has anyone bought the after market rally II wheels from classic industries or year one, etc? are they powder coated and do they have the correct color scheme? do they fit correctly? im looking at a set of 15X7's.

im having a hard time finding originals that are in good refurbishable shape. most i find are rusted and pitted or bent. i have considered buying after market ones as they look nice but i dont know much about them. it looks like you can get everything you need, ie wheels, caps and rings for a fairly resonable price. any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks

I bought mine from wheel vintiques. 15x8 all the way around with 235/15/. The fronts are very tight and I do get a bit of rub on one side.. I would think you would be fine with 15x7s.

I got mine from a wheel place here in Southern Ca. I paid $75 a wheel for 15X8. I think they are from wheel vintiques. Not sure if they were powder coated, but the finnish was not that good, but I didn't care, as I was going to be painting them any way. I had the two I got from them and the two 14X7 that I had, powder coated silver, then I painted the centers with the Charcoal wheel paint from Classic.
I also got the trim rings from the wheel place for $20 ea. Not original, but works for me. I can get picks of them if you like.
I had to get the lug nuts and center caps from Classic.

I painted the center of one to see how the color looked. Here is how that one turned out.

Thanks all for the replies.

rohrt, did u get everything, wheels caps and rings, from wheel vintiques? Nice ride u have!!

Firebird69racer, nice work on the wheel. When u said the finish wasn't good do u mean there were chips or scratches in the paint?

Thanks

I would bet all the aftermarket rally 2's are made at the same place. They are nice and well made. Nice originals are hard to come by. They are often bent or the holes are enlarged. There is not much margin for hole size with the stock lug nuts.

Rohrt

Do your 15x8's have 4.5" backspacing? Do they rub the fender or something else?
That size is available in 4 & 4.5" b/s..

My car had aftermarket rally IIs on when I bought it, 15X7. I wanted to change out to Torque thrust IIs but could not seem to find them up here. Now I'm glad I didn't, I really like the look of the wheels on my car and I think they are well made. I agree with Bob S., they are most likely made by one manufacturer and distributed by the various venders. I have 235/60s on the front and 255/60 rear.

I think its 4" backspace. I just have one side that rubs the back of the fender on sharp turns. My tires are 25.5 tall and I have the Guldstrand mod so the extra caster may have something to do with it.

Like you said it may be something else. I have 25.5" diameter tires on the stock 14x7 wheels and they don't rub.

I'm about to install Global West offset control arm shafts [Guldstrand offset] and hope it's worth the effort. Was there a noticeable difference?

The offset shafts are not the same as the actual Guldstrand mod. The offset shafts do help with number of shims needed but don't do anything about the negative camber. There are only three options for correcting the suspension geometry. Taller spindle, taller ball joint or lower the A-arm mounting points(Guldstrand mod). I would highly suggest looking into the taller ball joints if you going with aftermarket arms. The aftermarket arm will not change the bad camber curve but may give you more caster. Meaning bringing the top of the tire back.
http://www.pozziracing.com/first_gen_suspension_geome.htm#Geometry discussion

I never drove my car enough before starting the restoration to really know how much

"The offset shafts do help with number of shims needed but don't do anything about the negative camber. There are only three options for correcting the suspension geometry. Taller spindle, taller ball joint or lower the A-arm mounting points(Guldstrand mod)."

I'm a bit confused and Don't want to sound standoffish... Offset cross-shafts are designed to do just that. They Increase positive camber so that you can achieve a neutral (approximate) camber measurement (+/- 0) on a lowered suspension car. The Guldstrand mod was / is a permanent change to your subframe and needs to be spot on to achieve its goal, Personally I feel that it's not needed unless your auto-crossing on a budget. By using offset cross-shafts to increase positive camber it allows you to add less shims to a single side (offsetting shaft) to allow for a positive castor angle (+5). I've not worked with taller ball joints on stock arms as I've never been presented with a need for them. Most aftermarket uppers designed today come with upper and lower joints as they are engineered for the results most drivers are looking for.

A true sure fire method to achieving a solid (no rub) suspension set up is to get your alignment readings from where your at now with the rub. If your not lowered and everything seems original you might find that your problem is actually something easily detectable like a bent arm, (upper/lower) from years ago... This is a much easier (and cheeper) way than finding a needle in a haystack.

I bought Wheel Vintiques 15x7 , 4.0" backspacing , 0.0 offset. Yes, they have OEM-correct powdercoated finish. I use this size in front. They fit correctly.

I suffered with tire rub for years. I replaced all the joints and bushings. The tire contacted the inner fender in the center if the arch just inboard of the fender lip. I ran out of adjustment so could not correct with alignment. I hunted for offset ball joints which racers used to use but they are no longer made for our years of cars, a lot for jeeps and dodge trucks, never tried the tall joints. I tried the offset shafts but the front end was just worn out. I had to run with the front end higher than I wanted. I bought a new set of control arms and that solved my rub issues. 235/60R15 on 15X7.

I double-checked with Global West and the primary purpose of the off-set shaft is [as Goose mentioned] for restoring 0 degs of camber, (as a frame ages they tend to sag in toward the engine creating negative camber). And, 2nd the ability to dial-in more caster with less shims, [which reduces bump-steer].
Another use for the shaft is it can be flipped 180 which provides 1.25 degs of negative camber for road racing. This may be too aggressive for the street, but if you're not concerned about tire wear, this may be an option.

I'd like to maintain the stock appearance with updated geometry. As Goose mentioned, the Guildstrand mod is permanent which doesn't appeal to me.

p.s. JJ please forgive the topic tangent... :p

Rohrt,

cool looking bird!! and I like the look of the wheels. do you have other pics of it to see how the wheels look a different angles?

thanks

Bluebird428,

nice looking firebird!!

First off I don't agree that the Gulstrand Mod is permanent. As long as you don't cut down the "ears" on top you can go back to the stock location. You can't really do the mod and run taller ball joints at the same time. Not sure why but I was told no dice. If you do go with taller ball joints you have to be careful with rim size and backspace or you could end up with rim to suspension clearance issues. Been there, done all that.

Hi Rohrt,

this is an old thread but i gotta ask about your rear leaf spring suspension. you running multi leafs? is that a stock ride height? thanks

hi Bluebird428, ill ask you the same question i asked Rohrt. are you running multi leafs? is that a stock ride height? thanks