1974 Camaro Z28
Discussion
So I think I mentioned before that I'd been waiting for a lot of parts. To cut a long story short, I ordered some custom mats from Hamiltons and despite a promised 2 week lead-time, 7 weeks later I was still chasing them. They started to ignore any correspondence, so I went through Paypal for a refund and suddenly they were very helpful again (having not responded for 3 weeks, they responded within 30mins of the refund request). That was until they let slip that they hadn't even started making them, so I went through Rock-Auto and four days later these turned up instead:
They've transformed the interior of the car and once again RockAuto prove to be more useful than anyone in the UK.
Now the exciting bit:
I've spent most of the last couple of months trying to work out what size wheels I could squeeze under the arches and still have a fully functioning street car. My inspiration for the look was the IROC 74 cars and IMSA Camaros, so Watanabe were the natural choice and I've wanted a set since I could drive a car.
So lots of emails to Japan later, I realised that actually the Watanabes wouldn't fit in the way I wanted them to but I could maybe make do with stretching tyres to get them on. Not ideal but a workaround. They're also still made in a 30 year old cast and while I think that's very cool, there's obviously no quality benefit to that and that's essentially the disclaimer I was given just as I was about to pay. So I began talking to Driftworks about what I wanted and they recommended Japan Racing 19s with custom sizing would do what I needed them to.
I excitedly went to the TNT depot to pick these up so I didn't have to wait until after the weekend.
By the looks of it, my maths had been pretty good in terms of widths/offsets:
Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends.
They don't actually clear the ginormous hubs.
With some calipers and a tape measure, I started checking whether they had been drilled properly and after about an hour, I began to figure that my problem looks like this:
So the centre-bore of the wheel is actually clearing the hub diameter, but essentially the hub is too deep for the wheel to sit on the hub face.
As you can see, the OE wheels get around this problem by locating on the studs themselves:
So I'm scratching my head a little at the moment and see my main options as being:
1. Machine the centre bore of the wheels so that they'll sit against the hub, then have some centre caps made to cover the hub as it will protrude outwards of the front of the wheel.
2. Fit spacers. Ultimately this will mean wide arches to accommodate the width.
3. Sell the wheels, set fire to the car and move to Barbados.
I think option 1 is my preferred route at the moment. Or 3.
So I put the car back together and headed out for a drive so that this problem seems a lot smaller and I can forget about the money I've wasted. I still love it.
They've transformed the interior of the car and once again RockAuto prove to be more useful than anyone in the UK.
Now the exciting bit:
I've spent most of the last couple of months trying to work out what size wheels I could squeeze under the arches and still have a fully functioning street car. My inspiration for the look was the IROC 74 cars and IMSA Camaros, so Watanabe were the natural choice and I've wanted a set since I could drive a car.
So lots of emails to Japan later, I realised that actually the Watanabes wouldn't fit in the way I wanted them to but I could maybe make do with stretching tyres to get them on. Not ideal but a workaround. They're also still made in a 30 year old cast and while I think that's very cool, there's obviously no quality benefit to that and that's essentially the disclaimer I was given just as I was about to pay. So I began talking to Driftworks about what I wanted and they recommended Japan Racing 19s with custom sizing would do what I needed them to.
I excitedly went to the TNT depot to pick these up so I didn't have to wait until after the weekend.
By the looks of it, my maths had been pretty good in terms of widths/offsets:
Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends.
They don't actually clear the ginormous hubs.
With some calipers and a tape measure, I started checking whether they had been drilled properly and after about an hour, I began to figure that my problem looks like this:
So the centre-bore of the wheel is actually clearing the hub diameter, but essentially the hub is too deep for the wheel to sit on the hub face.
As you can see, the OE wheels get around this problem by locating on the studs themselves:
So I'm scratching my head a little at the moment and see my main options as being:
1. Machine the centre bore of the wheels so that they'll sit against the hub, then have some centre caps made to cover the hub as it will protrude outwards of the front of the wheel.
