hey guys, im thinking off getting some new classic four spoke for my van from dragway
 
ive sent them a email through their website letting them know what i wanted but now they wrote back saying they can do them for escorts but they need to know what offset i want.
 
im getting 14 x 7, but i have know idea what the offset should be, i would like the wheel on the back to sit out a little bit more then standard as i will eventually put flares on, as im doing a 70's early 80's stile restoration and im after the deep dish look
 
can anyone help please

Mk2 sedan with 13x7 6p with 205/60R13s under rear, 13x6 12p with 205/60R13s under front - if that helps any
 

 

thanks mate, do they scrap at all? did you have to roll the gaurds? i want a offset that i dont need to roll the gaurds with 14x7, and also years ago with one of my previous escort vans, i had 14 x 6.5 classic four spoke dragways with 245 x 50 x 14 on the rear that only scrap if i hit a bad pot hole,but mind you pumped up air shocks were the rage back then,  what offset would i need to suit these tyre sizes, im thinking 225x50 or 60 this time around, the rear is standard height and the front is lowered 3cm
 
the mags were on the car when i bought it in 1992, wish i kept those mags,which is why i dont know the offset
 
what offset would i need for the front if i fit 205x60x14
 
sorry guys i have no idea when it comes to offsets, i had those classic four spoke with the tyre size above on the rear but not sure what were on the front on my old van over 15 years ago and im trying to reborn that car with the one i have now
 
first pic below shows the original van these wheels came of that i bought in 1992 and second pic shows the mags with 245X14 BF GOODRICH tyres on my last van i had in 1995 until i got back into escorts late 2010
 

 

+12 offset for a 7" wheel shouldn't touch standard guards (front and rear) on a sedan provided you don't go too wide on the tyre.  Note that this is for an alloy wheel, which is most often 1" wider overall (i.e. measuring the outside width) than the cited (inside) width.  I've never seen a Dragway with the tyre off, so I don't know if the same +1" rule applies.  If it is less (steel rim?), then you have more room to play with.
 
Assuming the +1" thing above though, a common fitment that keeps the speedo accurate is 15x7 +12 using 195/50 tyres.  I know you want to go with 14" tyres (which are probably harder to get) so you'd need 185/60 (maybe a bit narrow for 7" rim IMO) or 195/55 or 205/55 (both only off the ideal by about 1%)  to keep the speedo accurate.  If you go 205/60s they'll be a bit taller, so your speedo will under-read your actual speed by almost 5%.  Wouldn't be a deal breaker for me; just something to be aware of when you are out driving.  Based on a spreadsheet I made to sort out my own wheel issues for a sedan, 225s on a 7" +12 will rub the guards.  To see whether this might apply to yours, you need to measure the distance from the face of the hub to the inside lip of the guard (a plum bob and a rule is sufficient if you measure carefully), mine being 95mm front and rear.  I suspect that there may be differences with the van though, most likely at the rear.  If you post some numbers, I'll run it through my spreadsheet and let you know how it comes out.

Flighter

+12 offset for a 7" wheel shouldn't touch standard guards (front and rear) on a sedan provided you don't go too wide on the tyre.  Note that this is for an alloy wheel, which is most often 1" wider overall (i.e. measuring the outside width) than the cited (inside) width.  I've never seen a Dragway with the tyre off, so I don't know if the same +1" rule applies.  If it is less (steel rim?), then you have more room to play with.

Assuming the +1" thing above though, a common fitment that keeps the speedo accurate is 15x7 +12 using 195/50 tyres.  I know you want to go with 14" tyres (which are probably harder to get) so you'd need 185/60 (maybe a bit narrow for 7" rim IMO) or 195/55 or 205/55 (both only off the ideal by about 1%)  to keep the speedo accurate.  If you go 205/60s they'll be a bit taller, so your speedo will under-read your actual speed by almost 5%.  Wouldn't be a deal breaker for me; just something to be aware of when you are out driving.  Based on a spreadsheet I made to sort out my own wheel issues for a sedan, 225s on a 7" +12 will rub the guards.  To see whether this might apply to yours, you need to measure the distance from the face of the hub to the inside lip of the guard (a plum bob and a rule is sufficient if you measure carefully), mine being 95mm front and rear.  I suspect that there may be differences with the van though, most likely at the rear.  If you post some numbers, I'll run it through my spreadsheet and let you know how it comes out.

 
thanks mate atm im running 15x6.5 saab chassers with 195 x 50 tyres but as i said before im going for the same rebiuld of my old van,
ive measured from the hub face to the back outer gaurd today and i get about 121 or 2 mm and i took 21mm off to accomiacate the lip which leave just over 100mm,
 
i also received a email today from dragway with ofsets for 7in wide and they said 90mm from hub face to the wheel edge, but i didnt give them the size of tyre i was going to fit, this would give 10mm for the tyre on the outer edge to fit the 225's, would this be enough room? would 85mm be better from the hub to the front edge of the wheel? it abit hard to get a accurate measurement for the back space but i thimk i have 150mm with a very little room to play maybe 10mm extra to be right on the inner wall
 
would 225 fit with a certain offset?
 
im only going wide at the back, front will be about 195 or 205

90mm is exactly what I expected for the hub face to wheel lip for  7" wide wheel with +12 offset, so I suggest confirming that 12p is what Dragway cites the wheel's offset as (just to be sure).  You've got a few extra mm on the back over my sedan, so theoretically you could just squeeze the 225s in, as the tyre edge would lie 101mm from the hub face.  That wheel/tyre combo would see you with 125mm from hub face to the inside tyre edge, so it appears that you would have sufficient rear clearance.  Wouldn't hurt to re-check your measurements (measure twice, pay once), maybe this time running the plumb bob directly from the inside edge of the wheel lip.  
 
The front is another matter though, where you will have less backspace and probably a little less distance to the inside guard edge.  My tyres were rubbing on the chassis rail on tight turns with an hub face to inside of tyre edge of 128mm.
 
Of course all these figures need to be taken with a pinch of salt because of manufacturing tolerances.
 

excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by plumb bob?
 
i thought the van is based on a mk1, isn't the mk 1 overall narrower ? i know the dash pad in narrower than the sedan
 
i thought sedans arches would be wider as they are overall wider?

A plumb bob is basically a weight on the end of a string.  The string passes through to the center of the "bob", which has a point on the end, thereby ensuring that the end of the string lines up with the end of the weight.  It is a simple device to check whether something is "plumb" or vertical, and they were commonly used in the construction biz. in days of old.
 
The Mk1 may be narrower (I don't know), but what really counts are the measurements in the wheel wells, so it's worth checking and double checking these so you don't make an expensive mistake come purchase time.  I was confident that the calcs for my car were correct, but I still sought out someone who had a similar set up to be sure, which admittedly would be harder for you with your van.
 
 

ok cool, so i can use a fish sinker on some fishing line, thats easy enough
 
thanks you very much for your help, your info is very useful
 
cheers

ok,  i just did what you suggested with the plumb bob plus this time ive put a water level on the axle housing while i jacked the car up (by the axle housing of cause) to make sure the car was plumb, from the hub to the plumb its the same as yours 95mm and the back space is 154-5mm, so i may have to go for a narrower tire, thinking 215's now
 
thank you so much for you info