20" Wheel Questions

This area is for those who need help modernizing their Lincoln for purposes other than strict restoration. Such questions can be about adding an electric fuel pump, adding fuel injection, boosting horsepower or gas mileage, or tightening or lowering the suspension. Body customizing and chopping can also be here (although this practice is not encouraged by the LCOC).

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63LincolnFL
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20" Wheel Questions

Post by 63LincolnFL »

My wife is looking to order a set of 20" wheels for her 63 Lincoln. I have done some searching but didn't see a wheel thread.

The company we are looking at has 20x8 and 20x9 options. She wants to bag it soon, and I was looking for opinions on what other members are running.

Staggered? or 8" all around? Backspace? Appreciate the help! Or directing me towards where I can find some info.
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Steve K
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by Steve K »

Why do you want to bag it and put it on 20s? What's special about Continentals is the ride tuned to a quiet, comfortable ride. Both bagging it and changing wheel/tire size will change that and not for the better. And none of it is a simple as bolting on new wheels and exchanging shocks/springs for bags. Not to mention the $$$$$ which is going to be +- $5000 all said and done.

That said, I can see two possible reasons to do it. 1. You have your own personal reasons for resto-modding your car and 2. A happy wife makes a happy life.

Disclaimer: My comment exposes my bias. That said, I am a strong advocate of owners doing whatever they want to do with their cars. I just strongly recommend you have considered all the variables you are undertaking in making the change and that your expectations as far as ride and performance of the car can be achieved with your mods. A 63 Continental is not and won't ever be a performance machine and after all these changes, neither will it be a classic luxury car. What it MAY become is the realization of you and your wife's point of view with regard to the artistry of the modification. Mostly the shits and giggles of laying it out on it's frame rails and changing it's ride characteristics to loud and bumpy.

Off soapbox...so if you are going to do this, study the threads and vendors for the suspension modifications before you consider wheels and tires. You will change clearances and so forth with the bagging and you will need to know what they are before you can choose a wheel and tire that you know will fit, clear the body and suspension, work with whatever brakes you go with, and so on.

If she cringes at the price of EFI at $1000, she may have a stroke by the time you are done with wheels and suspension mods.
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Suicidekid63
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by Suicidekid63 »

Lots of customizing and resto-mods on the "SuicideSlabs" Facebook page. The crew there may be able to answer your questions with ease, as almost all those guys have bagged and added larger wheels to their Continentals.
They will also be able to refer you to the kits that are the best, of many out there, that claim to be "bolt-on" and are far from it.
BTW- We love pictures!!! :grin:
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by defrang »

Big wheels on a big lincoln are in the cultural narrative now. Lots of people like the way they look. I like your idea of spending money on other things Steve. I want that EFI like burnski has on his 64. jtheye has some of the coolest big wheels on his ride. True to the hubcap version just bigger. Search his threads for info.
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TonyC
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by TonyC »

I personally believe in balancing out all the pros and cons between original parts and aftermarket parts. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and one really needs to determine the best result long-term. The big concerns I have where wagon wheels and balloons are concerned is their overall reliability. Besides the overrated reputation of an air ride, balloon suspensions are always prone to the risk of blowing from rips--after all, how many streets and roads in the USA do not have loose debris on them? Such a failure will not happen with a coil or leaf spring. Where wagon wheels are concerned, I have questions over whether they are even rated properly for load-bearing. A Suicide Lincoln of any year is well over 5,000 pounds dry, which means not all wheels can handle that weight. The factory wheels can. Nobody seems to be concerned with load rating, so I wonder what they think should they suffer a failure of a wheel. Since you are talking about total changes to the supports of the car, you really need to factor in the weight and load-bearing capacities of parts.

That said, Frankenstein has a lot of mods to him, but most of them are not in the drive train (there are a few, but none of them major--solid-metal spacers to the steering gearbox, high-volume oil pump, all-metal timing gears, high-performance valve body in the transmission, among others). There are a lot of advantages to the electric power locks/trunk popper, modern cruise control, rear window defroster, AM-FM/cassette head unit with an automatic antenna, starboard-side mirror, and head rests. Of course, it helped that I didn't have to replace any original parts to fit the new things in, save for the radio and antenna.

