Stock Eliminator Fairlane

[4284spd]

Hakkart is 8" in a radial
DSC_0225 by Bob Smith, on Flickr
Kimball is 8" in a bias
027 by Bob Smith, on Flickr
Pond is 10" in a bias
Pond (9) by Bob Smith, on Flickr
Whitney is 10" in a bias
DSC_0073 by Bob Smith, on Flickr

[Mike Jones]

Good luck with your project. I for one, like the early iron. You can buy driveline parts today, that will live, and I hope NHRA will help with HP and make you competitive.
Mike A114

[Speedmaven]

Thank you, that is some of the info I was looking for. Those with the 10 inch wheels look very tight, will have to look into that before I start that. I have the wheels to do either, so that is no issue, just the whether I want to cut the car that much or not. The 10 inch wheels also look to have a 4.5 to 5 inch backspacing too, is that correct?

[Signman]

There are wheel fitment tools available for under $100 if you play around it will get you in the ballpark. You may need custom offset wheels. This does not rule out body modifications mentioned above though.

[Speedmaven]

definitely not ruling out mods, but would like to keep them to a minimum as this car has a lot of sentimental value to me. It was and will remain a race car though, I just want to do as much pre-planning as I can to minimize irresversible mods. Thank you all for your help..

[ken robinson]

One thing you might also what to do is make longer bump stops so the car/ fenders can't hit the slicks on sharp turns off the track on to the return road or bumps in the shut down or pits .

[Dave Noll]

My car is a 71 Cougar. Not the same as an earlier Fairlane but close. Mine has 10" wheels w/6.5" backspace. I used a big sledge hammer on the wheel tubs, just trimmed on the inner fender, cut the legal 2" from the leading fender edges and took a 3 foot long straight edge under the car with jack stands under the rear end housing. I took a bunch of measurements and drew out what those looked like on paper, checked slick manufacturers specs O.D. and section width of the tire , transferred those measurements to my cars wheelwells and ordered the wheels that made that tire fit.

I wouldn't bow the fenders outer lines, IMHO. Just going to a 9x29.5 Radial as opposed to a 9x30 Bias may get all the room you may need.

Originally Posted by 4284spd

Whitney is 10" in a bias
DSC_0073 by Bob Smith, on Flickr

Does this car have any letters left on the outside of the tire?

[4284spd]

Originally Posted by Speedmaven

Thank you, that is some of the info I was looking for. Those with the 10 inch wheels look very tight, will have to look into that before I start that. I have the wheels to do either, so that is no issue, just the whether I want to cut the car that much or not. The 10 inch wheels also look to have a 4.5 to 5 inch backspacing too, is that correct?

You can't go by what others run for backspace unless you know their rear end measurements. Most racers rears aren't factory dimensions due to brake differences, wheel & tire choices.