This has been the most difficult decision of the entire project. I finally decided on a wheel and I made the purchase this evening. I went with the Bonspeed Huntington. I had planned all along to go 17X8F and 17X9.5R, but I got nervous about fitment at the last minute and I went with 17X7F and 17X8R. I plan on putting 235\45 and 255\45 BFGoodrich KDW tires on the rims. They quoted to me 6-8 weeks for the rims, we'll see. Here is a pic...

http://www.uswheel.com/bonspeed/images/wheels/Huntington-5.jpg

those should look great, just make sure to get some brakes to fill them out too

No idea on what color you're going with but they should look good. wheels make or break the look.

My wheels arrived today. 7 1/2 weeks...not bad. I will post some pics as soon as I can.

I used the KDW Traction T/A all black 245 x 16 on ET Team 3 wheels... 4.25 BS. Did not seem to matter which 245 I used,, the still rubbed the headlamp motor covers on tight turn and bump. Went back to 235 series. Nice wheels.

i like the wheels also very nice post some pics of the on the car

We need some GOOD pictures! Great wheel choise.

what brakes do you have? like to see some pics also.

Steve, I was looking at your restoration and it looks great. Did you install the fatman sub or did your body man do it. I was thinking of going with them but really haven't heard any feedback on ease of installation.

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I have checked in here. The restoration has slowed down tremendously...basically because I ran out of $$$ :-(. I read all of the stories about how much shop restos cost but I still thought I could get in under budget...WRONG.

We have just begun the resto back up this week. I will be ordering my tires through Tire Rack tomorrow. I'm still going with the BF Goodrich 255/45, 235/45


As far as pictures, I need to update the site this weekend. BTW, I'm still very happy with my wheel choice even though I haven't seen them on the car.

As far as Brakes, I went with the Baer setup. Even though I haven't driven the car...I'm happy with the subframe so far. The shop put it in, but there was nothing to it and I'm sure you could do it yourself. I called the guys at Fatman a couple times while researching backspacing and they were pretty easy to work with. I have read over on the pro-touring sites where some of those guys don't like Fatman. Everyone in the hot rodding world that I've talked to loves them. I'll be able to tell you more in a couple months.

Yeah... to run those wheels you must have nice brakes behind them

What bs did you go with front and rear. Very nice choice in wheels.

Here is the first look at the new wheels and tires. I couldn't resist throwing two of them on for a quick look. As you can see I forgot to put the center cap on the front. The car is still a work in progress so the stance is still 3" too high in the rear among many other things you'll find incorrect in the picture. Also, I took this with my cell phone so the quality is not that good. I'll have better pictures in about a week or so.



http://www.jonesgarage.com/wheel3.jpg

Looking great!!! How much did those wheels run you?

Those are sweet wheels! Where did you order them from?

I got them through Matt's Classic Bowties. I looked all around and at the time I ordered them...he gave me the best deal that I could find. He was $50 a wheel cheaper than most.

I paid $1480 for the set. That included shipping to Indiana.

This has been the most difficult decision of the entire project. I finally decided on a wheel and I made the purchase this evening. I went with the Bonspeed Huntington. I had planned all along to go 17X8F and 17X9.5R, but I got nervous about fitment at the last minute and I went with 17X7F and 17X8R. I plan on putting 235\45 and 255\45 BFGoodrich KDW tires on the rims. They quoted to me 6-8 weeks for the rims, we'll see. Here is a pic...

http://www.uswheel.com/bonspeed/images/wheels/Huntington-5.jpg
After fitting your wheel/tire combo, would you have been safe to go with the bigger ones?

vfam3,

I could have (and should have) gone bigger in the rear. I know that most people will think the car looks good but I will always know that I should have gone bigger.

In the front, I'm really tight now, I don't think I could handle much more under there.

Also, I went with the 17" rim and Baer 13" brake in the front. I had to go with the flush mount valve stems and the stem still just bareley clears the caliper (by maybe 3/16")

We finished up a lot this evening and are showing the car tomorrow as a work in progress advertisement for the shop that did the work. I should have some nice pictures of the car with the DSE rear 3" drop leafs and how the tires and rims look.

