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Sneak Peak


Smokeybear

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 I see the wheels have two bolt patterns and appear to be wider than stock.  ​Tell us about the clips.  Are they for Chev or is that something you've done for Plymouth caps. 

Stock wheels, I just cut the center out of the small rim and welded it into a 15x8 hoop I bought from speedway. The extra holes you see are what fits over the little nub on the stock brake drum to ease with mounting.

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I think Frank was referring to fitting them in place when you have the rubber mounted and the car fender is also still stock width/shape.....stock rims with larger tires is bother enough sometimes and requires the car body to be jacked to full extension of the shock for ample room..cutting out and installing centers and being able to ensure the wheels are true is quite the job..

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I think Frank was referring to fitting them in place when you have the rubber mounted and the car fender is also still stock width/shape.....stock rims with larger tires is bother enough sometimes and requires the car body to be jacked to full extension of the shock for ample room..cutting out and installing centers and being able to ensure the wheels are true is quite the job..

Yes, exactly .......didn't know you had a different axle width.

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I think Frank was referring to fitting them in place when you have the rubber mounted and the car fender is also still stock width/shape.....stock rims with larger tires is bother enough sometimes and requires the car body to be jacked to full extension of the shock for ample room..cutting out and installing centers and being able to ensure the wheels are true is quite the job..

Oh, the tires are the ones I was already running. The rims they are mounted on are 15x7 with a 3 inch backspace. Mounting them on the car is no problem at all, jack it up by the frame and it slides right on.

 

Will be waiting to see the finished wheels with tires actually mounted on the car.

What rear end did you install? 

i used an 8.8 from a Ranger. It's 3 inches shorter (total) than the stock rear end and I was running 1 1/2 spacers to bring it back to the stock width. Now with the new rims made to my measurements, I get to ditch the spacers and have that deep dish look. That's why I had to make my own. Custom backspaced wheels are a bit pricey, plus I wanted the stock centers for that "how'd you do that" look.

 

May I ask what brand the tires are? And the size?

They're "Grand Am" tires. I got them from my local dealer who carries several name brand tires. I think they are an offshoot of Cooper. 235/70/15 on the rears. I'll be buying a set of matching tires in a narrow size for the fronts and grind them to match.I was actually surprised how easy the grinding was to do. I used a "rust remover" wheel for my 4 inch grinder and had them both done in 30 minutes. I should be able to swing the tires this weekend so new pics soon I hope. Thanks guys.

 

 

Edit, they are Multi-Mile tires, found a link to ones like mine here...

 

http://www.tiresbyweb.com/p-8432-multi-mile-grand-am-radial-gts-tires.aspx

Edited by Smokeybear
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Well, I got them mounted, balanced and put on the car(the backs anyway, I'm still waiting on the front tires to get here). Here are the pictures I promised...

What size are the whitewalls? I clicked on the link you provided,and all it shows are white letter tires,not whitewalls.

 

Or is creating the whitewalls the grinding you were writing about? If so,how did you manage to spin the tires to get such a perfect circle? I thought that took a special machine made for that purpose that is made of Unobtanium these days.

Edited by knuckleharley
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Thanks for the info on the tires, however, I'm not familiar with "tire grinding". Got any info on that? Thanks.

There are two basic schools, one is to mount the tire on the back, jack up the car on jackstands, put it in reverse and grind it down as the tire rotates like this..

The other is to do it while the tire is off the car like this...

 

I prefer the second. Just because its easier for me to control the amount of rubber removed. I used a 4 1/2" grinder with a rust remover attachment like this..

grinder

 

What size are the whitewalls? I clicked on the link you provided,and all it shows are white letter tires,not whitewalls.

 

Or is creating the whitewalls the grinding you were writing about? If so,how did you manage to spin the tires to get such a perfect circle? I thought that took a special machine made for that purpose that is made of Unobtanium these days.

No special maching, The whitewall is under the black rubber of the outer wall. Just remove the black but don't go to far, it's black again under the white.

 

Smokey, do you still have the original steering or have you gone to R&P?

The drivetrain on my car is all original except the rear end, it's from a 88 ranger, It's about 3 inches shorter than the original rear end that's how I got the wheels so deep dished and still fit under in the original location. When my front tires come in I'll be running 155/80/15 BF Goodrich tires that I will grind just like I did the back. I'll be putting them on the original front wheels for the big and little look.

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I was curious to see if you put a wider tire on the front.......that is supposed to make the steering at low speeds a little more demanding....or so I've heard.

I have a 205/70/14 on the front now, it's not bad. I still have the original steering wheel too with a spinner knob.

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