basset wheels for 1970 firebird?

[ranger91849]

would anyone have suggestions on this idea? i am nearing the end of resto on my 1970 firebird and would like to have a hint of 60's trans am racing look. i like the look of basset race wheels with an 8 inch dish 4 inch backspace. i think i could safely use these without getting bumps and rubs on the fenders?? i had the car since new but haven't experimented with different wheels. any suggestions or comments would be helpful. also a company on the internet called treadware makes tire decals that mount on the sidewalls that make tires look like the T/a goodyears of the era.

[howehot]

I had Bassett wheels on my 84 Monte Carlo for many years. Excellent quality wheel. I used a large cone lug to make up for the 1/2" lug and slid in center caps.

[M.Rad.]

I'm also still trying to decide whether to get 17 or 18" aluminum wheels or go with 15" D-hole steelies. I never thought it would be so hard ( but then I never had enough money to contemplate fancy wheels...).

I know that with larger dia. wheels and lower profile tire, steering response is supposed to be somewhat sharper. But ( for a high perf. street car-no track ) is the difference really that noticeable?

M.R.

[BonzoHansen]

Quality 15s are hard to come by.

[shortrack]

D hole steelies were never used in Trans Am to any extent back in the day. The Nascar "Grand American" series did use them however, which was a Pony Car series. Trans Am used either Minilites or Grey spoke American Racings. just sayin'

[MonzaRacer]

Biggest issue I have is trying to find decent price 15 in tires wheels are cheaper, but tires are more diverse in size and harder to locate. 17s and 18s are higher in quantity, but tires are higher in price also and since lots of changes in UTQG parameters the numbers actually became more ambiguous.
I cant find all 4 tires in UTQG 200 or higher in both sizes, ones under ones over.
What would be nice would be the autocross and road course allowances be subtly tweaked. Like average tires ratings this would let me use slightly stickier tires in front as my sizes all come in lower UTQG numbers and back tires come in higher numbers. As long as tires average 800 per car your good to go as mixed tire ratings with max in high numbers would still keep things fair.
See I can find 180 UTQG number front tires easier than higher ratings, letting me use slightly higher numbers in back to keep total above 800 or better would help as tires I like and sizes in back tend to be little higher.
I hate mixing tire brands or tread patterns but a 215-40-17 is hard tire to find a match in 255-50-17.
My new 66 Caprice can swallow probably 9.5-10 in rim easy, and most likely will get 17s or 18s. Had even thought about figuring out how to swap on a set of Impala SS rims but widen rear out to ZR1 17 in specs or keep same size all around. Besides BBC will need some traction.
I have been thinking on steelies, just cant find larger sizes I want in offset I need.