Car handling with different tires front and back

A lad was checking my car out recently and while giving compliments, he noted that the rear tires seem to fill in the rear wheel wells to the max yet the thin front tires ( same size as rears ) seem like they should/could be a lot wider for appearance sake at least. I know nothing about what this would do to handling. What would be the effect of wider tires on the front ? Thanks.

Given that the front end is so light, when compared to the back, I don't think adding wider tires to the front would improve the handling. It might improve your chances of inducing oversteer, which is something to be avoided in a rear engine car.
With wider front tires there is also a greater chance of making contact with the inside of the fenders when the steering wheel is cranked hard left or right.

Only one car that I know of used that configuration. The final generation of the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP had wider tires in the front to over come the weight bias caused by the front drive configuration. I read that it worked quite well. Didn't save Pontiac, tho'.

Probably not such a good idea on a rear-engined car.

Add wheel spacers (1/4, 3/8, or 1/2") to move wheels out in the wheel wells. Will make it corner better. Be sure to replace wheel bearings and check them frequently when using wide spacers. You'll need longer lug bolts to accommodate the extra thickness. I'd see no handling advantage to wider front rims or tires - other than maybe braking and building arm muscles when parking.

On second thought - tell the lad that your car is a replica of a 55 year old car and its supposed to have open wheel wells. Checked your photos and remember car from Carlisle -- it looks perfect as is!

Drop it up front.

Wider tires on the front (while keeping the narrow ones on the back) are definitely the wrong way to go; read Ron's comments again. Look what Porsche has done with rear tire width in recent years (on some cars they've used 305's or 315's) to make handling more predictable. If any thing you would want to figure out how to get more tread on the back. What size tires are you running now? Is your car swing or irs? I just took a look at your pics; have you ever thought of dropping the front end and inch or so?

I was just asking so I can be better informed. I have real skinny, 155R80/15's in all four corners. My rear end is swing axle and anything wider would not fit. I won't be lowering the front end as my clearance is only 4 1/4" due to the scoop for my rad. It is not hot weather tested at this point but we'll be in Key West in 10 days so I'll know better then if it can be squeezed down a bit. Thanks for the info.

Honestly - add a jug of Redline Water-Wetter to your radiator. It truly makes coolant better at dissipating heat.

Where can that stuff be easily found, Wolfgang ? Autozone etc.?

Autozone, maybe, or NAPA but sometimes you have to call and order it, unless they support nearby fleets of HD trucks. The stuff works, is good for a drop of 10+ degrees and doesn't screw up anything else (that I know of).

oops....double post.