Ouch... Wheels don't fit...

[BBC71Nova]

Note: I apologize this turned into a novel .

OK I think this might be alright. So that is great news. I totally set myself up for this. Since the beginning of the project I had been worried about getting wheels and just expected them to not fit. That plus all the other fitment issues lately and I was just a build hypochondriac .

I went back out last night and took a lot more measurements and took more time with it. Initially I was just eyeballing it. Here's what I found:

1. I had not completely raised the rearend back up to ride height on the side I was using. I had to lower it the other week to remove the tire. I raised it back up then to where it looked close. This meant the rearend was tilted. With the large diameter wheel, the top outer wheel lip was out some due to this. Leveled rearend at ride height like it was for initial measurements. This pulls the wheel lip away from the outer wheelhouse.

2. Initially I had just placed the wheels on the studs. This time I secured with the lugnuts because I had noticed the rotor wasn't seated all the way. So that had also pushed the wheel out a small amount.

3. Being used to the small diameter wheels and tires with a lot of bulge, I didn't consider initially the fact that the tire (12.4" section) when mounted on the wheel (12" total width) only sticks out past the rim <.25". As planned the wheel will be ~.5" closer to the outer wheelhouse. So what visually looked to me like a wheel way too far out to allow room for tire and clearance isn't actually that bad.

4. I remeasured the backspacing of both wheels. I expected some margin of error/variance from spec similar to my experience with other parts, e.g. axles and rearend. The VWW are absolutely perfect to spec at 5.125". Kudos to Eli and Rusty at VWW. Nice product and great service.

Since I had tires mounted on the Welds it was a little tougher to get good measurement when I checked weeks ago. I basically tried to find a straightedge to fit inside the tire bulges. I knowingly didn't get a good measurement with this and didn't sweat it because I knew what the wheel was *supposed* to be and I had thought measurement was from inner bead. That is, I incorrectly ASSummed it would/should measure larger than spec by roughly the width of the wheel lip which is ~3/8". After remeasuring last night I found the Weld wheel to actually be really close to spec and only off by 1/8". Seeing that was a fantastic feeling and gave me hope.

So with all of that I had gained 1/8" here and there which added up. Most importantly I thought about the low profile tire not requiring as much clearance.

After all this I can tell that ideally it would have another .25" of backspace. There's plenty of room on the inside with tightest point being roughly 1.125". On the other side there is >.5" of clearance between wheel lip and the interior surface of the outer wheelhouse. If the tire truly only sticks out .25" past the wheel edge then I should have .25" of clearance at all points throughout the vertical travel range. It could get tight as it articulates though. FWIW I used a plumb bob and straightedge to take these measurements.

SO... I think things are OK enough that I may go ahead and order tires soon and mount them up. In hindsight I wished I would've been more aggressive with cheating everything to the inside. You can always - within reason - add a wheel spacer to push it out but there is nothing much you can do to pull it in. Some wheels I guess you can mill the pad but not these probably.

I love the wheels. They are huge. Can't imagine a 12" or 13" wheel like some of you have clearance to run. I'll get some pics soon.

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

no matter what you did or where you did it, its done. Hope they can take it back. Most rim makers are ok as long as you didn't mount a tire on it.

That hasn't been my experience.

I've always been told, once your order a custom wheel, it's yours. Changes are made at buyers expense.

[BBC71Nova]

Here are some pics. As expected those 11" brakes are swallowed by those 18" wheels. Maybe one day the budget will allow me to upgrade to some big boy brakes .

This is ride height. I'm going back and forth about swapping out the G-link shock crossmember with a DSE like setup. That way I get another 1" lower and exhaust clearance.




Looking up showing outer wheelhouse to wheel lip.


Showing inner wheelhouse to wheel lip.

[Payton King]

That does suck. On the brighter side your car is not painted. Bulge those quarters a tad. Normally on a 69 Camaro you want about 3/4 an inch from tire bulge to lip. Not sure on a Nova.

I am digging those wheels

[IMPALA MAN]

I realize this issue involves the rear wheels. However, for any other people that get rims that end up being too wide, this will help on the front only. I ran into a similar issue that was my fault. My car happens to have the same uppers and lowers as a 2nd gen Camaro. I lucked out and knew that Heidts offers a set of narrowed uppers and lowers. They offer this for the 1st gen as well. I ebayed the other control arms and ordered the narrowed. It was cheaper than having the wheels re done.
Hope this helps.

[buickfunnycar.com]

Originally Posted by Payton King

Bulge those quarters a tad...

This would be my advice as well since Vintage won't take back those V40's...if you don't mind me asking,who said an 11" wheel would fit your Nova?

[rwhite692]

Hate to say it, but, you won't be OK with a wheel and tire package that wide, on a stock wheelwell. You have to have room for articulation of your axle which when it occurs is going to mean that the tire sidewalls are going to rub. ***EDIT: I see from reading your other thread that you have installed mini-tubs...I think if you have a problem, it will only be at the inside upper center portion of the outer wheelhouse, where it curves inward.

[Injected65]

Depending on the rear end style and particular brakes, you might look and see if there is anything that can be done to reduce the brake offset to narrow the flange to flange measurement of the rear end. That would help bring the wheels under the car a touch. I've done this on a 9" by custom making new caliper mounts and having the spacers on the strange axles cut down to move the axle inward.

Chris

[BBC71Nova]

I now think it is gonna be ok. Not ideal but ii don't think it will even run at full compression. I had a 13.1" combo stuffed up in there and it didn't much rub at full compression. This combo is narrower by over .25" per side.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

you might just have problems going into driveways. can you roll that outer lip more?