1967 GTO project thread

[Nicks67GTO]

great job on the build. Im at the point where I need to select wheels and tires and im stuck. I found the wheels I want but need help on the tire size to eliminate any rubbing issues. I am going with 18x8 4.5 b.s front and 18x9 5.25 b.s.rear. What is your recommendation on tire size. I was thinking 275/45 rear and 245/45 front. attached are pics of my project which is nowhere near as nice as yours. also I will be using black pmd center caps. any help is greatly appreciated

I'm going to throw a disclaimer out but I feel I should probably say this. I cant be 100% sure about your wheel backspacing. I'm only going to use my car and research as an example.



I'm about 100% sure that the 18x8/4.5" BS is going to be a problem in the front. A big problem. I'm running 5" of backspace and its perfect but its close. This backspace measurement is also dependent on what brake kit you run. This needs to be decided before you make your wheel purchase, it will change your needed backspace. Stock D52 kits are .25" wider per side, than the C6 Kore3 kit I used. That .25" is a mile in front wheel terms given the shape of our front fenders. I set my wheels up on the stock D52 discs and my tires hit the front fenders at the lower rear corner of the fender openings, on turns in the driveway. Please recheck this carefully. I know of one guy on here with a 67 that ran 45 series tires with a 4.5" backspacing and he has problems. If you are leaving the stock front D52 discs You will probably need a 5.25" BS. Again I am not advocating you buy these backspaces. This is merely based on my experience and most of the experiences of the guys I researched. Again please measure and remeasure.

As for the rears I should have gone 5.5" of backspace but I don't have a stock rear and iv'e heard of guys being kind of all over the place in this regard. I know a guy with a 66 that used 5-7/8" bs. I went with 5.75" of BS and ended up using a .25" billet spacer to center them perfectly. The stock GTO wheel well has a lip on the outside that kind of restricts how much you can shove in there. I went with 265/50/18's in the rear and its tight. Unfortunately I had to use a BFH to do a little bit of massaging in a couple spots to assure I wouldn't tear my tires up on a hard corner. I would say 275 max and you better be spot on with the backspacing or its going to rub. I also chose the 265/50/18's in Nitto555's because I wanted that extra tire height to fill the wheel wells. I was originally looking for 275/45/18's but the selection is extremely limited and the available tires are very expensive. Im happy with my choice so far but again I only have probably 50 miles on the new tires and 0 autox time.

Nice GTO! I hope this helps

[Nicks67GTO]

Just read entire build thread and I love this car. Very well done!

Thanks!

[pist0lpete]

Interesting how clearance can vary. I have 295/40/18 on my 67 chevelle and after rolling the lips and some hammer work they clear.

[Nicks67GTO]

Interesting how clearance can vary. I have 295/40/18 on my 67 chevelle and after rolling the lips and some hammer work they clear.

GTOs and Chevelles have different wheel housings with Chevelle having a lot more room. No way is anyone getting a 295 in a 67 gto without cutting

[1989GTA]

On my 1965 Buick Skylark we modified the inner fender to go straight up from the frame. We also used a jack and moved the outer fender out some and also rolled the lip. I am running P285/40ZR17 with no problems. In fact I believe there is enough room that next time out I will run a 295 tire in the rear.

As to the backspacing I am running 1971 Buick 8.5" ten bolt that is 1" wider than the ten bolt that came on the 1965 model. I had to run a 6 3/8" backspacing.

[teamwoody72]

thank you very much for the input. Luckily as long as I don't mount tires they will exchange rims. I may end up going 17x8 front. they offer 17x8 with 4.5 b.s. or 17x9 with 5.25 b.s.. in your opinion do you think that may alleviate the issue in front? I do understand you can only base this on your findings and im not holding you to it. you just have the most expierance from what I have found .

[Nicks67GTO]

thank you very much for the input. Luckily as long as I don't mount tires they will exchange rims. I may end up going 17x8 front. they offer 17x8 with 4.5 b.s. or 17x9 with 5.25 b.s.. in your opinion do you think that may alleviate the issue in front? I do understand you can only base this on your findings and im not holding you to it. you just have the most expierance from what I have found .

