OSU73

Over the winter I switched out the wheels with rally rims and after moving the car today its rubbing pretty good. Seems to be on the parking brake cable for sure and possibly the bracket that holds it. Could I have the wrong rally rims that don't fit quite right on my car? tires aren't overly large or anything. its a 1973 Stingray 235/60/15 tires

DZRick

Very well, could be.
Rally wheels that came off anything but a vette will have the wrong backspace.

gbvette62

69-82 Corvettes, came with 15x8 rally wheels. Those wheels don't look deep enough to be 8 inches wide.

Pull the trim rings, and look closely at the rim in the area of the valve stem. There will be a series of letters and numbers. To the right of the valve stem, will be a two letter code. 15x8 Corvette wheels were code "AZ". 68 Corvettes used a 15x7 rally, with an "AG" code. A rally wheel with just about any other code, will have the wrong rear offset, and cause the interference your encountering.

Chances are pretty good, that those wheels have an "FW" code. The "FW" rallys are 15x7, and were used on 71-77 Monte Carlo's and 73-77 Chevelle/Malibu's and El Camaino's. They are a very common wheel, and will cause the tire to rub on the PB cable bracket, when running anything much bigger than a 215/70R15 tire.

Post what code is stamped on the wheel, and someone here should be able to identify the size, offset and the original application for the wheel.

Alan 71

Hi osu,
I agree that those may well be 7" wide rally wheels.
The trim rings seem to indicate that too since they appear to be the style I see used on 1967 Corvettes which had the 7" wide wheels.
As gb states the fat 60 series tire on the narrower rim could be the cause of your trouble.
Regards,
Alan

boat196

Some aftermarket wheels have a different backspace than original.
Bob

gbvette62

Not just aftermarket wheels, but most other 15" Chevy rally's too.

Only the Corvette 15x8 "AZ" wheel, has a 4" backspacing.

The 67-70 15x6 inch rally's, have a 3 1/2" backspacing, the 68 Corvette "AG" wheel is 3 3/4", the 71-77 15x7 "FW" wheel is 4 1/4", as is the 69 Z/28 15x7" rally.

imariver

terrys6t8roadster

a lot of us just cut off the parking brake calbe bracket, relocate it to the top of the trailing arm and weld it back on. T

OSU73

Thanks guys, These are 7" rims. would these tires fit on 8" rims? the tires are pretty much new.

gbvette62

I would guess that the recommended rim, for a 235/60R15, is probably a 7" rim, but I would think your okay putting those tires on an 8" rim.

The bigger issue I see, is that they are not the original size tire, for your 73. In fact, they are much shorter than what it should have.

The 73 Corvette came with a GR70x15 tire. The modern equivalent to it is a P225/70R15. The 225/70 is about 27.5" in diameter, while the 235/60's you have, are only about 26" in diameter. The equivalent 60 series tire to the original P225/70, is a P255/60R15.

By running a much shorter tire, you are effectively changing the rear gear ratio, and throwing off your speedometer. The shorter tire also doesn't fill the wheel opening verywell, leaving a larger gap between the top of the tire, and the wheel arch. This doesn't hurt anything, it just doesn't have the same visual appeal, that the correct size tires have.

Alan 71

Hi gb,
I agree with your thoughts.
Many people think the only thing that matters is how 'fat' the tire is….but how 'tall' it is is just as important in achieving a good appearance and 'stance'.
Regards,
Alan

Dustup7T2

How much of a show stopper is that for you? Seems that your earlier photo showed a wheel/tire combo that was not intended or designed for the C3.

Have you got any access to rally wheels with C3 dimensions? Wouldn't your current tires then be easily replaced for correct sized ones?

Swap meets and CL are good places to source wheels if you're working with a budget.

OSU73

yeah thanks for all of the info. It had bigger tires on it before and i liked the stance better. I'm going to find the 15x8 with the larger more correct tires.

Here it is after i got it with the other wheels on it

OSU73

Could someone tell me if these would work? says backspacing is 4.25

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performan...71230/10002/-1

gbvette62

If they have a 4 1/4" backspacing, you may have the same problem, your having now.

Did you ever pull a trim ring off your wheels, to look for the 2 letter code, by the valve stem hole? If the wheels you have are "FW" wheels, then you have wheels now, with a 4 1/4" backspacing.

This is the wheel at Jegs, that you need (though it's not chrome, if that's what your after).

http://www.jegs.com/i/Wheel-Vintique...oductId=748965