55 rear wheel clearance

F

Ford coupe

Senior Member
My 55 Fairlane only has about a half inch clearance at the bottom rear of the fender skirt on driver side and on pass side about two or more..Probably from some body work over the years or could there be a wheel out there with more dish than the rest.Does anyone know of a 15 inch wheel with less dish that would maybe solve this problem or???Body is nice so do not want to molest it..Was thinking of wire wheel covers but they may not work Thanks for any info...
 
Swap the rear tires side for side and see if measurements stay the same; if so, it may be previous body work or the rear end is not centered. If the measurements also swap, it is the offset of the rim. It would be unusual if you found a 55 ford that didn't differ side for side, as factory tolerances were not nearly as close as today's cars. Good luck!
 
My 55 is the same, but opposite sides, as was my 54. Its like George says, the tolerance level was like poop in those days. Then there is the trunk. The car body has a hole back there, and the lid I have to cover the hole looks like it came off some other brand of car. The paint matches so I fake it.
 
Ole Don said:
My 55 is the same, but opposite sides, as was my 54. Its like George says, the tolerance level was like poop in those days. Then there is the trunk. The car body has a hole back there, and the lid I have to cover the hole looks like it came off some other brand of car. The paint matches so I fake it.
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Ha,ha, ain't that the truth. I actually thought at first that my '56 rear quarters were damaged. I finally adjusted it to a compromise that is passable.
 
Geez guys if i would have known these Fords were that bad i woulda bought one of those cars with a name beginning with a C...LOL
 
There is a little bit of slop where the rear axle mounts on the springs. It could be a little over to one side and it could even be dogtracking a little. As long as your rear axle can be properly aligned with the front end as it is DONT MESS WITH IT.
When I went to install my '55 Courier wagon body down on the frame, I measured each side and moved it around until I got the body perfectly square with the frame. I thought I had done a great thing. Then when I went to install the doghouse, it would not go on straight and square, so now there is a big gap between the back of the hood and the cowl at one side and there is more space between the bumper and spashpan on one side. These things arent meant to be perfectly straight.
 
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