is 5.5" b.s. too much?

[75novacaine]

hi guys. i found a set of wheels on ebay id like to buy. but they are 5.5" backspacing. is that too much for a 75 nova?

is anyone out there running this much b.s. on their car? got any pics?

thanks.

russ

[jade76]

I don't think 5.5" bs will work unless you tub it out.

I have 4.5" bs with my 15x8 rally's and I measured from inside of wheel to body where shock mounts at top and only have about 1" between them. I was considering 5" bs at one time, but pretty much figured I'd have to tub it even for that. Any more than 4.5" will probably give you problems.

[Seattle_Mike]

Depends on the rim width & tire section width. The only way to really know is to measure available space on your car and go from there. Measure mounting point to mounting point of your rear end, all dimensions of your wheel well, and draw it out on graph paper. It will become very evident exactly what combinations will work and what won't. It will save you time and possibly a lot of $$$ in wheels & tires by taking the time to get it right.

[mrtimstik]

I have 5 inch backspace on a set of steelies that were hand crafted. The receipt for them says they were split and a ring was added and then welded up and then trued. The wheelwell is stock. When I bought the car it had receipts for work or parts for it going back to 1984.

[Green Dragon]

I believe a 15 x 7 with 4.75" backspace is considered the 'largest fits' .

if the wheels were a great deal, you might consider grabbing them anyways and running spacers, but not sure about .75" of spacers.

sounds like you'd need to either mini-tub it, or use a wider rear end ( ie: I've seen it done with late 70's camaro 8.5" housing that is actually 1" wider - not sure if that's overall or per side - than a Nova housing, then you can run larger offsets, generally being done that way so late model corvette, Z28,etc wheels can be run .

also, check here for much good info on tire fitment:

http://www.2quicknovas.com/6874.html

~ AL

[75novacaine]

thanks for the site Al. it helped alot. i wish they had more pics of the 75-79's though.

russ

[DriveWFO]

Russ, you could make this tool out of scrap metal/wood you have laying around:
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/92318/

http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/p170975_image_large.jpg

[novaboy009]

5 or 5.25 might fit by relocating the shocks inboard of the springs and whacking the inner fender a little.

Kev

[Green Dragon]

Kev
__________________
'78 Nova: Engineless/th350/3.73's. 14.02 @ 99 mph.



this one is really impressive - 14.02 time with no motor is really haulin' :D

I imagine you have a bunch of real big friends to push ?

~ AL

( sorry, couldn't resist ):p

[novaboy009]

Lol.... that was the infamous 307. It is now officially relegated to the parking lot in the sky (aka the junkyard).

I'm waiting for a couple parts to arrive so I can finish the nasty blue light special 350. I'm hoping to crack some 12's off the trailer on street tires.

Kev

[DriveWFO]

I'm hoping to crack some 12's off the trailer on street tires.

Trailer?!?! What trailer?!?! :eek: You trailer queen:shh:

[novaboy009]

It's just an expression:).

No trailer for this poor starving college student. I need to buy a torque converter first:)!

Kev

[Green Dragon]

14 doesn't sound too bad for a 307.

I have no idea what my 72/ 307 / TH350 car would run, never had it out, just a driver currently in sotrage).

My 77 Rally Nova ( 305,4bbl, TH200 metric (sic), and 2.56 open rear ran a best of 16.4, lol.... * goes to bury head in the sand *

Our current 79 with 355 runs low 12's, so no need to keep my head buried forever, I guess. lol.

Have fun and keep us posted.

~ AL