should i lower my 71 chevelle before buying wheels?

[jilge71]

im going to buy budnik ice wheels for the chevelle but i didnt know if i should lower the car before i do. i have a stock width rearend and stock front but im replacing the front with tubular upper and lower control arms . any size recomendations.width i mean. 18's up front and 20's in the rear. and if so what backspacing? thanks joe

[Nine Ball]

This is the wheel sizing I have on my '70:

Wheels:
Front: 18x8 with 4.0" backspacing
Rear: 18x10 with 5.5" backspacing

Tires
Front: 245/40-18
Rear: 295/35-18

[PRRC]

I will agree 20x10 with a 5.50 B/S 18x8 I would go 4.5 B/S But a 4 work work fine as well.
Tim

[67velle]

lowered with eibach 18/8 18/10 budnik icehttps://www.pro-touring.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=21138&stc=1&d=1199931448

[jilge71]

will i have to do any mod to the fender lip or wheel house...not a prob if i do. should i lower it first?...nice rides nineball

[jilge71]

thats clean...im going two tone black on top and charcoal on bottom with a fine red pin stripe. nice ride. love the early chevelles

[67velle]

no mods for me ............lowered it first ..called tim at prrc he helped me get the right back spacing:naughty:

[67velle]

plan on a long wait for your wheels!!!!!!!!!!!!!:crying:

[jilge71]

k thanks for the info and heads up.

[Boesch]

I would lower the car first. It allows you to get accurate measurements on clearance for the tires. The lower you go the tighter things get. Determine how low you want to go and then order wheels that will fit in the space you have available.

Dustin

[John McIntire]

Yeah, I would lower it first, because you're car will look even better with the stock wheels lowered and then when you can afford it, throw on some wheels and you're done

[Apogee]

I'll pile on and say to lower it first as well. In addition to the reasons given above, it'll take into consideration any geometry changes you may make to improve handling. When I put a SC&C II+ kit on my Nova, it noticeably moves the front tire with the added castor and depending on the tires size and wheel offset, could easily increase or decrease the size and offset one way or the other.

Tobin

[MikeNSX]

I lowered mine first, then had Bonspeed build me a set of their Huntington wheels.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/01/DSCF1833-1.jpg

[jilge71]

hey mikensx how wide are your rear wheels and is it stock width rear end? mini tubbed or no

[DriverzInc]

My .02 for what it's worth... How much do you plan on lowering the car? If not by much, and from your post, if you are just changing arms your track width will not change by much. So, lower it first, sure, but you will be fine with the following suggested fitment. I would recommend going with a 10" wheel rear, but with that 20x10 I would run a 5.75" backspace. On the Overhaulin chevelle we built at Budnik a LONG time back, that was a 20x10 with a 6" backspace and a 295/40/20 which is a tall tire. It baerly cleared. If you plan on running a 285 tire, you'll be fine with that 5.75". On the front, I'd run a 19x8 with a 4.75" backspace, or at least a 4.5" but in all honesty, coming from someone who has done both the 18x8 and 19x8 combo's with 20" rears, the 19" just looked better. My opinion though... to each his own.

[jilge71]

not lowering much but want it cover the rear tire alittle and down to the front but dont want to drag all the time...almost level but slight rake with the wheels

[MikeNSX]

hey mikensx how wide are your rear wheels and is it stock width rear end? mini tubbed or no

The wheels are 17x8 front and 17x10 rear and my car has the stock rear end in the car. Backspace on the front is either 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 (I don't remember which right now) and 5 5/8 on the rear. Tire sizes are 245/45-17 front and 275/40-17 rear.

Here's a few other pictures of the car...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/01/DSCF1814-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/01/DSCF1817-1.jpg

[jilge71]

that is a sweet ride mike...very clean and gaps look nice and tight

[buickfunnycar.com]

Thanks for posting those Mike,you car looks sweet!:cool:
I'm envisioning those wheels on this car just with a different finish...you listening Jon?I'm still working it...:ssst:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Those are the 17" AR 200S wheels robbed off my '69 Camaro.They are 17x8 fronts 4.5" b/s w/255/45's and 17x9.5 5.5" b/s w/285/40's

My car looks like it sits a bit lower than your's Mike...you think?

[kball]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/01/chevelle2-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif[/IMG]
Here's mine- I personally think 17's look the best but that doesn't matter. 17x9.5 and 17x11 with 275/315 tires. These wheels are now sold and on the way to another pt.com member

[jilge71]

whats the drop mike and kball...2 and 3?

[MikeNSX]

whats the drop mike and kball...2 and 3?

To lower my car I installed a set of Hotchkis springs. The rears were left alone and I cut the fronts down by about 1/4 of a coil (which gave an extra 3/4 inch drop).

Don't remember the total drop.

[kball]

It's hard to say the amount of drop. I have the SC&C stg2 kit which probably lowers it about an inch, then I think I cut half a coil off the fronts and left the rear alone. I didn't want to have it dropped in the weeds. The stance is exactly where I want it now.

[MikeNSX]

My car looks like it sits a bit lower than your's Mike...you think?

The distance between the ground and the fender lip on my car is 23 7/8 inches in the front and 24 1/4 inches in the rear. From the pics they both look fairly similar in drop, but it's hard to tell.

[bochnak]

The distance between the ground and the fender lip on my car is 23 7/8 inches in the front and 24 1/4 inches in the rear. From the pics they both look fairly similar in drop, but it's hard to tell.

These are roughly the dimensions I achieved after lowering the front. I plan on buying 17's next winter.

Here are some pics:

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203024

[maroon88iroc]

those zr1's dont look right on that bodystyle chevelle

[64malibu]

where can i get a price on those budnik ice on the 67?

[jilge71]

prrc or probably jon at driverz inc...man this is an old thread...lol