Great wheel choice. Nice to see another pro-touring 69 Camaro in Southern Indiana. Regarding your wheel size, I run 17 X 8 wheels all the way around with the same tire sizes. I also run Baer brakes and DSE 3" drop springs in the rear. I don't know if you have ever seen a 17 X 91/2 wheel on the back of a 69, but its tight. 17 X 8 is a good size to run in the rear & it looks fine with a 255 tire. Good luck with the rest of you build, hope to see you around Indiana. I live in New Albany by the way.

Brian

Nice wheels. Definitely something different on a camaro, to me anyways.

Your car looks killer bro. Thanks for getting back to me.

Here is the first look at the new wheels and tires. I couldn't resist throwing two of them on for a quick look. As you can see I forgot to put the center cap on the front. The car is still a work in progress so the stance is still 3" too high in the rear among many other things you'll find incorrect in the picture. Also, I took this with my cell phone so the quality is not that good. I'll have better pictures in about a week or so.



http://www.jonesgarage.com/wheel3.jpg

Very cool, I have to ask about your front end. That's got to be about a 5" drop over stock, how are you achieving the drop? I have Hotchkis 2" drop springs (see pic in sig) and for street driving can't imagine less ground clearence. I think the front looks awesome if you can make it work on the street.

I'm also running 255/45 and 235/45 tires but on 9.5" and 8" wide 17's. It's a good balance for cornering, if you went with 275s in the back you would want 245's up front... As low as your front is I don't think you would have gotten wider tires up there. I wouldn't even try the 275s on your 8" wide wheels. Notice the difference in how the 255 tire looks on 8 and 9.5" wide wheels.

I have to say, I really like those wheels and can't wait to see more shots of your car with the rear end down where it belongs... :beers:

Are those really 255's out back? For some reason they look narrower than mine, more like a 245 (I have 255/50 KDWS on my '67).

BTW, I do agree with everyone else, that's avery cool wheel.

JD

Dennis,

I still remember the day you posted pics of your car with the new wheels! That was one of the factors that led me to where I am today. Thanks! Oh, my wife says thanks too! (Not)

The wheel choice was the hardest of the entire build for me. I really wish that more cars in this area were running 17’s so I could borrow and do some testing, unfortunately there aren’t very many. It was a tough choice, but at the last minute I got conservative and went with a combination that I knew would work.

As far as the drop…you can read about my subframe here…http://www.fatmanfab.com/07page23.htm. This allows me the extra clearance. I know that many hard core pro touring guys don’t like Fatman, but I’m happy so far (I’m not a hard core PT guy). You are correct about the drivability of the car the way it sits today. I measured the clearance at the subframe today and it was 5 inches, but only 3.5 at the bell housing. Before I take the car out on the road I will adjust the front suspension up to make it drivable.

We installed the 3” drop leafs on the rear and it only dropped the car ¾” of an inch from where my 4 leaf springs had the car. This was unexpected to me and I’m still up in the air on what the final fix will be. Keep in mind that the gas tank is empty, no interior, bumper, etc. What are your thoughts here?

John,

They are 235/45 on front and 255/45 on the rear. I also went with the KDWS. I agree in the picture…they do look smaller.

Brian,

I’m from Evansville.


I know that some of this content probably doesn’t belong in the wheel section…just trying to answer questions 

To get back on track here is a decent picture of the wheels on the car (with brakes). I also added some pics to my site that you can see in my sig.


http://www.jonesgarage.com/photogallery/show3.jpg

Lack of weight isn't going to make that much difference, if it did you couldn't carry anyone in the back seat. Check your shackles, they should hang straight down with the weight of the car on the suspension. They also could be too long... Get that rearend down some, you have a winning combo.

The car looks great(I just looked at your pictures). The rear does look a little high. I have Hotchkis 2" drop springs with DSE upper & lower a-arms, so I'm about the same height as you in the front. When we put the DSE 3" drop leafs on mine it really brought the rear of mine down. I have a very slight rake towards the front. A picture of mine can be seen on Billet Specialties web site under "news", I'm car #8 so you can compare. It was taken at Good-guys in Columbus this summer. Your car is going to look great when finished. By the way I'm also running a Tremec TKO. Probably the best upgrade we did.

Brian

Sweet!!