First, I have to say that there is an amazing selection of wheels on ebay. It has to be bewildering to someone without a whole lot of experience for fitment, sizing, etc. And if you buy over the Internet, you don't have the advantage of being able to try it on first before you buy. Perhaps my experience can help you choose.

My original thought was to put late-model Mustang wheels on the car. They can be picked up relatively cheaply with tires, have the potential to look good (though the dish on them is less pronounced -- more on that in a minute), are available in modern sizes, and have the correct bolt pattern. There are articles on Mustang Monthly and on various forums such as this one. One thing is clear... you need to measure and use spacers to make them work. Places such as Mustangs Plus in Stockton, as well as sources quoted in the article above, carry spacers. However, spacers add weight (probably not a huge consideration unless you're tracking your car), and invariably add another failure point to your suspension. Note that small spacers are sometimes made to fit over existing studs, then the wheels attach. These can introduce shear load on your studs. Other spacers bolt on to your existing studs, and provide studs of their own on which your wheels will bolt. These are usually stronger, but still introduce the aforementioned failure point. I decided not to hassle with it as there are a number of sources on eBay and elsewhere for proper offset wheels.

So... next question (and perhaps this should have been my first). Do I go with 15", 16", or 17" wheels? I know Ansen Springs (slotted mags) come in 17" wheels now. I know that the American Racing Hopster also come in 16". After looking at pictures on the 'net, I decided on 15" wheels due to their more vintage look. Some of the pictures of early Mustangs (which have the same offset as Fairlanes) on eBay with 17" wheels just didn't look right. The sidewalls were too short, and the wheels at times looked too large. As a result, I decided on 15", and narrowed the wheel choice to two different styles.

The first style was the "Summit Star" wheel, which is remarkably similar to the Weld Racing "Pro Star Wheel". You can see pictures of that type of a wheel on a White Fairlane on this site. I believe the tires look good, and I could get the package with tires direct from Summit. However, I decided I liked the styling the next style better.

The other top candidate was a "Halibrand Gasser Mag Wheel" as advertised on eBay by a seller called Daniel Tire. I liked the vintage looks of these wheels -- almost a slotted mag, but with a bit more style. I called Daniel at 330-620-3266, found him easy to work with, and ordered two 15x8 and two 15x7 wheels for the rear and front, respectively. I obviously ordered in the Ford bolt pattern of 5x4.5".

Later that day, I ordered some Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires from the Tire Rack. I've ordered multiple sets of tires from them, and they've always been quick & inexpensive. I ordered 275/60r15 for the rear and 235/60r15 for the front.

The tires arrived before the wheels (they came from Sparks, NV, and the wheels came from Ohio). Later in the week the wheels arrived, nicely boxed, wrapped in plastic, and even had a cloth cover over the polished outside of the mag. Nicely done! The wheels had a nice shine to them, are relatively light, and even have a DOT stamp on them (I wasn't sure they would as they are made in China using molds that Daniel owns). I just needed to get the tires mounted and balanced!

For the mounting job, I brought the car to A n T Tire. They did the tires on my M Coupe, as well as service folks out at Portland International Raceway. This is a car guy's tire store, where they know fitment, classic cars, etc. They expressed doubt as to whether the 275/60 tires would fit, so they mounted the 235/60 on the 8 inch rear mags first, and those tires barely fit. The only way the 275s would fit is if I narrowed the rear end -- there is space on the inside, but not fender clearance space. At that time, I knew I would have to return the 275/60s, move the 235/60s to the rear, and get another front tire. I requested that we put a 235/60 on the front wheel (7 inch) and try it. There was a clearance issue with the wheel turned to the side. The tire would clip the edge of the fender. As a result, I knew that the replacement tire I got from Tire Rack would need to be narrower, shorter, or both. We then mounted the 235/60s on the rear wheels, and I went home. I was extremely happy with the way the rear wheels looked, but unhappy that I couldn't get the fronts on until after my new tires came.

Though the tires didn't rub in a straight line, I found out on the way home that even a slight turn to the left or a hard turn to the right would cause them to rub. After getting the car home, I pushed on it from the side while watching the rear end. Sure enough, the rear end moves laterally under the car. This is common on these cars as built from the factory. Further, with 40 year old bushings, the shackles caused most of that slop. I will order a full (front and rear)set of polyurethane bushings from Summit Racing. 2) I can gain some clearance in the mean time by rolling or trimming the inner fender edge. I'll document both here.

I called Tire Rack. They told me how to return the tires, and I placed my order for 205/55r15 fronts. These tires should fit much better, and allow me to keep that classic musclecar rake.

So, that's where the car sits at the time I write this article. It has excellent wheels / tires on the rear. Unfortunately, I don't have the fronts yet. Further, I have work to do to stabilize the rear and prevent it from rubbing. Such is working on a classic car.