Wheel time for my 68 RS/SS

[TZmtrsprt]

I'm finally at the point where I'm ready to order new wheels for my 68 Camaro RS/SS. I'm looking for the nostalgic early Trans Am look. So I'm thinking about going with wheels from either PS Engineering, Torque Thrust II's or Vintage Wheel Works Vintage 45s. Wanting to go 16"x8" both ends. I currently have some old American "Coke bottle" mags, 15"x8.5" and 14"x7", both with 5" back spacing. The car is lowered 1.5" in back and @ 2" in front. Any history with any of the wheels mentioned, good or bad? I'm leaning towards the PSE's. Any sugestions on back spacing? I have single piston discs up front and drums in the rear. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! P.S. Anyone going to Marque Madness @ Laguna Seca April 28 -May 2. I'm aiming for that date. Thanks for your help, TZ

[JL8Jeff]

I had the Vintage Wheelworks on my 68. I had the 16x8 with 4.5" backspacing I think. I ran 245/50/16 on the front and 255/50/16 on the rear. The car handled great with this combination and bumps weren't too bad since there is enough sidewall. But the 16's look like 15's. Here's a couple of pictures to give you an idea.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[TZmtrsprt]

Thanks for the pics. That's the look I want. (they didn't have 16's in the Trans Am anyway). Did they use the acorn style nut? PSE makes a cool long style one.I guess what I need to know is the back spacing or how to measure. You have a nice 68. Thanks again, TZ

[JL8Jeff]

I sold the car late last year to help finance my JL8 resoration. I think it had the acorn style lugs nuts. The wheels came with the lugs and center caps. I bought some blems and they were around $650 for the set. I bought some Falken Ziex 512 radials for it and they were $350 delivered. The car handled great and it had 4 wheel disc brakes and stopped awesome. I'm pretty sure the backspacing was 4.5" but since I had rear discs with full size rotors the wheels probably stuck out a little more than drums would. Depending on what the height of your rear is, you might want to go with 4.75" backspacing to make sure they clear the quarter panel lips. Or you would need to roll the lips a little.