1981 Trans-Am

[gearheads78]

Love the paint but drop it a little and lose the wheels. Needs stock wheels or something that NTW or Discount tire does not carry in stock.

[68Formula]

A 255/45 would probably fit as well and the extra overall diameter would fill the openings.

[Roger Poirier]

Love the paint but drop it a little and lose the wheels. Needs stock wheels or something that NTW or Discount tire does not carry in stock.

Agreed. The rims do nothing for the car. Always photoshop wheels before purchase if possible.

R.P.

[VF101_jay]

I have to correct myself, they are 5.5" backspacing (+14mm offset). The rims are 9" wide, and I would agree that after seeing them on that 255's should fit without any problems, I went with the 245/40's to give myself a little extra room as I couldn't get a definitive answer as to what would fit (even for the rims that I did go with, some suppliers said they would fit and some said they wouldn't). I feel a little strange justifying what rims I chose to spend my own money on, but I did do a lot of looking and a lot of photoshop comparisons when choosing a set of rims (money did play a part in my choice...as like I said, I had to pay for them...lol). I kept running into the same problems, either they were far too commonly used or they were yet some slight variation of the same old straight five spoke (don't get me wrong, I like 5 spokes, but I have had them on everything from my old camaro in high school in the 1980's to my 200sx in the 1990's to our family car now), so I felt it was time for something different. As for feeling the rims do nothing for the car, well I guess that if you ever decide to do a second gen Trans-Am, you will know what rims not to buy for your car...lol.

[twosaturns]

I have to correct myself, they are 5.5" backspacing (+14mm offset). The rims are 9" wide, and I would agree that after seeing them on that 255's should fit without any problems, I went with the 245/40's to give myself a little extra room as I couldn't get a definitive answer as to what would fit (even for the rims that I did go with, some suppliers said they would fit and some said they wouldn't). I feel a little strange justifying what rims I chose to spend my own money on, but I did do a lot of looking and a lot of photoshop comparisons when choosing a set of rims (money did play a part in my choice...as like I said, I had to pay for them...lol). I kept running into the same problems, either they were far too commonly used or they were yet some slight variation of the same old straight five spoke (don't get me wrong, I like 5 spokes, but I have had them on everything from my old camaro in high school in the 1980's to my 200sx in the 1990's to our family car now), so I felt it was time for something different. As for feeling the rims do nothing for the car, well I guess that if you ever decide to do a second gen Trans-Am, you will know what rims not to buy for your car...lol.

I see the point of saying that 'the rims do nothing for the car', since they are so 'bling', they look like they were just taken off the rack and bolted on; they don't match anything else on the car. if you like them, cool, but I see the point.
as for the shaker hood comment from someone else, I applaud your choice of the original turbo hood. it's too easy to go w/ the shaker, yours is different, and w/ the turbo bulge, everyone will think your car is slow! I've always liked the offset hood ('cept when they kept it on the 3rd gen and dropped the turbo!)
all that being said, I would think that if you went w/ a matte grey wheel, or had yours beadblasted for a satin finish, it would blend better. and I think the bird would be cool! ('course, I also liked the '4 wheel disc' stickers that they put on the door handles!)

[VF101_jay]

Thanks for the input, when I first noticed these wheels, I thaught they looked a little like the old keystone Classics or Craeger SS rims, only updated, I have had this car since those were in style (keeping in mind that I do live in the middle of Manitoba and that we were usually about 10 years behind the latest styles...especially before the internet) and they made me feel nostalgic. If I hadn't already baught them when I noticed the 18" honeycombs at Year One, I might have chosen differently (If I could have scraped the money up). For now I like them just fine, when they start to show wear...who knows. I had tossed arround the idea of switching to a shaker hood, but beyond the fact that I do like the subtleness of the turbo scoop, I had concerns about adapting the shaker to fit my engine swap. I did swap the Pontiac 301 for a Chevy 350, and when I put it in I hung the engine as far back as I possibly could before attaching the engine mounts to the frame. I was worried that I would have to hang the shaker scoop too far forword on the breather pan for it to mount properly. I still haven't decided if I will put much if anything on it for decals...I think I will drive it for a while and see if I get bored with the clean look.