Honestly I think you're going to need to look for different wheels that will allow the correct backspace. Your brake choice is going to dictate your wheels necessary backspace and diameter. Have you chosen front brakes?

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Seems like everyone is running a ton of tire on these...I'm guessing the goats are that heavy? Or is it more for ride quality/footprint.

Please excuse the pseudo-ignorance...ran an import shop for years, and most recently the trend was to stretch the smallest tire they could get on wheels. :-/

[andrewb70]

Seems like everyone is running a ton of tire on these...I'm guessing the goats are that heavy? Or is it more for ride quality/footprint.

Please excuse the pseudo-ignorance...ran an import shop for years, and most recently the trend was to stretch the smallest tire they could get on wheels. :-/

More tire gives more available traction.

Andrew

[Nicks67GTO]

Seems like everyone is running a ton of tire on these...I'm guessing the goats are that heavy? Or is it more for ride quality/footprint.

Please excuse the pseudo-ignorance...ran an import shop for years, and most recently the trend was to stretch the smallest tire they could get on wheels. :-/

If we are talking sidewall height here, I'm running the 265/50/18's and 245/45/18's on my GTO because its a big car. Physically they are similar in size and weight to Chevelles. Visually they are bigger than Chevelles IMO and they have larger, longer, rear wheel well openings. I wanted the wheel wells full with a tall tire in the rear and something to match the front. I also read on CFster's 67 GTO build thread that going from 40 to 45 series tires made a big difference in ride quality. Its a combo of aesthetics and ride quality for me. Since i'm not looking to set any world records I'll let the performance fall where it will.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Gotcha, the exact answer I was looking for. Thanks!

[pist0lpete]

GTOs and Chevelles have different wheel housings with Chevelle having a lot more room. No way is anyone getting a 295 in a 67 gto without cutting

Learn something new everyday. I never would have guessed the gto's have less room bummer.

[silvermonte]

Hey Nick, I havnt looked yet but do you know when any of the localish auto-x stuff starts this year? I have the vette done for the most part, as least enough to take it out and drive it.

[Nicks67GTO]

Hey Nick, I havnt looked yet but do you know when any of the localish auto-x stuff starts this year? I have the vette done for the most part, as least enough to take it out and drive it.

Yessir.....looks like Waterloo April 12th kicks it off! I'm hoping to be ready but iv'e got my dash all tore apart and its not going back together as fast as I would like.

http://iowaregionscca.org/events.html

[Nicks67GTO]

Well Iv'e made some progress this week. I got some Dynamat tape in the mail from Amazon and I taped up all the Dynamat seams under my dash. Nothing too cool but progress is progress and im all done with the dynamat up under the dash.

I started my Vintage Air install. Ill be honest....this is kind of a PITA and i'm not 100% sold on the quality for the money paid. The plastic evaporator is a thin housing. Way thinner than anything GM ever stuck in a car. I guess it saves weight but at the same time, one really stiff kick and i'm afraid the unit might end up with a hole in it? I also think vintage air has a horrible looking firewall panel cover. For the money paid you would think they could engineer a fiberglass cover that didn't look like hell. I opted to leave my ACdelete.com parts in place, remove the blower motor and make a custom plate for the hoses to go though the blower motor hole under the fender, of course this adds to the PITA factor so maybe thats part of my gripe. I'm much happier with the look of the AC delete parts at this point. I will give them this. The instructions are top notch. That sounds petty but if you have ever done anything custom to any car, you'll know this is a huge deal. Especially for something like this. anyhow here is a shot of the evaporator mounted.....Ill do a big update on this eventually with my full opinion after its up and running....



So unfortunately my glovebox radio setup I installed last summer will not work with the vintage air. It works with the stock AC and non AC cars but the VA unit takes up too much space. Ill be selling this setup as a whole, radio and aluminum glovebox adapter. If you're interested PM me ill be putting it up for sale in the next few days.



I got my GMTILT.com tilt steering column installed today. I'm very happy with the product. Jim has been pretty good about everything and the column looks fantastic. The tilt functions perfect. This is a MUCH cheaper alternative to paying stupid ass money for a stock '67 tilt.











