14 inch wheels?

[EVfun]

Anyone running 14 inch wheels all the way around their buggy? I found a set of Bus rims, front stock and the back widened to 8 inches with a nice deep look. All are nicely paintes almond with good hubcap clips. It is tempting, but what tires are still available and what sizs to run? Pictures of buggies on 14's appreciated.
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[Sharp64]

Widest tire from the site I use for an 8” rim is a 245. They make a 245/60/14 that is about the same height as a stock 165/15.

I’ve used www.simpletire.com a couple of times now. They have a pretty easy to use tire finder. Punch in width/ratio/diameter and they’ll show various options. I’ve only got 14” on the front.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[wythac]

205/65R 14 on stock wide five bus rims on the front. 15" rims on the rear. Not a good look on my car due to the beam and the body lift. But the car is fun to drive in this configuration.

Tires on these rims do rub a little at full lock on my KP/LP beam.

Les Schwab still has 14" tires in quite a variety of sizes, I just got some for my Vanagon. I think they were 205/70s

These sit on a shelf at my shop 90% of the year. If you are still in Snohomish Co and would like to try them on your car for fit and appearance, drop me a pm.

[oprn]

14" tires are getting harder to find and selection is limited. I had 245/60s on the back but they were not available any more here. I went with 225/70s, don't look as good but the increase in height brought the noise level down some on the long trips. The 205/60s on the front put the speedo out quite a bit, about 12%. 14s are fine with a close to stock engine and help with the lack of power on the hills.

I have a larger engine in the works so I am hoping to go 15s all the way around next spring for better tire selection and mileage.

[Sharp64]

https://www.quattrotires.com/dimensions/summer/245/60/14
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[EVfun]

Thanks for the suggestions and pictures. I see why my search of theSamba buggy forum turned up so little, 14 inch wheels seems pretty uncommon, especially all around.

Here is the vintage Ford wide-5 pattern used in a number of vintage style rods.
This is what I currently have on my Mini-T:

Those are 15 inch wheels and the tires are P145/65R15 front and P215/70R15 rear. I'm trying to include a touch of vintage street rod look into it as a play on the unique buggy body. That is why I ditched the common chrome center caps on the wheels. I also need to lower the front a little more and sucking the front tires in a bit would look better too.
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[Krasibuggy]

Hi , guys I want to put Pacer 320c rims on the back of my dune buggy 15x10 with negative offset -44 and 275/50/15 ,, what will be a potencial problem for my buggy if i put rims like that I have 1600cc stock , swing axle ?

[Sharp64]

I have 15x10 wheels on the back of mine with 295/60/15. Fronts are 195/60/14's(different tires in this pic). I'm not aware of any issues.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[YDBD]

[Krasibuggy]

Thanks guys (sharp64,YDBD)

[BIGMIKEY]

These are 14" wheels and tires on my Series 1 Deserter project. 14x7 with 225/70-14 rear and 14x5.5 with 175/70-14 front. Final ride height has not been set.

Mike T
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BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[EVfun]

I like that look BigMikey! The fact they are slotted mags adds to it, they're always a favorite of mine. Nice classic Manx style buggy lines too with a little extra rear coverage.

I went ahead on bought the 14 inch wheels I was looking at. They are wide-5 Bus rims, stock front and 8 inch wide rear with a deep look. All good hub cap clips and powercoated in a off white/almond color that should go well with my purple Mini-T.
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[oprn]

Nice clean (uncluttered) Buggy!

I had a set of ET 4 bolt VW slot mags on my '71 Super Beetle and I foolishly sold them.

[BIGMIKEY]

Thanks EVfun and oprn. I wanted to build it simple as I could. More of a restoration to original look. I am fond of the widened steel wheel and hubcaps look too.

Mike T
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BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[oprn]

Simple I believe is a big part of what made these Buggies such a big hit back in their heyday. A couple fellows handy with hand tools could literally build one on a couple of long weekends. While I appreciate the work and thought that goes into the "tricked up, decked out" Buggies, they are not for me. I prefer the "If it don't make it go it ain't on there" philosophy.

Yes I have been totally enjoying getting some wrench time on an air cooled VW again after all these years but I got the thing to DRIVE, no parade/boulevard queen here. Yup is has a few imperfections alright but I am not afraid to take it anywhere anytime with anyone. Some ice-cream dribbles and a few sneaker prints just add to the nostalgia for me!

[nelson845]

This is my IRWIN project. It has 185/65-14 all the way around. I want to keep the front tire size but want to go taller in back without changing rims.

[oprn]

You will be somewhat limited due to rim width.

[EVfun]

[EVfun]

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[nelson845]

Thanks for the suggestions on tire size. Yes, it will be lowered once it is running as the pix was taken mid-build and no engine installed(its been mid-build for almost a year!..lol).