I recently purchased a 1972 Chevelle Wagon. I had been looking for a long for one that fit the bill. It did'nt run so we dragged it home. But with the help of my husband SHE LIVES! I have helped my husband for years work on his restorations but, he decided that this one should be mine. I am really enjoying doing it myself. And, having a walking and talking car manual that tell me the easiest and best way to do things reallt speeds up the process. Anyway, does anyone know the size and back spacing of the biggest wheels and tires I can stick under there with no cutting or rubbing? Thanks 1972 Behemoth
The wagons don't have any more room than a sedan or hardtop/convertible. I'd guess that you'd get some real-world advice on one of the Chevelle sites. Usually in their Tech articles or Resources sections: These are Canadian sites: http://www.chevelle.ca/ http://cdnclassics.chevelles.net/ These are USA sites: http://www.chevelle.com/catalog/ http://www.chevelles.com/ Oh yeah. Welcome aboard!
I do remember when 1972 Chevelles were considered small. Behemouth you say? Try a 72 Kingswood. We'd like to see pictures of the progress from time to time.
Welcome aboard, 1972. Always great to hear of another wagon being brought back to its original splendor. Good luck on your project.
well...i cant give you a straight answer on the tires...but... I do know its always nice to have a GAL sign in and show appreciation for the landyachts !! congrats on the buy and we will try to behave.....try..... to the treefort
Terry, for future reference for you and other Chevelle, Malibu owners, this guy sells all the tailgate and weatherstripping for your wagon. Seems like its a hard range of goodies to find. http://einstyn.com/einstyn-wagon-parts.htm
Hello Behemo, and welcome to the wagon train, as I heard it called. I, too, am new just this weekend and I find this to be a very good group of motor-heads! That is a nice wagon you have there. I had a 1971 Chevelle coupe for many years and I knew that car inside out mechanically. You will learn to love it, even more than you already do! As far as the tires & rim situation goes I can tell you that I had mounted a standard pair of 15x8" Weld Draglite Wheels with the 275x60-15 Yokahama's on them and it took almost all of the width without any rubbing but it was REAL close. Those rims had a 4.5" back spacing. I believe I could have gotten a pair of 285x70-15's under there as they aren't much wider but, boy, they sure are tall and give that "Pro-Street" big tire look without having to tub the car. That , my dear, is my experience and i hope it helps you! Best of luck on your project and get us some pictures of it now. It will be nice to be able to watch your progress!!! Bye bye, Renko
Welcome to the forum. Glad you are enjoying working on your wagon. BTW what size wheels are you looking at? 15's, 16's 17's 18's or what?
I'm thinkin 16's or 17's. My son has a set of 18 inch corvette rims that look awsome but I would have to find some really big spacers. I need to have a fairly decent amount of tire wall, our pot holes, have potholes around here.
