I have a friend with a Gen 2 Camaro. Way back when, he pulled the factory mags off the car and replaced them with American Racing chromies. So these wheels are in the 35-40 year range, I think? Rears are 14x8, fronts are 14x7. He just powder coated the factory mags and reinstalled them. He offered the chromies to me at the so called “price I can’t refuse”. They do look to be in nice condition. I told him I would take em home and just see if they would even bolt up and come close to fitting. Rear tire is 3/4” bigger in diameter than what is now on the car. Fronts are 1.25” smaller than factory diameter. Got the rear one on late today. Seems like it will work. Tires are probably 30 plus years old, so won’t be zinging down the highway with them. Thinking I would like to go down a size for the rear and up a size for the front. The front wheel may be a problem. Measuring it seems to indicate they are offset an inch outward, so don’t know if they will rub at steering extremes. Just have to bolt them on and try it? Any words of wisdom anyone wants to share?


What is on the car now



The two chrome wheels on the outside, next to the steel wheel



Test bolting them at the rear. These seem to be offset outward, but even still it is inside the lip of the wheel well. I like it.



Front tire size rear tire size



Rear tire size

 

There is not much available in 14” tires anymore. I would pass on the wheels and go for 15”. Those tires would not be good for any use on the road.

 

As Oldcutlass says, there isn't much choice in 14" tires. You need to start cross referencing tire sizes and tire diameters before looking. Don't try to get an 80,000 mile tire either. I'd start with a G-70 as a starting point.
Find a tire shop that will order and mount the tires you find, because they won't be an item in stock.

 

Letter series haven’t been used for a while now, but all the old timers know what you mean. I think 225-70 is the equivalent.

 

Wow what I blast from the past. I loved those Pro trac tires back in the day!! They would squeal if you just tapped the gas pedal. The dog bone tread pattern was advertised as the best. Thanks for sharing. Those are very, very old tires and I think the wheels look much better than the hubcaps. L60-14" tires were a popular size because they were quite wide and relatively small in diameter. My first 442 had these same rear tires with Crager wheels and factory air shocks. I ran a F70-14" for the front. I believe that a chart exists to convert letter sizes to a modern equivalent. However, I would be shocked if these 14" sizes are available anymore, unless they are a specialty item??

 

Tire pics he showed had "E's"and "L's". He is not likely to want E's and won't find L's. I thought G-70 was a good place to start cross referencing from because tire diameter is important. the metric number is fine, but the "40, 50, 60, 70" can drastically change tire diameter.. Tire diameter affects speedometer error.

I went through a metric conversion to find a tire the same as the original 8.85-15 tires on my 1966 Toronado.

 

Coker has the rights to Pro Trak tires but only in 15"

 

This post by me, is a perfect example of “you don’t know what you don’t know”. And that isn’t a good thing to brag about. But at least I had enough knowledge to ask the question, and almost all of you knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea to get these wheels. After I posted, I read the thread by Furbody and it revolved around the same issues of abandoned production of 14” tires. So, I think I shall have to return the wheels and tires to my friend, that perhaps isn’t even aware of the 14” tire issue. I looked pretty hard, and I don’t think I could even find a tire that would work on the 8” wheels? And if I could, how long before that production ends?

I also like the 17” SS wheels, so that will likely be my choice when the time comes.

 

A shame, I like the looks of those tire/wheels... Does Coker make repop L-60's?

 

Yes, but they use the 275/60-15 designation. However, they also have the N50-15, which back in the day was the largest tire I could fit in my 68 Coronet R/T wheel wells. They were almost as tall as the L60.
They are quite pricey.

Search Results for "pro trac"

 

Yes, some of them are real pricey. But you don't have to buy a pair every two years.
I run 275/60-15 on the rear of my 70 Cutlass with zero offset wheels on the street and 325/50-15 on zero offset wheels "at other times".

 

That wheel/tire combination may be desireable to someone who wants to go 100% all true to era in a vehicle for car showing only. Like " I brought it in a trailer, rolled it off to park it, will put it back in the trailer for the ride home to park it until the next show" kind of person. For daily use, those tires are too old has others have already said.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if tire manufacturers would bring back 14 inch tires in decent sizes like 235 70 14s. Shame on them all for selling us the skateboard 225 70 14s! If you have a lowrider your good!

 

The reason they were all discontinued is the demand is just not there.

 

225/70-14s are virtually the same outside diameter as the original 7.75x14 tires on these cars, plus they are wider. Coker sells 235/75-14s if that makes you feel better. The also sell GR70x14 tires. As for mainstream tire manufacturers bringing these back, the last time a car came from the factory with relatively large 14" tires was half a century ago.