Irezel

I just bought a 1962 olds F85 and I need all new tires. I have the factory rims that have rotted tiny 165/80r13s on them and wondering what size tire would be good. I hear 25 inch tall on these cars are good. Would something like 205/80s work well on factory rims? And I also bought some used 14x7, 4.02" backspacing, 1mm offset Ultra series 62 rims. I like the look of them and would really like to use them but found out they were 4x4.25 and not the 4x4.5 like they stated. If I used some 1 inch adapters, what kind of tire would I be able to run if it'd work at all? First two picture are of my new car. 3rd is of the 14x7 rims and the last is just a car with what I think is the perfect tire size/offset. Thanks

joe_padavano

4 x 4.25 is the bolt pattern used on Pintos and Mustang IIs. The 4 x 4.5 bolt pattern was used on six cylinder Falcon, Comet, Mustang, and Maverick in the 1960s and early 70s. I've got old 14x5.5 slot mags from a Mustang on my 62. Wheel Vintiques sells smoothie steel wheels in 14 x 7 and 15 x 7 sizes that have dual 4 x 4.25 and 4 x 4.5 bolt patterns. About the only 13" tire you will find today that's even close to the right outside diameter is the Maxxis 185/80-13, which is a little over 24.5" O.D. I have one of these as my spare. I'm using 195/70-14s on the front and 205/70-14s on the back and they fit the car very nicely. The slot mags I got have a little bit of negative offset, to the the tires are slightly pushed to the outside, which fills the wheel openings nicely. With the correct offset (namely, zero), you can fit 215/60-15 tires at all four corners. My friend has these on his 62 convertible.

Ignore the mud - this was from the rain-plagued OCA Nationals at Gettysburg.