2. Fit spacers. Ultimately this will mean wide arches to accommodate the width.
3. Sell the wheels, set fire to the car and move to Barbados.
I think option 1 is my preferred route at the moment. Or 3.
So I put the car back together and headed out for a drive so that this problem seems a lot smaller and I can forget about the money I've wasted. I still love it.
Rogue86 said:
The last few weeks have seen a fair bit of ordering but not a lot of stuff actually turning up on time. so this is only a semi-interesting update. In good news, the car was picked by Capital Xtra FM to promote the new Fast X film that comes out on Friday. Along with a couple of film cars, we've spent the day in Leeds promoting the film and letting people enjoy seeing the cars themselves up close.
With that bit done, it was on the roads for a bit of a promotional tour around the city. I'm happy to admit mine was the loudest by quite some way
For anyone who has ever wondered what it might look like...
I predict with considerable confidence that no F-body owner is having more fun than you -- not there, not here. With that bit done, it was on the roads for a bit of a promotional tour around the city. I'm happy to admit mine was the loudest by quite some way
For anyone who has ever wondered what it might look like...
Sorry to hear that the wheels don't fit, but it's not insurmountable, opening the bore out to clear the hub is an easy job for any half decent machine shop, I should know as an ex turner for the aerospace industry, just find a local machine shop with a decent sized lathe and they'll sort it for you.
Bobberoo said:
Sorry to hear that the wheels don't fit, but it's not insurmountable, opening the bore out to clear the hub is an easy job for any half decent machine shop, I should know as an ex turner for the aerospace industry, just find a local machine shop with a decent sized lathe and they'll sort it for you.
+1 (and hello Bobberroo- the bringer of good!)It's sortoutable. Is it worth it? Probably
I've just been through all sorts of issues sorting wheels for my 70s yank so I can sympathise! So frustrating when you think your gonna bolt up something that will transform the look of the car and.... Nope.
I guess boring out the centres is your best bet, looks to be plenty of material there to work with. A bit nerve-wracking taking a big chunk out of those beauties but grim reading the thread I'm sure you know someone who can do a proper job!
I guess boring out the centres is your best bet, looks to be plenty of material there to work with. A bit nerve-wracking taking a big chunk out of those beauties but grim reading the thread I'm sure you know someone who can do a proper job!
unsprung said:
I predict with considerable confidence that no F-body owner is having more fun than you -- not there, not here.
I mean, if you can't have fun in something ridiculous like this then when can you? Rodd Nock said:
I've just been through all sorts of issues sorting wheels for my 70s yank so I can sympathise!
I guess that's the problem with trying to do anything out of the ordinary! Thank you for all the suggestions with how to proceed, but I've been doing some working out and I think spacers are the way to go. My biggest risk is that the track is a little too wide and I need to flare the arches slightly, but in terms of risk/reward this just makes the most sense to me. So I've mocked these up for fabrication:
In theory, this should solve all my problems in one hit. The studs on the spacers should alleviate my need for PCD variation nuts, while the 25mm depth should cover my existing studs and enough of the hub that the wheel itself would go on. While I was sat drawing these up, I remembered a conversation on the FB owners club last year where a friendly Norwegian chap was also about to buy the wheels. Luckily I had the foresight at the time to screenshot his name in case I ever needed his help in future. It's a good job I did!
It turns out he did exactly the same thing I'd worked out to save having to butcher the wheels, so that's a good sign. An old wheel building friend of mine has given me some contact details for TT Tools so he's kindly going to mock me up a proper drawing for them to be made. Another friend of mine is currently working on a 3D printed plastic mockup so we can make sure all the measurements are correct before I pull the plug on the actual spacers, then in theory all I'll need is some thin nuts from somewhere like ETPlus to get them on.
Oneball said:
I’m a little worried about your brake caliper clearance though. Are they the same 4 pot iron calipers as my Vette?