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JonW
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by JonW »

I have 20x8 wheels on my '62. While I have to say I like the look, it has been detrimental to the driveability. 20" wheels and '60s suspension technology don't mix very well. So I think your wife needs to be prepared for the fact that it's not going to ride or drive the same as it does now. As long as she's OK with that, I say go for it.
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by 63LincolnFL »

Thanks for all the input. I am making her read all these. LOL

Here are a few pictures of the car. She didnt know she was getting it, it was a surprise over the weekend at our garage party.

I am very familiar with air ride as I have it on my 86 GMC Sierra. I am trying to talk her into a mild static drop for a nice stance instead.
My system sprung a leak a few weeks ago on the way back from Slam Fest in Tampa :(
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by action »

63LincolnFL wrote:My system sprung a leak a few weeks ago on the way back from Slam Fest in Tampa :(
That would be a buzz kill!
Air suspension definitely has a shorter service life versus metal springs.

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TonyC
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by TonyC »

Wow--that is a really sapphire shade of blue! Nice, actually.

And it looks like a PO at some time converted to 15" wheels! I can tell by the wheelcovers--that design was for the 15" wheels, not the original-original 14". If that's the case, I can already tell you that you have an advantage in retaining what you have, because radial tires can still be had for 15" wheels fairly easily. You would have had a problem finding radial tires for the original-original wheels that could carry that load--14" tires these days are not made to carry that kind of weight...unless you pay extra-premium for bias-ply tires, which even I don't recommend.

---Tony
"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet, just because there is a picture with a quote next to it." (Abraham Lincoln, 1866)
"Question Authority!"

1966 Continental Sedan, affectionately known as "Frankenstein" until body restoration is done (to be renamed "General Sherman" on that event)
63LincolnFL
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by 63LincolnFL »

TonyC wrote:Wow--that is a really sapphire shade of blue! Nice, actually.

And it looks like a PO at some time converted to 15" wheels! I can tell by the wheelcovers--that design was for the 15" wheels, not the original-original 14". If that's the case, I can already tell you that you have an advantage in retaining what you have, because radial tires can still be had for 15" wheels fairly easily. You would have had a problem finding radial tires for the original-original wheels that could carry that load--14" tires these days are not made to carry that kind of weight...unless you pay extra-premium for bias-ply tires, which even I don't recommend.

---Tony
Interesting!! I didn’t know it had 14” wheels from the factory. I personally think it would look great with a set of Diamond back Whitewall’s with the wheels and hubcaps it has.
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by papawayne »

When I first read your post, I said to myself, "Oh dear". But again, I will affirm that it is your car and you can do anything you want to it. I like to shoot my cars when I'm all done with them. Anyway, I'm glad that you are thinking about keeping things the way they are. It is a beautiful car. That being said, might I recommend one minor modification. I also have 15 inch wheels on my car and there is a wonderful thread on this forum about how to convert your 14 inch hubcaps to the 15 inch wheels. I did this, and I am very glad. You might need to find some 14 inch proper hubcaps first though, or maybe the PO has them or maybe they are in the trunk! Wayne
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by bd94s10 »

Hey man. Nice car. If you're on Instagram check out my @LincolnAddict page and I also have 3 episodes of Lincoln Addict Podcast out there. If you order a set of wheels from Detroit Steel Wheel Co (aka Mobsteel) or Michael at CC Cycle Wheels (Colorado Custom Wheels) they will get you squared away with the offset you need. I believe this is what I planned to order as the backspacing. 20 x 8.5 5.25 backspace. I started the hashtag on Instagram #BlueLincolnsOnDaRise - you have a damn nice one!
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Re: 20" Wheel Questions

Post by bd94s10 »

Also, where are you in FL? I'm hosting the 1st Annual Tampa Kennedy Cruise this weekend 11/17 @ 11 am ET in Tampa. Let me know if you can make it.. if not lets sync up sometime.
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