Drum Roll Please... Pics of my 67 Camaro on 18" Billet Rallyes...

[bigboi]

Well I finally got the car back in working condition - well sorta :)

Here are a couple pics of the car sitting on the new 18" Billet Rallye Wheels w/ BFG g-Force KDs. These pictures were taken at the Last Run Car Show in Arkansas City, KS.

I plan on bringing down the rear 2" and I need to massage the inner fenders on the front beause the front tires bottom out into the fenders...


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[gmjj13]

lookin good:cool:

what size tires r u running? i love the look of those rallyes in an 18, any side shots? later...

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

and we have a WINNER!

[MrQuick]

oh yeah, now thats the look that started the obsession. nice, can we get a side shot?

[chicane67]

Schweeeeet...

Now... if I could only get those in a 4.5" width for salt use.

[MrQuick]

"thats a pretty margarita glass you got there"...lol

[Project69]

Nice, did you get your headlights figured out also?

[bigboi]

Welp... I don't have a side shots - Sorry. The car is back in the shop and I'm going to pull out the rear leafs. Once I get the rear end lowered I will take a few side shot pics.

I got headlights in and they are working. I put a separate switch inside the car where so I can flip on/off the little blue light in the headlamp assembly. Looks pretty sweet when you are rolling through the car show parking lot at night. :)

Tires sizes are 275/40 and 245/40.

[jy211]

Looks good! :spank2:

Your rubbing in the front? What engine do you have in there? How'd you lower the front???

[bigboi]

Looks good! :spank2:

Your rubbing in the front? What engine do you have in there? How'd you lower the front???

Thanks.

Yes, the front tires rub on the fender wells. 396 Big Block. I used Heidt's 2" Drop Spindles. The springs are pretty soft so that doesn't help much with the rubbing.

Long term - I want to cut the inner fender wells and weld in some new metal so the lip of the fender is more straight up and down. This should eliminate the rubbing. I will probably put in some bump stops so if the car does bottom out, it will bottom out on the bump stops and not right into the fender.

Short term - I might throw another spring in the front and bring it up about an inch. Just so I can drive it for now.

[smittys69]

I saw your car and it looks nice - had mine there as well. I was wearing my PT shirt all day Saturday thinkin I might see another member but no one said anything. There were some real nice cars this weekend

[Smock67]

Those rims make that car mmmmmm.

[Blitz]

Probably my most favorite look of the Camaro. RS grill, black and plus size Rallyes. Damn.:twothumbs

[Patrick]

Nice!!!

[bigboi]

I saw your car and it looks nice - had mine there as well. I was wearing my PT shirt all day Saturday thinkin I might see another member but no one said anything. There were some real nice cars this weekend

Haha... That's too funny man. I actually saw you and was going to say something, but you were busy talking to one of my buddies. I was hanging out with the TPI boys and was wearing a Planet Color Paint T-Shirt. We were the bunch of guys at the booth where the red 67 Mustang was hanging off the back of the trailer. I was the big bald white guy.

Yeh, there were some nice cars there. I wish I could have cruised, but the problem with the front wheels rubbing the fenders stopped me from doing so. I will probably be in Haysville for the next show. If you are there come say Hi. I think the TPI trailer will be there again. Stop by and grab a cold beer. :cheers:

bigboi

[smittys69]

Yeah, I remember you. Are you employed by TPI? They appear to do some pretty nice work. Kinda of interesting about the custom 69 camaro's they are gonna start building. Understand that a few of the first ones are gonna have actual NASCAR engines in them and will be unveiled at the GM booth at SEMA? We'll definately check that out when we are there (you going?). If I understood the guy correctly, he said that they were going to build (50) camaros's between now and April????:hmm:

[O'Neall]

Now that I like!!!! Very cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lawrence]

Absolutely spot on. Sweet.

[bigboi]

Yeah, I remember you. Are you employed by TPI? They appear to do some pretty nice work. Kinda of interesting about the custom 69 camaro's they are gonna start building. Understand that a few of the first ones are gonna have actual NASCAR engines in them and will be unveiled at the GM booth at SEMA? We'll definately check that out when we are there (you going?). If I understood the guy correctly, he said that they were going to build (50) camaros's between now and April????:hmm:

I'm not employed by TPI. They have done some of the work on my car and I hang out at the shop once in a while with them. They are a good bunch of guys. If you are ever in Wichita, KS you should check out their shop. It's very clean and they do awesome work.

