Need some expert advice.

[rkw1969]

Hey guys I have a nagging question I need answered concerning backspacing on rims. Let me explain what I am building so everyone has an idea what I am doing. Mine should be simple. The car is a 69 Camaro (what else is there) that is gonna be a weekend driver with a basic suspension on the front and rear, no mini tubs . I am gonna lower it with Hotchkis springs in front and rear. For the rear axle I am installing a 1970 Camaro 12 bolt that i got almost free, spring perches already moved cause it came out of a 69. Now I think the 70 rear axle is 1 inch longer than a 69 and I am gonna be doing 4 wheel disk brakes (Touring Classics rear kit and the Hybrid kit up front) which will add another 1/4 inch on each side, so correct me if I am wrong but that equals 3/4 inch longer than stock on each axle end. The wheels I wanna use are Boyd Stingrays with a 17x9 in back and a 17x8 up front. Can someone please tell me what backspacing Im gonna need so I dont screw up when ordering the wheels cause I dont think they take any back that are custom ordered. One last thing anyone know a place with the best price on the Stingrays? Thanks alot guys really love the cars everyone is working on around here. If I knew how to post pics I would. The car is still on the rotissori

[MrQuick]

Becareful with that word "EXPERT", X SPERT "EX" or "X" or the unknown factor and "SPERT" the squirt after the shake. Sorry I get that alot...LOL

Well to be sure your going to have to measure your car. There are many factors that might be in play here...are the perches welded in the right spot? Are they set up to center the rear? Is there an off set? Has the car been in an accident? Are the frame rails straight?
you say the rotors are a 1/4" think but how much of a difference are they from the drum thinckness?
All these things will play a big part on getting the right fit. So my suggestion is to put your springs in, mount the rear end, put your brakes on it, install the shocks and throw some rims and tires on it and you should be able to figure a back space that will work.

My "swag" would be around 4 3/4" - 5" backspace.

[rkw1969]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I should go ahead and mount everything and measure like you mentioned.

[DeepBlue68]

Just a thought - I don't know if you have them in your area, but I took my car up to a Discount Tire near my house and found a guy who's a car nut there. He's been really helpful so far. I took my car up to him on a trailer after I swapped my rear end out, and just brought a rotor with me for mock-up purposes (since my brakes weren't installed yet). He measured the backspace/offset for me and wrote down everything I needed to know when ordering wheels. So now not only have I gotten my backspace/offset measured accurately, but I've also gotten to know a guy who works there, which helps when it comes time to haggle over prices. You can get pretty good deals through Discount and their customer service has always been awesome from my experience.

[rkw1969]

man i hadnt thought of that, i just dont know if there are any shops in the okc area to go to. i havent bought wheels and tires since 1986.