BAAAAD tire rubbing problem on my '66

TireSmoknWindsr · Aug 4, 2004

Ok...I finally got finished putting the new tranny in my car and got to drive it...unfortunately it was at slight cost to the front bottom part of my driver side fender. The car has new shocks, inner/outer tie rods, idler arm, lower control arms, upper ball joints, and the Shelby drop all done exactly to spec. I was planning on taking it to get it aligned today but I'm not really sure if that will work or not. Going forward it clears fine. The wheels/tires are 215/65s on 15x7s w/ 3.75 bs...passenger side is great, no problems whatsoever so far. I still plan on rolling the lips though just incase...the driver side however rubs on the front fender and catches and bends it. When backing up even practically straight it will catch and rub on there. The car has never been hit or wrecked so that it could have front end warpage and everything seems to be alright. Anyone have any ideas?

Driver side(note the lovely creases in the fender now)

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/7433/66tireproblem_003.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/7433/66tireproblem_004.jpg

Passenger side

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/7433/66tireproblem_005.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/7433/66tireproblem_006.jpg

pabear89 · Aug 4, 2004

Try an alignment, The drivers side look like it needs caster adjustment to recenter it.
crank the wheel back by lenthing the rod.

PB

Ps. starting to look good there.

TireSmoknWindsr · Aug 4, 2004

Ok after driving to the alignment place to ask about it I have became aware...I can't turn at speeds above 3-5mph. He said I can try sticking some shims behind the front of the control arm....he also said some new strut rod bushings maybe w/ a couple big thick washers could space it far enough from the front fender...for sure I'm gonna have to roll the lips...I can't understand why it's being like this on my car...jeez...it seems no one else I know has problems like this. I'm only in town for like 3 days too so I have to get all this crap done.

Billgear · Aug 4, 2004

Have you tried grabbing the fender and pulling it out slightly, sometimes 1/4" is all it needs...

dodgestang · Aug 4, 2004

It sure looks like your strut rod on the Driver side needs new bushings, the tire is pulled forward (or appears to be) in the wheel well which is what is causing the rub. Personally, I would get a set of adjustable strut rods from www.streetortrack.com . They will help correct this problem, do away with the crappy bushing mount altogether, make the car easier to align for the shop, and provide a nociable difference in street driving.

At the least, put new bushings on the strut rods and get it aligned.

302 coupe · Aug 4, 2004

Looks to me like the tire sits too far forward in the fender. The pass. side tire looks centered up alot better...maybe a strut rod/caster issue.

BobV · Aug 4, 2004

TWO problems here...

1) I can't BELIEVE that Dodgestang missed the chance to refer you to his chart, where you'll find absolutely NO one running a 215/65-15 on a 3.75BS rim. Why? They Rub! It's too tall for so little backspace.

2) You have an alignment issue. Has the caster been set using the shims at the upper control arm? Don't necessarily need to jump into adj strut rods (yet) if your caster still has adjustment available via shims.

TireSmoknWindsr · Aug 4, 2004

Well I'm putting new strut rod bushings in tomorrow morning and adding some shims to the front of the control arms. I may have to un-drop it though.

Mosse · Aug 4, 2004

I had some rub problems with my frontend. I was running 225-60/15 with 7" wheel with 3,5"BS. I got rid of the problem by changing the wheel to 225-50/15 (so that chamber curve mekes the wheel to evade the fender), and machined my wheels to 3,75"BS. I think you could use smaller diameter tire, like 215-60/15. You should also check the strut rod issue, like these guys said..

TireSmoknWindsr · Aug 4, 2004

215/60s were the plan but apparently they didn't make that particular size in my tire unfortunately.

dodgestang · Aug 4, 2004

BobV said:
TWO problems here...

1) I can't BELIEVE that Dodgestang missed the chance to refer you to his chart, where you'll find absolutely NO one running a 215/65-15 on a 3.75BS rim. Why? They Rub! It's too tall for so little backspace.

2) You have an alignment issue. Has the caster been set using the shims at the upper control arm? Don't necessarily need to jump into adj strut rods (yet) if your caster still has adjustment available via shims.

LOL - you got me....I didn't read thoroughly...even though it says 215/65 my mind read 215/60 since that is the size people run on the 15x7 w/ 3.75 most of the time

Make sure you get the car aligned to the shelby specs BTW...this will help a little since the tire will be tipped in. The 215/65 really is a little too big though....I run 215/60 on the coupe with the shelby drop and kelsey hayes disc set up and the fronts needed to be rolled. The damage to your fender however, is in a weird spot which is why I immediately though strut rod problem....usually they rub higher in the opening if/when they do.

TT670 · Aug 4, 2004

Ive seen 4 different 65-6mustangs with the EXACT same tire positioning issue, mine included and its always the drivers side that the culprit. Every single suspension component is new, and the wheelbase measurements are within 1/8" from side to side..Ive got as much caster as I can get without getting into camber issues.. Im out of ideas. As of now Ive trimmed the wheelwheel lip and it only rubs now and then but its still frustrating.

91conv · Aug 5, 2004

I have the exact same issue with my 65 coupe. I believe due in part to the lack of BS. I am running 225/60/14's on 14x7, 3.00 BS. The DS tire rubs only when backing up with wheels truned to the right. Mt fender is a dead match for yours.
I was hoping a change to 3.75 BS would solve the problem, I haven't had a chance yet. The alignment shop said it was to spec.
Please keep up posted on how this plays out.
Thanks

BlueMonster65 · Aug 5, 2004

how are the body gaps between the door and fender? it is possible that you can move the fender forward slightly. check to see if the gaps are the same on both the drivers and passengers sides. sometimes things get moved around a bit during the reasmebly process. i had a similar problem but was able to correct it by adding a couple degrees of +caster like the other guys are saying. however your situation is much worse. and those tires look way too big. even if you get it corrected by adjusting the camber you may still have a problem rubbing when you hit a bump while making a turn.

BAAAAD tire rubbing problem on my '66

TireSmoknWindsr

pabear89

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TireSmoknWindsr

Billgear

dodgestang

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302 coupe

BobV

TireSmoknWindsr

Mosse

TireSmoknWindsr

dodgestang

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TT670

91conv

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BlueMonster65

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