CragarS/S for an '83 Caprice

[ddax]

My son wants to put Cragar S/S wheels on his ’83 Caprice Classic. It has the original wheels on it now with 205/75 15” tires. I need to know what size wheels and tires he could use on this car.
How large a diameter wheel and how wide could he get away with without altering the suspension?
I’m told I’ll need to know the bolt circle and back-spacing to buy wheels. How do I measure back-spacing?
How wide could tires be front and rear before they’ll rub? I think the current tires are about 26" diameter.
Thanks

[CD Smalley]

You can fit a very large tire in the rear on most and the front on some as well. I run 275/60/15s on the rear on 5x8 wheels. Some people claim to be able to run the same on the front as well. I couldn't on my car. They would rub. The the rears work fine.

To measuer backspacing, lay your current wheel flat. Put a straight edge across the rim and measure to the hub. You can get away with a 4" backspacing.

[PeteA216]

I can tell yah what, they're gonna look sweet when you get the right ones.

[ddax]

Thanks guys!

So, it sounds like if they make 16" Cragars to fit the car's backspacing we should be OK with 8" on the rear and 7" (and maybe 8") on the front as long as we don't go too much bigger on the tires(?).
Of course, he (unlike me) may prefer the lower profile look to the tires rather than the bigger tires. The teenagers seem to like that look - although that could change tomorrow and I probably wouldn't know about it for some time!!!!

I think the car will look good. It's black and in good condition except the headliner is falling down and front armrests are in need of replacement. The car has been in my family for a long time. My parents bought it used in '84 or '85 with 15K on it. It now has about 85K.
I was pleased my son is interested in it. Most of the kids want those little Hondas that sound like weed-eaters!
The car runs great - although there is a hot, burning rubber smell that's been present for at least 15 years that nobody has ever located the source.
I just converted the A/C this summer so it'll be cool inside and out!

We'll tackle the headliner this fall - hope I don't get in over my head!

Thanks,
d