2nd Gen F-body (1979 Pontiac Firebird) - wheels & tires for Stock class

[Robert Swartz]

I searched through all the old tech stuff before I posted this. If it was in there, I didn't successfully locate it. Almost wish I were building a 3rd gen car (incidently, I do have one of those bodies in the driveway), plenty of info regarding those cars.

Since there are a few of these cars out there. Thought I'd ask to avoid the pitfalls.

First off, on the front of these cars, any special problems to look for as far as tire fit?

How tall a front tire can you run?

Can you use off the shelf wheels?

Or are there any backspace problems I need to be aware of?

The car has factory disc brakes on the front, now. Initially, I'm just going to rebuild the stock brakes (both front and rear) and use them. Down the road, I'll convert it over to something more liteweight. This will be one of those areas that can stand improvement, in both weight savings and performance.

Next, rear wheels. Being an IHRA car, I know I can legally run 10.5 rear tires. I'm just going to go with 9 x 30's. I've not jacked it up to look but I've read that it's a pain to put 10" tires under these bodies. At some point, I may want to convert this car over to run NHRA legal stock.

For 9" tires, use 15 x 8 wheels?

What backspace does anyone recommend?

The car has drum brakes on the rear. I am going to use the factory 10 bolt under the car. It's going to take a trip to Moser for axles, spool and a changeover to housing ends that do away with the c-clips. I've already spoken with them on this and have been informed as to what I need to do.

While I'm asking, what about tire recommendations? Both front runners and slicks. I have been told by another racer that radials are the way to go with an F-body? That's why I ask, I'm here to listen and hopefully learn.