Tire choice

Your wheels are 17” x 8” and 17” x 11”.  235/40-17 is a better choice for a front tire size but I doubt you’ll be able to buy a matched set with that size. The 245/40-17 is more common. You may have to settle for a 225/45-17 or 255/40-17 to go with your 335/35-17 rears. Availability will dictate what you use. I recently purchased new tires and was shocked to discover tire warehouses are all empty. I bought the only matched set I could find, which was the BFG Rival S. I had an easier time than you will because I have 18” rear wheels. I wonder if American Republic Wheels could machine the hoops off of your rear wheels and install 18” hoops? Something to consider.

The details on those wheels are really impressive.

I just purchased a set of  Michelin's from Tire Rack. They had the 335/35 in stock but the 225/45's will be in after December.  I was looking at for 235/40's but they aren't available and the 245/40 were not going to work for me. Probably should have waited and had them all shipped once the fronts came in. Just incase the production run doesn't actually run.

@panteradoug posted:

The details on those wheels are really impressive.

I believe those wheels are the third generation Pantera East wheels by Boyd Coddington . First generation were not polished the the area with the two little "hot dog" openings. Second generation, that I bought in 2002, were fully polished. Third generation had the VERY aggressive deep cuts as pictured.

You could also run a 315/35/17 on the back.  That might open up a few more options for a matched set.  Toyo and Nitto have those sizes but with regards to Toyo they are more of an auto cross tire.  They do have a 235/40/17 I believe.

David offered a good suggestion about possible rim modification.  Contact Boyd Coddington instead of American Republic Wheels.  ARW are no longer connected with Boyd Coddington wheels.  I had contacted Dave Rittenhouse who was with ARW about  replacing my 17” front rims with 18” but never heard back from him, so I contacted Boyd Coddington wheels directly.  ARW and Boyd Coddington  are no longer under the same owner from what I was told.

Also try googling 335/35/17 or 315/35/17 tires and see what brands come up from that search, then see if they offer a matching front set in the size you want

Toyo's are in stock and are 1/2 the  price of Mitchlins

@Donny Dotson posted:

The Pirelli P zeros are 20 + years old with 1200 miles on them.   

Sound like the perfect tires to make a nice smokey burnout video! 

I can get Toyo Prox R88R235/40's for the front and 315/35's for the rear. Do you think they will be noticeably less wide? Do think they should mount properly?

I don’t think the reduced width of the 315 is likely to bother you as much as the reduced height might. A 315 width tire fits an 11” wide wheel better than a 335, so you’re fine there. A 235/40-17 is better than a 245 on the front, IMO. If you’re considering this combination, take a look at the Nitto NT01. It’s the same tire as the Toyo R888 (Nitto is owned by Toyo) but has a more streetable tread pattern. Nitto also makes the NT05 in these sizes. It’s a high performance street tire. The Tire Rack doesn’t sell Nitto’s so try Discount Tire Direct or Amazon!

The diameter of  a 315/35/17 is 25.7” vs 26.2 for a 335/35/17. With regards to width, it is a 20mm difference.  20mm = 2cm. 1” = 2.54 cm.   The difference is slightly less than an inch.  I agree with David and would rather have a 235 than a 245 because it is a little smaller.  I have the 245/40/17 on my car because I chose BF Goodrich 335/30/18’s for the rear and that is the smallest diameter they offered in the 17” size if I remember correctly.  

I have 17x8s and 18x11s went with Continental ExtremeContact Sports. 245x40x17 and 295x30x18. I did have to roll the front fenders a little, not much. I do like the 335 Steam Roller look, but not the Price! I think the 295s in the back look good and handle Great. If I remember (CRS) I think they were under $1000 for all four. but that was about 4 years ago. Again if I can remember, I think the Continental ground Contact patch was larger them some of the other Brands I looked at?

I went ahead and got the Toyo's. I like the look of the tread design plus I'm I only drive to the swap meet every Sunday. I'm going to the Dyno shop with my new engine tomorrow morning (I hope it dosn't blow up).

Here's a tip from 1972 from Ford: slightly more important than max tire width or appearance is the need for both rear tires to be within 0.2" in circumference, as measured with a tire tape. If the rear tires vary by more than 0.2" (as the OEM Arrivas did), the limited slip clutches in your ZF will wear excessively while driving normally. And remember, the clutches are already 50 years old! Ford mentioned that sorting tires by circumference works well if the supply is large enough to find a pair within specs.

The LDS clutches are quite small in surface area and it doesn't take much to render a ZF limited slip inoperative. Using the OEM inflatable spare wore mine to uselessness in 50 miles! Low lube level will also affect clutch life. Repair is pricy as it requires ZF removal from the car and (likely) interstate shipping.! Rear tires around 26.5" OD  will also allow an accurate stock speedometer & odometer, as well.

I didn’t know that Bosswrench. Thanks

FYI,  Boyd Coddington Jr. works for me in Missouri.  If you ever need information about a Boyd Sr. program, he knows and still has contacts.

Mike

I am planning on purchasing Nitto Motivos. They can be had in matching 315 and 245 size tires for 17” rims

FWIW, "matching" tire treads, designs and sidewall graphics is entirely cosmetic. Mixing brands on one end of a car is commonly done in amateur racing.  My autocross team ran Yokohama radials up front and Hoosier belted-bias rear tires on a street Pantera, and we won numerous regional championships in CA over several years, with no ill effects. Wife Judy at 110 lbs won more championships than I did, without power steering!

You shouldn't mix different tires across the front (or the rear) on street cars but doing so with both fronts or both rears is fine. Decent sized rear tires for Panteras are rare enough today; don't restrict yourself needlessly just because you can only locate a pair. Sometimes 2 tires can be had at bargain prices.