I'm not sure they share the same calipers, but it would make sense. It didn't look like I'd have any clearance issues (and I can't think why I would given these wheels are bigger than my OEs) but I'll keep an eye on it when I get them on.
tter about the wheels! Although a good heads up for me! They will look well though! My friend Jordan (who helped me take the measurements) sent me a surprise earlier:
I didn't even know he dabbled in 3D, but sure enough he turned up at my house tonight with this:
It fit like a glove, obviously with dowels in place of studs just to mock the fitment up:
It's going to be tight. Tight enough that I'm considering taking 4mm of stud away so I can go for 20mm spacers instead of 25mm, but I'm going to trust that the camber and tyre choice should give me enough clearance once they're on the ground.
My new Norwegian friend assures me it's enough
I didn't even know he dabbled in 3D, but sure enough he turned up at my house tonight with this:
It fit like a glove, obviously with dowels in place of studs just to mock the fitment up:
It's going to be tight. Tight enough that I'm considering taking 4mm of stud away so I can go for 20mm spacers instead of 25mm, but I'm going to trust that the camber and tyre choice should give me enough clearance once they're on the ground.
My new Norwegian friend assures me it's enough
That's a result! I'm so far beyond the curve with 3d printing. I had to measure up for some pcd adaptors for my project, and had an anxious wait to see if they fitted while they were custom made at great expense - luckily I'd got it right but checking with some plastic ones would have been very reassuring!
Rodd Nock said:
That's a result! I'm so far beyond the curve with 3d printing. I had to measure up for some pcd adaptors for my project, and had an anxious wait to see if they fitted while they were custom made at great expense - luckily I'd got it right but checking with some plastic ones would have been very reassuring!
My printer is one of my best tools! Was a fun project to build also, and has been used to make brackets etc for my cars.I had the tyres fitted at the weekend and the spacers turned up at my house yesterday, so hopefully some more updates on that soon.
I'd committed to helping out some local creatives last night who wanted to shoot the Camaro and Ricks Mustang for their own portfolios; something I'm increasingly being offered as the car comes along. We headed out to the Peak District for a few hours while the Sun was low.
The Camaro actually had its first break-down here. It was one of the first cars in the world to have a switch which required you to hold the clutch down in order to start the engine. I've always thought this was really quirky until last night, when the switch failed leaving me stranded on a single track road. We quickly cut and bypassed the switch, so that's something I'll have to decide whether I want to re-add further down the line.
I didn't take many photos as this wasn't my shoot, I just tried to grab a couple of really quick stills around what the guys needed and the opportunity was there.
It was a great night and I really enjoyed watching the guys work - I'll try to share some of their stuff here as it becomes available. We enjoyed a night drive home through Sheffield and I've got to admit the cars really suited the industrial backdrop. Unfortunately at about 0100hrs and about a mile away from home, the car started making a horrendous noise that forced me to pull over. I had a quick check but couldn't see anything obvious, then when I started the car back up the noise had gone. About a mile further down the road it started again but by this point I could roll it home.
I'll try to explore this tonight and see if I can pinpoint the issue and hopefully test-fit the wheels.
I'd committed to helping out some local creatives last night who wanted to shoot the Camaro and Ricks Mustang for their own portfolios; something I'm increasingly being offered as the car comes along. We headed out to the Peak District for a few hours while the Sun was low.
The Camaro actually had its first break-down here. It was one of the first cars in the world to have a switch which required you to hold the clutch down in order to start the engine. I've always thought this was really quirky until last night, when the switch failed leaving me stranded on a single track road. We quickly cut and bypassed the switch, so that's something I'll have to decide whether I want to re-add further down the line.
I didn't take many photos as this wasn't my shoot, I just tried to grab a couple of really quick stills around what the guys needed and the opportunity was there.
It was a great night and I really enjoyed watching the guys work - I'll try to share some of their stuff here as it becomes available. We enjoyed a night drive home through Sheffield and I've got to admit the cars really suited the industrial backdrop. Unfortunately at about 0100hrs and about a mile away from home, the car started making a horrendous noise that forced me to pull over. I had a quick check but couldn't see anything obvious, then when I started the car back up the noise had gone. About a mile further down the road it started again but by this point I could roll it home.
I'll try to explore this tonight and see if I can pinpoint the issue and hopefully test-fit the wheels.
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