Project 60: What Tyres?

While I was waiting for my front control arms to come back from the engineer I decided to get the body back on the 'pan to check a few clearances and to work out how I was going to route the heater pipes.
So with the body back on, at the top of the job list was rear tyre clearances. I knew things were going to be tight at full drop and I knew I'd be running a wheel spacer, but what I didn't know was how thick it needed to be. I started with the wheels off my Ghia, so the first test was to try the 7mm spacers I have to run on that. I could get the wheels to turn, but only just. Next thing to try was shaving a small amount off the rear body mounts, and I do mean a small amount as there's not a lot of room to play with here. This got the wheels turning without rubbing but only just. This is all with 205/60/15 tyres.

I also wanted to check a pair of 205/65/15s that Carl ‘the manager' Maher had donated to the cause. I had these fitted to the two early 6-inch Fuchs I have put by for this car. With these tyres and the 7mm spacer everything locked up again and it took a 15mm spacer to get enough clearance for the wheels to turn. The jury is still out on what tyres to run as the 205/65s plus the 15mm spacer really fills the rear wings and at the moment I'm swinging towards the skinny rear end look the 205/60s give me and not the fat Cal-Look ass of the 205/65s. This may seem like a pointlessly small detail but in my world the wrong tyre choice can ruin a good car.

With no decision made I decided to put the engine in to see how low the sump was to the floor and also to check the super-charger out (which you will be able to read about later this week). 

The photo below shows the floor to engine clearance and this will drop as more weight goes into the car. It's all a bit close, which is perfect! I've got a bit of a trick up my sleeve for a sump guard but I'm keeping it under wraps until I know it works.