I got my Speedhut gauges installed and wired up today as well. I'm am extremely happy with the outcome here. I love everything about it. It's very different but it keeps the vintage '67 flavor at a glance. That's the theme. Feel 1967, perform 2015. I'm going to throw a huge shoutout to Speedhut too. The gauges are top quality, they are extremely easy to wire up, they are practically plug and play and the directions are fantastic. Again a huge deal. A+ to Speedhut.






Ill be updating later this week as the Vintage air install continues.

[lucky13firebird]

Fancy fancy... looking good.

[Nicks67GTO]

Got some work done in the last few weeks. I finished up with the steering column, installed the new Retro Sound Model 2 radio to replace the glovebox unit I had before, wired up the dash and Speedhut gauges and took her for a spin.

The steering column works awesome. I highly recommend this conversion. I need all the room I can get and its a nice help to be able to put the wheel all the way up. It was plug and play. Done deal. Very reasonably priced too and it steers much better than the old sloppy stocker did.

GMTILT.com Jim is a good guy and he gets an A+ on his product

The RetroSound Model 2 is kind of pricey at $300 bucks but its a bargain compared to some of those stock radio conversions. You get a ton of options for tuning, USB docks, auxiliary inputs etc. It honestly sounds as good as my Kenwood that was in there, maybe better. I'm 100% satisfied with everything but the knob selection. I'm in the process of making the stock knobs work but its kind of a PITA

Speedhut is awesome. These gauges work perfect. I have to calibrate my fuel gauge and my shift lights yet but everything else is working flawlessly and they look awesome. The GPS speedo is on within seconds of startup and the whole thing really cleaned up my dash and took it from Joe Dirt to maybe..... Pro Dirt?

Ive been plugging away at the Vintage Air but Its kind of time consuming. Im going to get the rest of the car ready to roll and then im going to get back to that part of it. Im in the process of trying to custom run some lines, I dont care for the stock line install of this system. I really want a cleaner look.

I also ordered the Eddie Motorsports hood hinges in matte black. My Chineese ones are total **** and I dont want to mess with stock ones so I spurged. Those hinges are the definition of project scope creep but Im sure ill be happy I spent the money. Matts classic Bowties has by far the best price on them.

Here's a few pictures....forgive the sloppy wiring. I just got it done and I like to make sure everything works on a drive before I stuff it all up under there

[Gil]

Very nice !
Still vintage looking with moden perf.
Dash is really nice compared to the 69...
Sorry to hear about Vintage air, but hey ! Not difficult is not fun !
Gil

[Nicks67GTO]

Got my Eddie Motorsports billet hood hinges in today.

It took way too long but that's because I got sent some 2nd gen Firebird hinges in the mail first. Matt's Classic Bowties and Eddie Motorsports had new ones to me in a week and call tags emailed in a day. An unfortunate mistake but it happens and I respect good customer service.

The new hinges are light years ahead of the old Chinese **** re-pops I had on there. I had one break on me 2 years back, had another one laying around and it was about to break. I was done with re-pop stuff so it came down to rebuilding some 45 year old hinges or getting something I knew would work..... I paid good money for these but I doubt ill ever have to buy hinges again. The truth is though I would call these complete excess. They are in fact just hood hinges.....really nice hood hinges. With that said Im no longer afraid to open my hood and leave it open. It shuts and opens perfect, the rear of the hood doesn't stick up and they look pretty sweet. Now if my body panels lined up worth a damn I would actually have something!

Matt's Classic Bowties had the best price on them by far FWIW. I got them in matte black to blend in with everything else since I don't care for a lot of flash and I drive my car a lot so its hard to keep really clean.

Dont mind that mess up on the passenger fender. Those lines aren't done yet. I'm getting my Vintage air Gen IV finished up tomorrow by a local radiator shop. Ive got everything in a calibrated. The heater works great. I just need them to crimp the line ends on and charge the unit for me. Ill report back on that this weekend.

Anyhow here's some pics....

[SD455]

Hi Nick,

Can you tell me what Booster/Master combo your using? I'm still running the stock D52 callipers, but need to upgrade my booster and that looks like a 9" dual??

" Edit, went back through the thread and found it!! " Car is looking great Nick!


Thanks