The first 69 they are building is in the shop now. Body, Frame, Suspension, Brakes, and a Mockup Engine are in the car. They will be building 50 69 Camaros for "Childers Racing". The Camaros will have Nascar engines rated at 700hp. Some will be detuned to 600hp - depends on the build. The engines are actualy engines that were used in Nascar races. The engines will go through an nspection/rebuild before going into the car. The first car will be auctioned off at Barrett Jackson. The actual "Series" of these Camaros will be called "Series 3". They will only produce 50 cars for this series.

Yes, one of the Camaros will be sitting in the GM Booth at SEMA. I would like to go, but I need to talk my Wife into going first. :) Not sure if they will complete 50 cars by April. I think it's going to a be a 2 year build time to complete all 50 cars.

I can tell you one thing. The Camaros are gonna be bad ass! :headbang:

bigboi

[SicMonte]

very very very nice car.......rims look amazing!!

[BonzoHansen]

Nice. Can't wait to see side shots. Where did you get those rims, and are 67 style center caps available?

[bigboi]

Looks good! :spank2:

Your rubbing in the front? What engine do you have in there? How'd you lower the front???

An update on the car. I initially had Heidt's 2" Drop Spindles on the front w/ factory coils. The car sat way too low and tires were rubbing on the outside.

I bought a new set of standard size coils for a big block and the car still sat too low and rubbed badly.

I had a couple choices... I could have cut out the inner fender wells and attempted to get clearance that way or massage the inner fenders so the tires wouldn't rub anymore.

I decided to remove the Heidt's spindles and put the stock spindles back on. It sits a little higher now but still looks "decent". Honestly I like the look of the tire tucking under the fender well but this is going to be hard to acomplish.

I'll post some pictures of the car soon with the new stance.

bigboi

[Abbott]

......... wow :hail:

[bigboi]

Nice. Can't wait to see side shots. Where did you get those rims, and are 67 style center caps available?

www.newstalgiawheel.com sells the wheel.
Wheel Vintiques out of Fresno, CA makes the wheel.

I think they offer different styles of caps. Derby, Short Derby, Smooth, Disc Brakes, etc...

Thanks for all the compliments! Depending on the weather I might take the car to another local show this weekend. I'll take some side shot pics. I'm not sure the stance will be 'exactly' where I want it, but it will have to work for now. In the winter when it gets cold I will work on it more.

bigboi

[Benoit23]

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[streetk14]

An update on the car. I initially had Heidt's 2" Drop Spindles on the front w/ factory coils. The car sat way too low and tires were rubbing on the outside.

I bought a new set of standard size coils for a big block and the car still sat too low and rubbed badly.

I had a couple choices... I could have cut out the inner fender wells and attempted to get clearance that way or massage the inner fenders so the tires wouldn't rub anymore.

I decided to remove the Heidt's spindles and put the stock spindles back on. It sits a little higher now but still looks "decent". Honestly I like the look of the tire tucking under the fender well but this is going to be hard to acomplish.

I'll post some pictures of the car soon with the new stance.

bigboi


I really like those wheels, and have considered getting a set for my '67. It gives the car a classic look with a modern twist. The only thing I don't like is that it hides the brakes, which kind of sucks if you have nice brakes. Car looks good.

About your tire rubbing problem, I might have a few ideas that may help. First, those drop splindles are bad news in my opinion. I think you were smart for removing them, but you still have a soft spring and aren't happy with the ride height.

I'd say use a firmer lowering spring (maybe Hotchkis) to get the ride height you want. This will improve handling, and the stiffer rate will help with the rubbing, even if the car is low. Also, what backspacing and width are the front wheels? I have a 255/40/17 in the front of my car on a 9.5" wheel. The tires rub my sway bar at full lock, but I have no rubbing issues under normal driving. Neither my inner or outer fenders have been modified for clearance.

Andy

[bigboi]

I really like those wheels, and have considered getting a set for my '67. It gives the car a classic look with a modern twist. The only thing I don't like is that it hides the brakes, which kind of sucks if you have nice brakes. Car looks good.

About your tire rubbing problem, I might have a few ideas that may help. First, those drop splindles are bad news in my opinion. I think you were smart for removing them, but you still have a soft spring and aren't happy with the ride height.

I'd say use a firmer lowering spring (maybe Hotchkis) to get the ride height you want. This will improve handling, and the stiffer rate will help with the rubbing, even if the car is low. Also, what backspacing and width are the front wheels? I have a 255/40/17 in the front of my car on a 9.5" wheel. The tires rub my sway bar at full lock, but I have no rubbing issues under normal driving. Neither my inner or outer fenders have been modified for clearance.

Andy

Front wheels are 18x9.5 w/ 5" BS. Right now with a "stock" set of bigblock springs the ride height is "ooohkay" but I am not completely satisfied. Quite honestly I don't think I will be satisfied until the tires tuck about 1/4" in the fenders. To acomplish this I know I will have to massage the fender wells or fab some new fender wells. I might try throwing some 1" drop springs up front. I have 2" drop springs sitting in a box, however I think those will drop it too low.

