Big tires and a back seat on a 66 belvedere

[doublekrossd]

Does anyone know or has attempted to put mini tubs and larger than 275 60's on the back of their belvedere and keep the back seat? I built a new motor and tranny combo and now for some odd reason it can't keep from smoking the tires! I figured this was gonna happen. I don't want huge racing slicks because this is a street car but 305-315 width may work well and I may still be able to keep the beck seat. Any thoughts?

 

[tnfastback]

The upholstery shop should be able to cut frame and webbing then re weld or you can before taking to them. I have seen it done in some fastback Mustangs which is even harder due to being fold down seats.

 

[Cranky]

Any time you move the wheel tubs, it's going to impact the rear seat....

 

[1967coronet440]

What kind of tire are you running? A good drag radial 275 or 295 should hold good.

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

Usually a mini tub isn't too big of a deal on the rear seat. I still have the back seat in my dart. Very minimal trimming to get it back in.

 

[doublekrossd]

Thanks all, I'm currently running Mickey Thompson 275 60 15 et street. I'd like to go a little bigger and try to get the front end off the ground a little (cool factor for me). Its crazy how much better these tires hook compared to regular tires but if I get into the throttle hard there's no stopping it.

 

[1967coronet440]

I don't know how the 66 belvedere wells compare to 67 coronet but I know my 67 wells are small and I had 26x11.5x15 on mine with 5.5" backspacing with no rubbing.

 

[Cranky]

Thanks all, I'm currently running Mickey Thompson 275 60 15 et street. I'd like to go a little bigger and try to get the front end off the ground a little (cool factor for me). Its crazy how much better these tires hook compared to regular tires but if I get into the throttle hard there's no stopping it.

There are better tires than the ET Streets. I've never had any experience with the ET Street radials but have heard they are better. Some years back, a buddy and I were playing with a mid 13 second 318 Demon and it was blowing the ET Streets off going into 2nd gear so we threw on a pair of 9" slicks and that solved that problem.

I don't know how the 66 belvedere wells compare to 67 coronet but I know my 67 wells are small and I had 26x11.5x15 on mine with 5.5" backspacing with no rubbing.

The 67 'Net has about the same thing as the 66 Belvedere.....if not exactly the same....

 

[Ironbuilt]

I was able to keep my backseat in my dodge 440

 

[doublekrossd]

That's what I'm looking to do. The back doesn't need to be ultra roomy since it'll be getting a cage as well but I do want it there.

 

[Ironbuilt]

You have to cut away the frame of the seat before upholstering it. A good interior shop can work wonders. The cage obviously has to go over and through the rear panel. Good luck.

 

[HT413]

Another option is to just move the seat bottom forward an inch or two. Just have to relocate the mounting points. It cuts down rear leg room but simplifies things. Then just hang he seat back as normal and it will conform to the new wells.

That's what was done on my 69 belvedere and it worked out.

 

[doublekrossd]

Great, thanks! I was kinda hoping for an easier fix like that. I would certainly try it. Like I said, I don't think I need huge tires but larger would be handy.

 

[HT413]

Let me see if I have any decent pics. I'm on vaca so I can't go down and snap any for ya.

 

[HT413]

Here are some progress pics of the back seat area. I don't have any real close ups on the work because I bought the car this way, so it was never something much of interest... most are before/during the interior cleanup to resolve some issues / exposed raw sheetmetal the previous owner left behind.


In this photo you can see seat mount on the floor pan and what I believe is the original mounting position just aft...

This photos a mess but you can clearly see how far forward the seat mounts were moved on the floor pan...

This is after the last coat of my homemade Lizard Skin...

Here's a big picture view - in the pic I still had some work to do, but it shows you how things sit in relation to each other. Here you can see the seat back mounts appear to be in the stock position (to me anyway). You can see the minitub and the 'massaging' the PO did to the wheel houses. The boxes house the forward mounts for the 4 link and the seatback rests on the wheel houses and don't quite reach the 4 link boxes...

Here you see it all fits together nicely - with the new forward seat bottom position pushing the seat bottom within maybe 2 inches of the doors. Still not so forward that the seat bottom separates from the seat back...