Tire size for a 1961 DODGE lancer

[Guest erp52]

On m,y 61 Lancer, can I use a 700-13 tire, tho the specs call for 650-13 size?  Ed

[Pete in PA]

Don't see why not.  The 700 is only half an inch taller than the 6.50 (x2) and you should have plenty of fender clearance for that.

[dwollam]

If you want the car to drive and handle way better get some 14" wheels from any of the 63-73 A-Body mopars with the 4" 5 bolt wheel pattern and run 14" radial tires. I have always run radials on my 62 Lancer. They look much better too, the 13's are terribly small. And if for some reason you ever wanted to go back to 13's simply bolt them back on. No harm done.

[fraso]

If you're considering a larger tire size rather than sticking with the original bias-ply tire, it looks to me that you want a better handling car.  Dwollam gave the good suggestion of upgrading to 14" radial tires and the P195/75R14 is the best tire size which keeps your odometer accurate without changing your speedometer pinion gear (17 teeth for a 2:93 axle?).  However, a 4.5" rim width is often recommended only tires up to a tire width of 185 mm.  I'm using P195/75R14 tires on 14"x4.5" rims on my Barracuda until they wear out and plan to upgrade to a larger rim afterwards.

 

It would be cheaper to stick with a 13" tire and the P185/80R13 is the best modern tire for your rims.  However, this size is very hard to find now as a passenger car tire (ie, not trailer tire) but Maxxis still sells it:

 Maxxis P185/80R13 90S RWW MA-1

 

See Tire Upgrades.