Update on my rusty firebird

[geberhard]

Awesome info thanks! If you get a chance and could take some profile (i.e. rear shots) or even a bottom up straight shot or shot of a ruler across up that woudl be a huge help! I am running Boss wheels 9.5 in the rear, but they are very much on the edge with the 275's even rolled up so a bit of room but not too much room for more drop. That is with the stock bird rear wich I believe is about .5 inch or so wider than a Camaro rear from what I heard?

Thanks again!

Gui

[67rstbkt]

Originally Posted by geberhard

Awesome info thanks! If you get a chance and could take some profile (i.e. rear shots) or even a bottom up straight shot or shot of a ruler across up that woudl be a huge help! I am running Boss wheels 9.5 in the rear, but they are very much on the edge with the 275's even rolled up so a bit of room but not too much room for more drop. That is with the stock bird rear wich I believe is about .5 inch or so wider than a Camaro rear from what I heard?

Thanks again!

Gui

I've heard the same, problem is that I have no idea if the rear I have is original or not. I'm building a 9" for it, so I'm using what's in there as a base for measuring and cutting the other rear end. I'm planning on going 1/4" shorter on each end of my 9".

I measured with a straight edge from the outer edges of the rear wheels and came up with 1.25" on the inside and .75 on the outside. Of course, there will be variances due to where you take the measurement on the inside and because I cut and rolled the outer lip. I'll take some pictures for you, but I'm not sure how much it will help.

[67rstbkt]

Originally Posted by geberhard

They look great I dig the wheels big time! I was really thinking of the yearone ones but these look clean! do you remember whathe BS is on them? Any side profile shot to see clearance in the back? Will they clear the rear fender with i.e. 275's on?

Thanks and the bird is coming sweet!!

Gui

Hope you do not mind just photo"chopped" them on my project bird

Looks Great!!

[67rstbkt]

A little measuring on the C5 brakes question, thought this might be useful for others looking at doing the same:

To Recap- the front wheels are 18x8 with 4.5 backspacing and 1mm offset

I printed out the C5/C6 template on the Kore 3 website and took some pictures today. The total distance across the inside of the wheel is 16 inches, so the 12.8" rotors and calipers should fit fine. The protrusion of the caliper looks really close, but I believe it will fit. I will know for sure once I get everything, but at least this gives an idea. The only concern I see is at the point where the caliper gets close to the hub. The template has something there, but it's not the caliper (PAB??). Here are the pics, hope it helps:

[67rstbkt]

Originally Posted by geberhard

Awesome info thanks! If you get a chance and could take some profile (i.e. rear shots) or even a bottom up straight shot or shot of a ruler across up that woudl be a huge help! I am running Boss wheels 9.5 in the rear, but they are very much on the edge with the 275's even rolled up so a bit of room but not too much room for more drop. That is with the stock bird rear wich I believe is about .5 inch or so wider than a Camaro rear from what I heard?

Thanks again!

Gui

I completely forgot to take pictures, sorry. I removed the rear end this weekend so I can narrow the other setup. Will the stock size rear-end length help you any (to compare to yours)? I took a measurement to the outside of each axle flange, drum brakes and backing plates removed, and I am at 60 inches. With the 18x9 and 5.25 backspace, I would be on that edge if I had not rolled back the metal underneath. I'm actually going to see if I can cut the new rear end about 1/4" extra on each side to move the wheels in just a hair. Like I said in a previous post, with my 18x9, I had a little more room to the inside when compared to the outside. If there's any other measurements I can take for you, let me know.

[67rstbkt]

Here's just a little update, rear end is out and set up next to the new 9:

[67rstbkt]

Well, started on the narrowing process and I could use some advice here. This is the first time I've done this; I've measured a bunch of times and have the length where it needs to be. The main issues I ran into is that the new ends do not seem to line up that great with the axle tubes. They are off a little bit, almost like the housing tubes are a bit out of alignment.

As it sits right now, the new ends are lined up with the alignment slugs in the center chunk, so basically the rod going through the 4 slugs is straight while the new ends are tacked on slightly off. Is it ok to weld them on like this?

I assume the axles being centered to the carrier is the most important thing?

Thanks

Here are a few pics:

[geberhard]

Hi was the rear end a truck or car 9 inch originally?

[67rstbkt]

Originally Posted by geberhard

Hi was the rear end a truck or car 9 inch originally?

I believe it was a truck rear end

[67rstbkt]

I got the assembly mocked with the 4 link and tacked on the upper brackets. I'm planning on having a friend weld it solid for me tonight. I don't have the skill or correct setup to feel good about welding together such a critical component.

I went a little bit narrower than I needed on the rear end to try and center the tires in the wheelwell just a bit. I figured it's easier to adjust out just a little bit with wheel spacers to get them just perfect; at least I hope it is. More pics soon.