I have a pair of 17X8" wheels for the front and a pair of 17X9" for the rear. Will a set of 275/50's fit on the rear without rubbing ? And how big can I go on the front tires ? This is on a 71 Barracuda with 11" drum brakes, stock width axles, and stock front disc brakes. I currently have 275/60/15" MT Street drags in the rear and no rubbing. And 15X3" in the front (rims). Any pictures would be great.

I just put 17X9 on my Cuda with 275/40/17 all around. Zero backspacing. There is clearance in the rear. But the fender lips are rolled a bit from my old tires. I'm not positive it will be necessary to roll the lips - it may depend how much you lower the car.

275 wide tire to calculate width: 275/25.4 = 10.83" wide

The 50 series aspect ratio the tire is 50% tall as it is wide.
10 83 x 50% = 5.415"

Then multiply that x2 for the sidewall on both sidesvof the wheel 5.415 x 2 = 10 83"

17" Wheel + 10.83" = 27.83" tall tire

Do the same with your 275/60 15 tire.

Or use tire rack . Com and look up the specs ofvthe tire you want in a specific size

Tire selection in a 17" is sometimes hard to do when you want something kinda wide and kinda tall. The ones I have are probably too big for an E body but they fit a 70 B body. Backspacing on the rear wheels will be the key to the correct fit. Mine are 17x9.5 with 5.5" backspace. Rear tires are 275-60-17. They measure almost 11" wide at the section width and are a full 30" tall. Tread is at 9.5"

Thank-you.
Yes, I goofed. 5" backspace. O offset.