17" wheels

[Steve Ference]

i,ve owned my 75 vette for 24 years and want new wheels.has anyone fit 17x91/2" rears without mods? what backspace is needed,will a 285 17 40 tire fit without clearance problems?

 

[mrvette]

i,ve owned my 75 vette for 24 years and want new wheels.has anyone fit 17x91/2" rears without mods? what backspace is needed,will a 285 17 40 tire fit without clearance problems?

I have '92 vette wheels on all 4 corners of my '72 here....they take 2.5 inch VBP wheel adaptors....steering is a bit limited with 255/50/17 on front, and the rear is limited to 275/50/17 rubber and that's with moving the ebrake bracket to top of the arm, or inside the wheel...moving the cable underneath ...

GENE

 

[Steve Ference]

thanks gene, now i know the 91/2"s will fit, i can look for a set, maybe aftermarket? just need to figure out the backspace.does moving the ebrake cable mean a longer one or will the stock one reach?

 

[mrvette]

On my '72 the ebrake cable brackets were bolted to the frame cross support, I think later models were welded....anyway, I moved thos brackets, to accomodate my cables being moved further forward to behind the rotors....
so I understand most guys leave all that alone and move the cable/bracket to the TOP of the t-arm.....AS I RECALL I tried that when doing my mods some ten years ago, and that top/arm position did not seem to work...

GENE

 

[norvalwilhelm]

i,ve owned my 75 vette for 24 years and want new wheels.has anyone fit 17x91/2" rears without mods? what backspace is needed,will a 285 17 40 tire fit without clearance problems?

I have a 75 with 18 inch rims all around. Are 9 1/2 inch standard size?? I fit 10 inch wide but I needed offset trailing arms, modified the frame a little and ran 6 1/2 inch offset. This is way too much offset for a normal 75.
I did run 5 inch backspacing with another set of wheels and you can fine tune with spacers is it is too close.
The spot that causes the most problems is right above the trailing arm pocket. The tire rubs the frame.
The spring will fit inside a 17 inch rim but the sway bar if equiped might run into the tire.

 

[norvalwilhelm]

Tried posting pictures but the host has dropped them. Sorry

 

[Steve Ference]

gene, the ebrake bracket is welded to the trailing arm on the 75, so i guess i,ll have to grind off the old on and fab a new one to weld on,probably not on top as it looks like it might not clear the chassis when the arm is fully compressed as you found out

 

[Steve Ference]

the 75 model comes with 8" rims and apart from the issue of the ebrake bracket it looks like a 91/2" should fit with the right backspace/offset. i,m sure a 275 40 17 tyre should fit as its a smaller diameter the the stock wheel/tyre combo