Tire Rub
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,019
Likes: 1,119
From: North tonawanda NY
regardless though unless the fenders are physically different allowing different clearance from year to year (pretty sure your 76 has identically sized wheel wells and fenders as my 74) I would think the other things could be addressed without major modifications such as cutting fenders. I saw people with a variety of different years stating they worked over and over which is why I went with them myself. I made sticky notes and tallied up the different combos. there are also a lot of people running 18x8 wheels with the 4" bs and 245 wheels its just about the most common setup on the 18" wheel thread. They should be more forgiving than the larger 255 wheels and wider 8.5" wheels im running.
Now you have peaked my interest im always working on my uncles 76.. maybe ill try one of my wheels on his to check fitment.
Last edited by augiedoggy; Jul 25, 2016 at 06:04 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,019
Likes: 1,119
From: North tonawanda NY
Again my 74 does not have any fender trimming or mods and they fit so thats not the issue and would be the best way to approach this...
Its got to be the suspension. Chances are its the fact that my suspension is original and tired that allows the 255/45 tires and 8.5" wide rims to fit without rubbing as mentioned earlier by the person who said they cut their springs for more clearance.
Its got to be the suspension. Chances are its the fact that my suspension is original and tired that allows the 255/45 tires and 8.5" wide rims to fit without rubbing as mentioned earlier by the person who said they cut their springs for more clearance.
Last edited by augiedoggy; Jul 25, 2016 at 07:36 PM.
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 12
Likes: 1
Again my 74 does not have any fender trimming or mods and they fit so thats not the issue and would be the best way to approach this...
Its got to be the suspension. Chances are its the fact that my suspension is original and tired that allows the 255/45 tires and 8.5" wide rims to fit without rubbing as mentioned earlier by the person who said they cut their springs for more clearance.
Its got to be the suspension. Chances are its the fact that my suspension is original and tired that allows the 255/45 tires and 8.5" wide rims to fit without rubbing as mentioned earlier by the person who said they cut their springs for more clearance.
Had a 1976 L-82, 4-sp
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 5,338
Likes: 1,213
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
I believe I found a part of my problem - the entire body of the car is about a 1/4" more to the right of the centerline of the frame. There is nothing to indicate that it has shifted so I assume it left the factory that way. It became very visible when I put on my new wheels. A recent alignment confirms my frame is straight and square.
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Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Crossville TN
There are literally hundreds of part tolerances that are in play when analyzing the wheel fit in the wheelwell. So there is quite a bit of variation between individual cars. That's why some folks are able to put 255's on (but only about half of them) but almost everyone can install 235's. Just the way it is.
And, yes, GM opened up the wheelwells by more than 1.5" in 1978...just so they could guarantee installation of [optional] 255's.
And, yes, GM opened up the wheelwells by more than 1.5" in 1978...just so they could guarantee installation of [optional] 255's.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Jul 26, 2016 at 07:35 PM.