so ive been looking for replacement wheels with more of an old muscle era look.
i still plan on grabbing a set of rally wheels but my project this week was rescuing a set of old Cragar SS wheels.
found these of course on craigslist.
2- 15x7 with 2.5" of backspace
2- 15x10 with 4.25" of backspace
i also picked up some good condition used rubber on craigs site.
rears are 265/70/15 while the front tires are 215/70/15
i should have taken more pics but i always forget...or have greasy hands
anyway this is what i started with.
i would say there was one rear wheel that was worse than this but most were about this clapped out.
i did a quick 10 min cleanup using WD-40 and 0000 grade steelwool then a quick coat of chrome polish and here are the results
not too bad.
however, the real problem with these wheels (like most old Cragar wheels) is that the center is aluminum and its real corroded and the chrome is smoked beyond repair/even flaking off in spots.
then came the fun part of removing severely dry rotted tires and installing the "new" craigslist rubber.
i didnt take any pics of the process but i did it all without a tire machine.
it certainly took a bit to break the beads but its kind of satisfying doing it the old fashioned way.
once i got done mounting and balancing it was time to put them on...
so once i did my final torquing a lug stud snapped off and a slew of expletives began spewing from my mouth.
but i guess i was "lucky" that it happened now and not on the road somewhere.
i ended up buying two new studs from a place right down the street and slapped one back in on my lunch break today.
the real problem is that i was already down one Cragar specific lug and now a stud is broke off in this other so looks like only the rears are going on.
its not a huge issue for a few reasons.
-the current lug/washers are rusted and well worn
-bought a new set of 20 lugs and washers for $22
-bought a set of 4 center caps on ebay for $20 since im missing the two for the front wheels
-going to the Barona drag strip antique drags this sat and i can just look the part LOL
so here is how it looks now with the big meat in back
