Non-Z related, but good wheel question to pick your brain

[Mycarispurty]

Ok this question mostly applies to guys who really know building cars.

 

So I'm working on this 54 Chevy pickup and going 5 lug and trying to figure out which rear end I'm going to use. The choices are mostly between a 74 Nova which is 60.25", or a later model G-body which is 58" even. These are rough measurements and not dead on (except on axle widths), I'm just seeing if my theoretical math and calculations are correct. When it comes time to pick up the rear end and wheels, my measurements will be dead on, so keep in mind these are rough but very close estimates.

 

On the bed of my truck (no fenders on it right now), from outer wall to outer wall, the bed is 50" wide. So if the G-body unit goes in at 58", that gives me 4" on each side from wheel mounting surface, to the side of the bed. If the Nova unit goes in, that gives me 5" of space between the wheel mounting surface, to the side of the bed. So going with the G-body unit, I can mount a wheel as wide as I can, until it reaches the fender and rubs on it, as long as I have a wheel with about 3.5-3.75" (4.5-4.75" with the Nova unit) of backspacing so that it won't rub on the side of the bed. That way, with the more narrow G-body unit, I can run a wider wheel than I can with the Nova unit, and get more of a deep dish look.

 

Does all that sound correct to you guys? I'm really digging the Summit Racing wheels that look like the Torq Thrusts, because they come in a variety of sizes and are pretty cheap. I'm looking at the 18x8.5 F and 20x9.5 R. I don't want a bulging sidewall, so a flush sidewall is all I want on the tire, so as long as the wheel itself won't rub on the fender or bedside, I don't have to worry about the tire rubbing either.

 

That is a post I copied and pasted from a local car forum. Afterwards, I actually went to Summit and Jegs since they allow you to narrow down wheels by diameter, offset, bolt pattern, etc, and looked for 5x4.75 wheels with 3.5 and 3.75" off backspacing and found that the only thing I can get is either plain ol wheels like white spoke wheels, d window steelies, things like that which I could get on the current axle the truck has....or $400 plus dollar wheels from Centerline and places like that. I could always go Diamond Racing, having them make a set to whatever size I wanted, but that's not exactly a custom looking wheel like what I'm after. With putting in 4.5" of backspacing like for the Nova rear end, the options are MUCH better, but then again I can really only get like 8" wide wheels more than likely before I'd have to do tubs. I guess I can halfway mount one of the fenders and see the depth tomorrow and have a better idea of how wide a wheel I can get on there should I go with the Nova rear end and 4.5-4.75" of backspacing.

 

Just thought I'd ask since there are some really good suspension/wheel/total car guys on here. Anyone got some tricks to pass along, maybe something I'm not thinking of aside from spacers? I really would like the G body rear end as it's free, but the Nova unit which is a little wider is only $75.