Second New Wheel

Got the other front wheel and tire mounted at Pep Boys today and with that installed on the car, The Chief came down off the jacks. I then took the two wheels and tires what had been on the front with spacers, and put them on the back. No spacers needed there, but won't be able to "rotate" the tires. As far as I'm concerned, that's not really a problem. And I can keep a spare with a spacer in the trunk for use on either front or rear.

Putting the rear tires on was a problem, just like it was on the '58 Cad. The tires don't want to go up in the wheel wells past the drums, but once the sidewall clears the drum, everything fits. Even the skirts fit with the new tires but I found that I may actually prefer the skirts off instead.

Here are some pictures...

First New Wheel

It's Sunday and my favorite tire shop is closed, but I wanted to get at least one new wheel and tire mounted up. So I decided to try my luck at Pep Boys on Lankershim. Honestly, I think it was a very decent experience. While I've always felt that the boys at my usual shop are the only ones I'd trust with odd wheels like a '70s Eldorado, I figured these are very standard truck wheels, so there should be no problem. They were friendly, had no problem doing a mount and balance as a walk-in, and did a nice job of washing up the blue protectant... unlike my old regular shop. They charged me around $20 which is a bit higher than my usual place but not by much. And the wait seemed a bit longish, but was still reasonable since it was fairly busy. I was home in about an hour. Overall no complaints. They asked if I wanted the clip-on or stick-on weights before doing the balance, which was nice. I like the clip-on ones. I noticed there were weights on both the inner and outer wheel lip, so it would appear they did a thorough balance.

I got the wheel mounted on the car and the cover on without issue. The new Cragar lug nuts seem *much* better than the ones I had gotten earlier (at Pep Boys). Wheel cover fits nice and snug and with it in place it doesn't look like I have truck wheels on a car. Except for the fact that these wheels are black where the factory wheels were argent, I think it looks very stock.

No spacers needed! Looks like plenty of clearance. 

A bit ugly without a cover, but nice powdercoat black protection.

The cover fits perfectly.

Interesting difference in stance.
The passenger side wheel has a spacer, but
still doesn't come out as far to the fender. 

Steering Tweak Continues

Second new wheel came Thursday and today I put one wheel and one tire into the back end of the Volt to take somewhere for mounting tomorrow. Sunday my regular place is closed, but may be Pep Boys can handle it.

Meanwhile I have the steering rack and cradle all bolted back in. The driver's side has a lot of shims... I think I may consider making a set of spacers that would be more... what? Reliable? Stable? Permanent? Maybe. For now, I haven't decided for sure that this arrangement is staying. So, maybe after it is aligned again and I see if it performs the way I want it to, I'll consider improvements.

I also need to clamp the power steering hoses to keep them clear of the exhaust manifold on the driver's side. I ordered some 1/2" Rubber Cushioned Loop Clamps from Amazon and those will come early next week. Since I'll have to get both new tires mounted to both new wheels before I can do any driving anyway, I guess there's no hurry.

Wheel Find!

Hey! I found a wheel that works! This is a Cragar 3975750 - Cragar Black Soft 8 397 Series Wheel. Scarebird says their kit requires 1972-85 GM 1/2 ton truck or equivalent rims, usually 15 x 7". I've been trying to reconstruct how I found this wheel and I think I found it at Discount Tire by searching on a "1985 CHEVROLET K-BLAZER 235/75R15 2WD". Once I had a part with specs, I went over to Jegs and looked it up.

They will accept the stock deluxe wheel covers but NOT the poverty hubcaps that I don't have. It's OK, I think if I didn't have the deluxe covers I'd get something in chrome and call it good.

I've ordered a second wheel so I'll have two for the front. I'll try using the other two previously mounted tires on the back. Maybe eventually I'll get 4 + spare as a full set.

Meanwhile I've started putting the steering rack cradle back together. I need a big wrought washer for one bolt on the left side. I had to use spacers to take up the slop of shifting the cradle to the right. Just by eye, the cradle looks much closer to level now. I think I'll be happier.

Wheel Spacers

Awhile back I had to put spacers on the front wheels to clear the calipers after I found that they were banging on the inside edges of the wheel once I got the car's weight on them. I'm using BilletSpecialties WSG5L375. But while I've never liked the idea of spacers, I can't seem to find an alternative. If I buy a wheel with an offset that loads the bearing to one side, it has the same negative effect as the spacer. It does reduce the possibility of putting strain on the lugs and potential loosening, but Locktite would pretty much fix that too.

