I am looking at the vintage 40 series. How is the quality? How is the company to deal with, etc?

Thanks,

I have the V45's - 16" and like them. The company is top notch to work with. One of my rims had the tiniest scratch and they drop shipped another ( they're offer ) and picked up the other one at no cost. They even offered to ship me 4 new ones and I could choose the best of the bunch. Are you sure you want the 40's as there may be caliper fitment issues, I believe?

I've got the V45's 16x8 on my 68 and they look great. I haven't been able to drive the car yet so I can't say too much about that, but they do fit with my discs on all 4 corners.

The quality just gets better and better, and Rusty recently has changed the way the wheels are made/cast which actaully makes them much denser/stronger. Not like they needed it, as they were twice as strong as anoyone elses effort (American Racing, etc...), in that style of wheel. The 16's are still one piece cast, while the 17's and larger are a two piece.

Rusty is a stand up guy in my book. I have been dealing with Rusty for over 14 years and he has ALWAYS gone over the top to solve any issues that arose......which in my experience has been very, very few.

There are a few people on this board that are running his wheels (and most of us have put them through the ringer in actaully road racing them) and I am sure that we all pretty much share the same opinion. Its the strongest wheel for the money and they look damn good on our cars.

The brake comment by Rick is an excellent point. The center on the 40 is different than that of the 45, and there may be some fitment issues depending on your combination of wheel and brake. Please post what you are going to be running so that we may be able to answer those questions before hand.

You can also call and talk to Rusty to ask him the same questions and get his input. I will however tell you, that he will give you a straight answer but will not elude to that you can fit more brake into the wheel. I was pretty much the first to fit a PBR 13" system into the 45 series wheel years back, but the 40 does have some limitations conerning this. There are some up close pictures of the PBR type 13" brakes in a 16" 45 wheel on my site, provided in the link below. As you will see, there isnt much room to fit any more in his wheels.

In closing, feed us some more info on what you tend to run and we will be able to give you the skinny on fitment concerning the 40.

Thanks for the replys. As always Chicane, you go the extra mile to inform us to the fullest of you knowledge on every question that you answer. I'm sure I speak for others including myself....Thank You!

The brake combo I plan on running is the normal for first gens. I will be running the Baer 13" front and 12" rear (Track for front, touring for rear). I plan on running 17" rims. I like the v40 and v45. There isn't alot of difference, so if the v40's have fitment problems and the v45 doesn't...its an easy decision. The v45 looks like the torque thrusts to me and for less money (awesome).

question: where is the valve stem located on the two piece 17" v45 rim?

Thanks as always,

Thanks for the kind words. I try to pass on what I know, so that you/anyone will have enough information to base a solid consideration on. I myself grew tired years ago of recommendations that didnt add up, because there wasnt enough information for me to have an intelligent conversation with someone on a given subject. That and ya' gotta hook up your homies.....

Ok, a 17 x 8 w/4.5 for the front and a 17 x 9.5 w/5.5 will work just fine. They will also fit the 13/12" brakes without a problem and/or the use of any wheel spacers.

I think the valve stem is in the back half of the wheel, meaning its behind the spoke line. But I would call and talk to Rusty before/while you were making your order to confirm his idea of proper fitment/size and brake clearence. This will just concrete the answers to your questions.

I am also under the impression that both the 40 and the 45, in the noted 17" sizes, will fit the car and the brakes you are going to run. But there is something that still makes me question the fitment of the 40 on the front end only with the back spacing available and the brakes in question. I dont remember the conversation I had with Rusty just a month or so ago concerning this very issue.....as we are trying to fit a 17 x 9.5 on the front of the first gen platform with a custom offest. I remember that his comment, the one that makes me question all of this, is that the spokes on the 40 being straight....kinda make the center cap stick out farther than with the 45 and he said that he didnt like the way the rim was set up like that. Like I said, get his input.....as he wont steer you in the wrong direction.

:cool:

I'm diggin' 'em. There's pics on my website of the V45's, and that's my red '68 on their website.

Thanks for the info. What center caps are you using?

Here's my 68 with their V45 16x8 rims. The center caps are the ones that come with the rims. They also come with the lug nuts.
http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/jeffhansbury@comcast.net/JL8/68LT1-2.jpg

I have 15" Cragar SST's on my 68rs right now that have been on for over 20 years. They're in great shape, but I'm tired graemlins/boring.gif of them. My first choice was these Cragar SS 16 x 8 (http://store4.yimg.com/I/wheelsmarket_1770_13624410) , but I like the Vintage wheel works look too. How do you guys think they would look with a black Camaro?

Mike

My 67 is black......and I personally like them on an all black car.

Originally posted by chicane67:
My 67 is black......and I personally like them on an all black car. Chicane,
How about emailing me or posting a picture?

Thanks!
Mike