Anyone know the widest rear tire/rim combo that will fit on a 73GS without rubbing with no modifications? Thanks Steve
I made it out to the offsite storage yesterday in order to do some measurements. As preparation I did built some sort of gage. That way I was able to simulate different tire sizes (width and diameter). To make a long story short: I am lucky in terms that the body sits aligned on the frame. 295/50-15 on 8" rims with 4.5" backspace (equals 0-offset) will physically fit w/o bodywork, I will have to modify the exhaust, though. What bothers me a bit, though is the german TÜV who will have to sign off on the new tire size in order to get the modifikation legalized. They are picky at times and might insist on bodywork, no matter what. Well I think I will give it a try, anyway. Any recommendations as to a good source to get 2 15x8 Buick rally rims? For now I have my eyes on a set from Cooker-Tires. It looks like they are very close in terms of look compared to my installed 15x7 which I will keep for the front. https://www.cokertire.com/wheels/buick-rallye-wheel.html Thanks for any opinions.
Steve, What you need to do is contact someone familiar with the 73 cars. The 2 guys I know of are Phil Roitman (we call him Mr. 73), and John Csordas, http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?members/philip-roitman.8447/ http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?members/skyhawk.378/ Phil has a 73 Racecar, and John used to. They can tell you the widest tire you can use without modifications. PM them.
Tks Larry. Actually, John will be working on my 73 (due partly to your recommendation) and he previously mentioned 15 x 8' s will fit no problem but since then, I've been wondering if I could go wider (15 x 10's) to accept 295/55/15's but I know he is busy and hate bothering him with every little question so I thought I would throw it to the forum...will ask him next time I speak to him.
Private Message him on V8, click on the link I provided, http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?members/skyhawk.378/ Click on the information tab, scroll down and click "Start a conversation"
Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback. Other than some scribbled sketches (metric, not imperial) I do not have documentation. It was one of this "Oh my god I gotta come up with something quick" activity. It is a one evening Q&D solution made from some leftover material lying around in my basement. Michael, if you are still interested I would be happy to send you what I got and some more pictures of the "tool".
Sure. If you can make some measurements of your "tooling" as well, I can have our draftsman make a set of drawings and I'll post them as a PDF. Vielen danke, Ralf!
I finally found the one and only inch tape measure in my possession and took some pictures. Beside of the bolt circle and the way the top piece is bolted onto the sliding piece (in order to get the 0-offset right) there is no need for following the dimensions I choose (as I used leftover material) really accurate. The boltcircle is 4.75", the holes for the bolts are 7/16, but I drilled them a little bigger for easier slide on. So here are the pictures:
Delivery Truck came yesterday Boy, those 295ers look fat. Can't wait to see them on the car. Has anyone an idea how to remove the blue protective layer on the letters?
My Buick is back in town First thing I needed to find out is how good the new shoes look, and how they fit. As it looks like I do not have to do any bodywork. The clearance to the exhaust is borderline 1/2 to 3/4, but I will give it a try and modify exhaust only if it comes to some rubbing while driving. In hindsight I realized that using my test tool I did set it to the wrong diameter (to big) . Thats why the previous pictures showed some collision in between exhaust and tool. Additionally my tool reflects a rather "square" shape of the tire. In reality the shape is different (also depending on the width of the wheel). Last one: Who finds the mistake?
Bingo, congratulations and your win is a glass of good german beer to be picked up in person in Schweinfurt, Germany. And here is the answer for all others who tried so hard: Left is still 245