7" rim hit any of the steering components?  Tie rods?  Sway bar?  I think the original rims were only 4.5" wide, so adding 2.5" might be problematic.  I remember reading members recommended 5.5 to 6 rims for better fit to the radials.  And I do not need the nubs anyway since I'll be using the 15" Dodge full wheel cover from the '49+. Thanks in advance for your input guys!

 

Jim

[dpollo]

I was able to use 15 by 7 police car wheels . also  early  Dodge Dakota   rims will fit a 48 Plymouth ok and they have a significant inboard offset.

[Flatie46]

7 hours ago, dpollo said:

I was able to use 15 by 7 police car wheels . also  early  Dodge Dakota   rims will fit a 48 Plymouth ok and they have a significant inboard offset.

Were the cop car wheels from a Dodge Diplomat? 

[dpollo]

 I do not remember.

[ebruns1]

Fellas,

Here's an update on my 15" rims.  The 7" wide rim fits perfectly AND it clears the calipers of the Scarebird disc brake kit.  The 15" original rims did not clear as some have already mentioned here on the forum.  Two of the rims I got were bare - no tire installed so I wire brushed and spray painted them to get ready for mounting.  I'm using '49-'50 wheel covers so you will only see the outer 1/2" of the rim, that's why I'm not worried about the rattle can paint job...and as a bonus I can always easily touch them up if need be!

 

So now the imminent looming decision is tire size.  Has anyone else used 225/75/15's all the way around?  I remember Greg G posted he used them on the rear but not the front.  He used 205/75/15's for the front.  What modern size actually corresponds to the factory original?  What size would the '48 Dodge convertible have been equipped with from the factory? 

 

Thanks,

Jim T

 

 

[DrDoctor]

Ebruns1,

   Per my tire chart, a 205/75R15 radial tire is the equivalent to a 6.70x15 bias-ply tire. Regards . . .

[ebruns1]

18 hours ago, DrDoctor said:

Ebruns1,

 

   Per my tire chart, a 205/75R15 radial tire is the equivalent to a 6.70x15 bias-ply tire. Regards . . .

 

Thanks Doc! 

So that was the original tire size, 6.70x15?  

 

Since I want to go a little larger for better ride and handling maybe I better go with 215's instead of 225's.

[thebelvedereman]

I ran 225 70 15s on the front and rear of my 48 p15 with 15 x 7 Mopar police wheels, with absolutely no problems, and the back end sat pretty low, the car did have Volare front clip though