C3's with 18" wheels only thread
you know I have a Grand sport as well and was amazed by how much attention this car got yesterday. It has been sitting for 5 years so it needs some TLC especially with the cross fire. right now I am running super unleaded with cleaner to try and clean it up before I replace the injectors. it sure is fun to drive though, takes me back to high school.






Last edited by BUCKSFAN; Oct 21, 2013 at 09:57 AM.
you know I have a Grand sport as well and was amazed by how much attention this car got yesterday. It has been sitting for 5 years so it needs some TLC especially with the cross fire. right now I am running super unleaded with cleaner to try and clean it up before I replace the injectors. it sure is fun to drive though, takes me back to high school.








Before you put too many miles on them, you mite want to have the alignment checked ... both front and rear ....
If you have questions on the engine performance, check out the sticking in the performance section or drop me a PM ....
Always happy to help ......
Before you put too many miles on them, you mite want to have the alignment checked ... both front and rear ....
If you have questions on the engine performance, check out the sticking in the performance section or drop me a PM ....
Always happy to help ......

next step is the radio, fix the antenna and find out why there is no power to the radio. then have to check all the speakers I am sure they are junk. from what I have read finding speakers than can fit are hard unless you add a box in the back, which I dont want to do as there is not much room anyways.
it is a project car all the way, but the starting point was pretty nice as the paint is flawless, one big issue with me is the tool that painted it put 1980 emblems on the car, I bought the 82 emblem but cant use them as they are smaller and they drilled holes for the pins on the 80 emblems. I am not filling holes and repaint a flawless paint job for a couple of emblems.
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Getting to your radio and testing speaker, not that bad .... there are speaker out there if you need to replace ... fronts, not a lot of options, but rears lots to choose from.
Good luck with you project .... there's always something on these old hot rods .... but isn't that the fun of it ????
Ref your front emblem .... can't tell you how many 82's I've seen with 81 emblems on the nose .... mine included .... I just decided to live with it ....
oh yeah .... if you need a wiring diagram ... shoot me a PM ... will send it over ....
Last edited by LastC3AZ; Oct 21, 2013 at 07:20 PM.
Getting to your radio and testing speaker, not that bad .... there are speaker out there if you need to replace ... fronts, not a lot of options, but rears lots to choose from.
Good luck with you project .... there's always something on these old hot rods .... but isn't that the fun of it ????
Ref your front emblem .... can't tell you how many 82's I've seen with 81 emblems on the nose .... mine included .... I just decided to live with it ....
oh yeah .... if you need a wiring diagram ... shoot me a PM ... will send it over ....
I also ordered a pioneer stereo that has red lights on it, I will use a dremel and grind the dash plate to make it fit, no reason to spend 189 bucks when mine will work with 5 minutes grinding it down. once the radio gets here I will take it to a friend of mine that does custom work, I was hoping to do it myself but with no power to the radio I aint touchin it, I will let a pro do it. he can also mount any speaker and if needed build a custom fiberglass box and paint it.
FYI the wrong emblems are making me lose sleep, I frickin hate it but oh well not going to mess with a perfect paint job.
A 9.5 with 5" backspace and a 285 trie will fit fine (I and a number of other members have run 18x10 with 5.5" backspace and had no issues)
Nick
I discovered the equations for calculating offset.
For instance, take a 18 X 8 wheel, with 4 inch backspace. Add 1 inch to the 8 inch width: 8" + 1" = 9". Divide 9 by 2. 9/2 = 4.5". Now subtract 4.5" from 4" (4" is the backspace): 4"-4.5" = -0.5". Convert -0.5" to mm: (-0.5 inch)X(25.4 mm/inch)= -12.7 mm offset
For a 18 X 9.5 wheel, with 5 inch backspace. Add 1 inch to the 9.5 inch width: 1" + 9.5" = 10.5 inch. Divide 10.5 by 2. 10.5/2 = 5.25 inches. Now subtract 5.25 inches from the 5 inch backspace: 5-5.25 = -0.25 inches. Convert -0.25 to mm: (-0.25 inch)X(25.4 mm/inch) = -6.2 mm offset.
Don't know why you add 1 inch to the wheel rim width. Maybe this is to approximate the wheel rim "lip" width.
Last edited by 68/70Vette; Oct 23, 2013 at 09:39 PM.
www.wheelworksinc.com
This tool allows you to mount a real tire on the tool, bolt it to the wheel hub and see if there's a interference. This tool is a few dollars less than $400. Some three piece billet wheels can cost $8000 for four wheels, this might be a reasonable thing to buy if you're going to spend $8000 on custom wheels that you can't return.
I'd think that some wheel/tire stores would have this tool and this feature to help you out. I called one high volume store that also featured bling wheels and they didn't have it.(!!!)
A more economical tire fitting tool is sold by the name of "Percy." It's www.percyshp.com. Sells for about $90. For mine, I cut out a pice of cardboard to approximate the tire cross section, mounted it on the "Percy," bolted it on the rear suspension hub and spun it around to determine interference. I bought "Percy" from Eastwood.com.
Last edited by 68/70Vette; Oct 23, 2013 at 10:17 PM.
you know I have a Grand sport as well and was amazed by how much attention this car got yesterday. It has been sitting for 5 years so it needs some TLC especially with the cross fire. right now I am running super unleaded with cleaner to try and clean it up before I replace the injectors. it sure is fun to drive though, takes me back to high school.
Car looks great with those wheels. Can you get some more shots of the front? I am concerding those wheels and am concered with the 4.5 back spacing.
By the way I like your GS also.
Last edited by vetteman1981; Oct 30, 2013 at 01:20 AM.

Size is 18" x 9.5 all four corners, any advice on tire size appreciated.
What do you guys think about these alloys on my baby?























