Papa's predecessor needs very large wheels (5)
I believe the answer is:
oscar
'papa's predecessor' is the definition.
(in the NATO Phonetic alphabet)
'very large wheels' is the wordplay.
'very large' becomes 'os' (abbreviation for oversize).
'wheels' becomes 'car' (wheels can informally mean a car).
'os'+'car'='OSCAR'
'needs' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for oscar that I've seen before include "Cinema award" , "Develop again" , "heard on the radio after November" , "Some players are given this" , "One close to Mike" .)