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Odd combo

1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  apbtrock 
#1 ·
Time to give my loaner 16'' rims back, and buy a pair I can actually clear the front discs with (all 15'' rub the caliper).

I've been searching the forums up and down for two days, and I cannot find a single definitive answer with my odd combination setup.

I'm not extremely rich, so I'm trying to just get something that looks and performs well, name-brand doesn't matter, so long as it gets on the road/down the track.

For rims, I have found these:

Front: 17x8 4.5'' bs.

Rear: 17x9 +45 mm offset (6.77" bs).

Tires:

Fronts will probably be cheap 225/45/17's.

Rears I'd like to run a good set of drag radials, if they are worth it.

These are what I've come up, that appear to work. Which would you run, and why?

Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial 275/40/17


BFGoodrich G-Force T/A Drag Radial 275/40/17


Hoosier Drag Radials 275/40/17

Goodyear Eagle SS Drag Radials 275/40/17

Seems 275/40/17 is by far the most popular, but I've also found a set of 245/45/17 if 275/40's aren't fitting under there.

Nitto NT-555R 245/45/17 drag radials

Will 275/40/17 even fit under a stock wheel house on a 67 camaro with mono leafs? I'm willing to cut/roll fender lip if need be, but mini tubs and etc are not an option right now. I have not bought/mounted/thought about shocks yet. I have Jegs slapper bars with shock mounts on them, but if need be, I will not use them and move the shocks inboard as far as needed. So my slapper bars/springs will probably be the first area of contact with the wheels? Springs are in stock location. Will be street/strip driven, no rear passengers and only a battery in the trunk.

I'm concerned with the odd backspacing on the rims. Looking at their website photo gallery, I see some 1st gens with the 8''/9'' setup, which appear fine. I'd assume it will work by the pics, but I'd like to be 100%. I have 4-wheel discs, if it matters. Front is non-original, but is regular gm-parts. Rear is also non-original, gm-parts, but the rear end has been shortened to the same overall brake length as on the stock 10 bolt drum setup if I remember correctly. Funds ran out, and the car has been sitting for some time, I plan on double checking rear-ends measurements tomarrow. Car is now immobile, and I have just enough to set the funds back to 0 but with these wheels and tires. I've flirted with buying cheap rear tires for now, but I'd rather spend an extra 2-300 now, instead of 4 later, after I've already paid 200 for the regular radials. Car is mostly street driven, but I believe drag radials with the 383, 2500 stall, and 3.89's will really work well at the track. Are drag radials really worth it, how much of an ET would you expect me to cut off using them, over cheap radials?

My main purpose has always been a well-performing, "cheap" street/strip "rat rod". I started the project over 5 years ago, when I was about 13 and started making enough money to make it a reality. I've bought every single part excluding a gas pedal and ball-joints for presents, and had my hands on every single repair on the car since then. I'll be 19 in a few weeks, and it's time to get this car out of the garage. Getting pretty close, only major repairs are upgrading to a 3rd gen steering box after my original unit locked up over the winter. It was junk anyways. Money is pretty tight, but I've decided to try and get over the final push so I can at least drive it this summer and hit the bodywork hard this winter.

If you were in my situation, what would you do? Which rims and tires would you chose to work with the car and my intents? Will those rims even FIT? Drag Radials worth the extra cash? Any other suggestions?

Thank god for Ebay, classifieds, and this forum, or I'd never get anything done!:hurray:
 
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#3 ·
Thank you for your input. That was my original thought as well, but they clearly show them on 1st gens. I'll make a call to the company early next week to find out more. Have to make some sort of nifty measurement tool I've seen on the forum digging through old posts and see if it's even remotely possible without spacers (don't want to go that route).

Thanks :)
 
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