I'm also frustrated with wheel sales web site that have crappy fitment guides. The rotors for this car come from a 1995-99 Chevy WT1500 (same as C1500?) and when you can find either a C1500 or a WT1500 listed, they seem to insist there is nothing smaller than a 16" rim available. Not going to work with my new 15" tires. I found a used stock steel wheel on eBay... for $65 plus $30 for shipping. Not! I'm not even sure the wheel will work since the rotor is for that vehicle but the caliper is for a 1969-78 Eldorado. Not going to bother even thinking about Eldo wheels. (Even though I have a pair.)

I suppose if there were any serious interest, I could find a shop that sells wheels and ask them to come up with something that would work. But that would pretty much mean I'd have to use custom mag-type wheels. A classic Cragar would be OK with me, but I really just like the stock deluxe hubcaps.

260-3975750

Soft 8 397 Series Wheel Size: 15'' x 7'' Bolt Circle: 5 x 5'' Rear Spacing: 4'' Offset: 0mm View this item

$51.99  Ships 01/09/12

False Start

I was going to go over to Tyerman's for an alignment today, but when I pulled the car out of the driveway and began driving, I heard some strange klunking noises from the front wheels, particularly when braking. OK, I know what that is... these calipers are just not fitting inside the wheels properly. I had tried grinding on the calipers a bit and they cleared when I was turning the wheels by hand, but now with the weight of the car and pressure applied to the caliper, it's banging into the four tabs of the wheel center where they attach to the rim.

The good news is I had already ordered a set of spacers from Summit Racing and they've been sitting here waiting for a need to arise. I originally planned them for the '49er. Made by BilletSpecialties they are part number WSG5L375. You guessed it: Wheel Spacer, 5 lug, .375 thick. Done. But now it's 3 PM and I don't feel like trying to get over to Tyerman's this late in the day. I roll up the sidewalk out front at 5 PM. ;-) Another day!

But now that I have it back up on jacks to do the spacers, I got to thinking I wanted to re-visit the steering wheel to rack linkage again. It's not as smooth as it should be which tells me at least one of the joints is being angled too hard. I want to see if I can remedy that. I tore it apart and reworked it. Much smoother now. [Rerouted the starter cable as well.]

New Wheel

Today was a nice day and a trip to the local wrecking yard seemed like a fine thing to do. I needed one more wheel since one of the four '70's Buick wheels had gotten damaged. I had to hit the ATM to get some cash first, then paid my $2 to gain entry to the yard. I had my big bucket with tools in it along so I could remove the wheel and maybe some other small parts if I found something interesting. Within a few minutes I found a '76 Cadillac which had all four wheels removed and laying nearby. I looked at the two fronts, deciding I'd like to get those two so I had one wheel as a spare. Both tires were flat and shot. I walked to the front of the yard to see if I could find a cart or wheelbarrow, but someone was walking off with the last one just then. So I walked back and grabbed one wheel and tire, and manhandled it with my tool bucket to the checkout windows. It seemed several other folks had wheels/tires in line too. It took forever to get through the line, and when I got to the window, I found out why... If you want a wheel AND a tire, you have to pay for both even if the tire is shot, as was the case with my prize. He said something like $20... EACH! Further inquiry on how to buy just the wheel I needed proved a little frustrating, since he did a poor job of explaining, which is why everyone with wheels and tires in front of me in line had taken so long.

Turns out to be a little scam. To avoid paying $20 for a worthless tire I would have to pay $3.50 in cash, in advance at this window to get a ticket to get the tire breaker station at the yard to remove the tire for me. Then I would have to come back to the window to pay for the wheel, which I think he said was going to be around $20 also. Well, if I took the tire home, I'd just have to pay a disposal fee at the tire dealer, probably about $5, so I'm money ahead... except the $2 I paid to enter the yard makes me $0.50 behind. Then too I gotta lug this heavy buggar over to the breaker and back with my tools. Up to this point I was thinking I would buy the one and take it to my truck, then go get the second... that idea died about here. Wait in line at the breaker, then go back... with just the wheel and tools so the load is lighter now... and stand in line at the window again. Then lug it to the gate and have someone smear red ink pen on the wheel and the receipt, then lug it out to my truck. I was done for the day after that.

The good thing is, I fit the wheel to the front rotor and it fits without scraping anywhere. I compared it to one of the Buick rims and it looks identical. All I lack now is a spare and I think I'll just order a chrome smoothie and get it delivered. Phooey. I think they run about $30 and when you figure the time and hassle, I think I'd pay double that to avoid the wrecking yard experience again.

You know, yards are great. I enjoy the self service ones for small parts I can manage myself. This is the first (and last) time I tried to get large, heavy items myself and I think it is definitely worthwhile to go to a full service yard or order online for those items.