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I am considering several cars. A few circa 71 thu 74 and a GT5-S Pantera. All have standard Campys, except one, which has 10 inch rear Campys.

To avoid tire rubbing/bumping while driving, what is the largest or "best" combination of wheels and tires and shocks for these Panteras. Would this suggestion be the same for GT5-S cars?
I seem to remember reading that while going to 17 inch wheels/tires makes sense there was an offset problem that one manufacturer had in their design. Could you advise me on these particulars?

Sincerely,
Percy Hill
phill@rjfs.com
Original Post
Depending on what you want from your new Pantera, the facts are as follows: 245-50x 15 fronts on 8" Campis (not the stock 7") are the largest diameter and width that will fit most non-GT-5 cars in front, and these need some hammer work that you can do at home to clear. Pantera bodies are often asymmetrical so the rt front and left-front may clear slightly differently. 315-35-15s on 10" Campi rears are the biggest made that will fit with no hammer work needed. They look correct and fill the wheelwells properly. This assumes the US shock-spacers are removed, too. HOWEVER- these tire sizes are no longer made in V or Z speed-ratings, so if you want the biggest widest tires you can find AND want to go real fast also, you'll need to go to currently- produced tire sixes, either 17" or 18" dia wheels. Lower-speed-rated tires in 15" are still made and will work on your 7-10" x 15 Campis, but not for over-130-mph-in-safety highway travel. As for shocks, there are multiple combinations of adjustable-everything coil-overs available, but without help, tooling or experience in these things, most guys simply throw them on and leave all the complicated adjustments alone, which IMHO is a waste of money. A set of rebuilt used Konis with any of a variety of aftermarket springs from the various vendors, properly adjusted once by a vendor and left alone, will work fine for 98% of all Panteras. GT-5s have the same 15" wheel problems except they run 285-50x 15s in front and 315-35x 15s in back, none of which are available in high speed ratings. Vendor- supplied wheels will be correctly sized these days; you're on your own as to other wheels fitting properly.
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