wheel backset

I am a little confused on what backset is. Can anyone explain it? Looking in Classic Industries catalog for Nova wheels, speciffically, Cragar SS, most of the wheels are listed as 3 3/4 backset. I take it that this is probably the desired backset for my 71 Nova. What would happen if a 2" backset was used? Would that bring the tire closer to the fender? Just not sure.

Greetings,

The more backspacing you have, the closer the tire is to the inside of the wheelwell. So with 2 inch backspacing, the tires would be sticking out more than a wheel with 3 3/4 inch backspacing. On my '73 with factory wheelwells I'm running 4.5 inch backspacing with a 255/60/15 tire and there's plenty of room on each side. I could've run a 5 inch backspace but I thought it might be too close for comfort. The best thing to do is pull off the rear wheels and start measuring as all Novas are slightly different.

Jason