Do you have pics of your stance? Post them and PM me with them. I am interested to see how your ride looks...

bigboi

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

9.5 on stock fronts?.. whoa. i thought folks could only ft 8.5 at best.

no control arm upgrades or anything like that?.. just coils?

[streetk14]

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Here are a couple shots of mine. My ride height is adjustable all the way around (QA1 coilovers in front, HTH truckarm rear suspension), and I feel this is a good all around height. I could dump it, but that would just cause problems on the street.

As a side note, I don't think you have enough backspacing on your front wheels. I'm not sure where yours are rubbing, but I'd have to assume it's near the outer fender lip.

I think that a 9.5" wheel with a 5.5" backspace is ideal. You might want to PM Carl C, since I believe he was running this size wheel with a 275/40/17 on all 4 corners. This would bring the wheel in 1/2" and help with the rubbing problem. This does require tubular upper control arms, and I do know that Carl used some kind of steering stops to limit his turning radius.

You are trying to put a big wheel under the front of your car, and it is going to be a tight fit. I have a Wayne Due C5 front subframe, so I have a little more room than a typical 1st gen but I still lost some of my turning radius.

You are also running a taller overall tire than what I have. This fills up the wheel wells more and could be adding to the rubbing issue. Your 245/40/18 is a good amount taller than my 255/40/17. I'm not sure what most guys with 18's are running, but you may need to switch to a 35 series tire to keep the overall height in check.

Good luck and keep me posted,

Andy

[bigboi]

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Well... Quite honestly I am embarrassed of the above pictures because they are terrible pictures and the car was buffed right before the show and there are terrible swirl marks which you can probably see if you look closely. The swirl marks are gone now... But if you can image my frustration showing the car looking like this :crying: !!

Anyways... You can see the stance of the car from the pictures above. The front is sitting on new big block coils using stock spindles. It sits pretty damn well in the front. Any lower and I will be rubbing the tires on the outer fenders. I still need to work on the rear. I am going to remove the slapper bars and play with some lowering blocks to see how low I want to go before purchasing dropped leafs. I am going to start with 1" and see how it looks. If I think I need 2" I will try it.

I actually posted wrong about my wheels. I am using a 18x9.5 in the rear (275/40/18 Tire) and a 18x8 in the front (245/40/18 Tire). I went with 5.5" BS on the rear, but needed the wheel pushed out a little bit more so i'm running a 3/16 spacer. I went with 5" BS on the front. When I had the 2" dropped spindles the tires rubbed like hell on the outer tire and I couldn't lock out the turning because of inner rubbing.

In my honest opinion... The stance of your ride looks very good from an angle shot, but when viewed from a straight on side shot it looks a little too low in the rear. I am sure you have had it at different heights though because you can play with ride height - that must be awesome. :hail:

bigboi

[bigboi]

streetk14 - Not to get off topic on this thread... But do you have some pictures of your suspension (front and rear) ? Would like to see what it looks like. Not to mention... Your car looks bad ass! :cheers:

bigboi

[lower90xcab]

two great looking 1st gens right there...the stance on both is killer!!!!!

[streetk14]

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streetk14 - Not to get off topic on this thread... But do you have some pictures of your suspension (front and rear) ? Would like to see what it looks like. Not to mention... Your car looks bad ass! :cheers:

bigboi


Thanks, I do have some suspension shots. I agree that the car could use a little more rake, and the plan was to drop it a little in the front. My problem was that the front QA1 coilovers were set as low as possible with the 12" springs I have. I bought a set of 10" springs in a slightly firmer rate that will allow me to adjust it lower if I'd like, but have not installed them yet. FWIW, my front subframe just broke, but that's a different story. There is a thread on it in this forum.

I think your car looks great, and don't worry, I can't see the swirl marks in the pics. The 8" front wheels with a 5" backspace is a little more like it. That is about right, and you shouldn't have issues with the outer fender lip. Like you said, you might get a little rubbing when making tight turns (tire rubbing frame or sway bar), but that isn't really a big deal.

I think your problem is a relatively soft front spring combined with a taller tire than I have. Your 245/40/18 is almost an inch taller than my 255/40/17, which fills up the wheel wells more and gives your car a lower appearance.

I would suggest changing the springs to start. You could get something firmer that will reduce body roll and help with the rubbing. It's strange how low the car looks with stock big block springs. Most cars with stock springs sit a good amount higher than that. Are you sure that's what you have? That is about how the 2" drop Hotchkis springs sat on my '68.

Keep me posted on your progress if you make any changes.

Andy