Wheel / Caliper Issues

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Jun 22, 2013
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My Car
My '72 convertible was ordered from a factory catalog while I was serving in Viet Nam '71.
Hello All,

 I just installed a Wilwood brake system w/12" disc. and my vintique 54 series 15x8 steel wheels with 4" back spacing are hitting my calipers  right at the first hump. Even with a spacer.







A= 1/16

B= 6 7/8

C= 2 3/8

D= 2 15/16

E= 4 1/2

I have talked to tech support at Vintique and at Wilwood with not much feed back from them.

My question to the forum  is:

Will Magnum 500 mags work with my brakes?

Will going from 15" to 17" help me?

Not having different wheels to try and just going by approximation / guessing is driving me nuts. (short trip for me)

Thank you ,

Bru

 
Doh!

Hate it when that happens.

My guess is that you will have to go to 16's or 17's. If you head way north on I5 I have a 17x8" SN95 Mustang wheel you can have. The backspacing it totally wrong for your application but you could stack spacers or something to test fit it and use it as a mock up tool.

I had to go with 17's to clear my front brakes. Hurst Dazzler 17X8 wheels with 4.5" backspacing are probably one of the least expensive options.

Most places will not give you yes or no fitment answers once you have gone custom. Measuring it yourself is probably best.

 
Bentworker,

Thanks for the offer but I think you are a bit far north. You aren't pinned on the members map, but I believe you are up in Redding.

I was hoping the 15 x 8 Magnum's would fit. At least I could use my tires.

The way it stands,  I'm out 5 painted rims, 4 chromed poverty caps and 5 brand new tires.

Ain't life grand? :bouncy:

 
ok this is more of a guess than anything but magnums have 4.5" backspacing, and by the looks of the damage they would clear. You don't need a brand new set yet, just check with auto shops or even junk yards all you need is one 15" magnum that's in terrible shape to try and fit.

 
Which Wilwood set did you get? I have Wilwoods in the front with 15" Magnums and no problem. In the rear i had another set of disc brakes that were touching a little. I ended up grinding a tad out of the caliper to increase clearance. The rears were one piston floater calipers so i would be less concerned grinding the outer half than with the wilwoods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 
Last edited by a moderator:
ok this is more of a guess than anything but magnums have 4.5" backspacing, and by the looks of the damage they would clear. You don't need a brand new set yet, just check with auto shops or even junk yards all you need is one 15" magnum that's in terrible shape to try and fit.
-Backspacing is not the problem, in fact I believe the problem would be worse with the added backspacing.

-Good suggestion about going to a junkyard and picking one up. I'll do that this week.

Thanks

 
Which Wilwood set did you get? I have Wilwoods in the front with 15" Magnums and no problem. In the rear i had another set of disc brakes that were touching a little. I ended up grinding a tad out of the caliper to increase clearance. The rears were one cylinder floater calipers so i would be less concern grinding the outer half than with the wilwoods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I have the mustang kit and I did try to grind a bit off for fit. It's just way too much to take off

and they will only fit with the spacers.

 I had to stop my "make it work" train of thought and re think on how to make it right.





 
I was considering 140-11074 (12'') or 140-11073 (11'') if 74 doesn't fit my Weld ProStar

Which one do you have @tony_muscle?
I have the WIL-140-13477 kit. This kit has 11.3" rotors. I have the regular solid discs.

http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-13477-DR
I have the 11074D 

I talked to Willwood about dropping down to a 11" disc since the same calipers are used with different mounting hardware.

They had no comment but according to there size chart I would get about 1/4" more clearance . Still not enuff if I want to get ride of the spacers.

 
I picked up a nice set of SVO wheels 84-86 model and thought I would try on my 73 vert and they will not clear the front calipers with stock brakes. The wheels are 16" also but will not clear by couple inches.

Like stated you need to just find wheels and try them for correct fit. I was shocked that the SVO wheels would not clear since the brakes on the SVO were off the Lincoln I would have thought bigger than the 73 but I guess not.

David

 
@tony_muscle

Oh, I didn't know they had full rotors similar to originals. Even bigger than the 140-11073.

How do they compare to the original equipment? Mine in good shape were fine if relatively cold, but much less effective after I would for instance leave the highway using the small exits as we have here in the north of my city, where you go from 130/140 kmh to 50 in very short distance.

After that, breaking power is affected for at least a mile before it cools again. I did change the rotors and pads, but just like on my more heavy t-bird, its just not sufficient when hot for my taste.

@bru

I'm gonna triple check their provided clearance chart if go for that one.

One extra inch of rotor gives more surface to ditch the heat and its surely tempting me.

I hope you'll nail your prob soon without too much extra costs!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Which Wilwood set did you get? I have Wilwoods in the front with 15" Magnums and no problem. In the rear i had another set of disc brakes that were touching a little. I ended up grinding a tad out of the caliper to increase clearance. The rears were one piston floater calipers so i would be less concerned grinding the outer half than with the wilwoods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
What size / diameter are your disc? I'm hoping they are 12.

 
Another idea to toss out there. 

You could make a negitive cardboard or heavy paper template with a pair of sissors that sits flat on your hub and follows the profile of the caliper.  Then you could make a positive of it, and carry it around with you.  Place it in any wheel you find and see if you have clearance.  If you got crazy you could put one in an envalope and send one to someone to check against a wheel your are curious about.

 
Which Wilwood set did you get? I have Wilwoods in the front with 15" Magnums and no problem. In the rear i had another set of disc brakes that were touching a little. I ended up grinding a tad out of the caliper to increase clearance. The rears were one piston floater calipers so i would be less concerned grinding the outer half than with the wilwoods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
What size / diameter are your disc? I'm hoping they are 12.
11.3" rotors

 
@tony_muscle

Oh, I didn't know they had full rotors similar to originals. Even bigger than the 140-11073.

How do they compare to the original equipment? Mine in good shape were fine if relatively cold, but much less effective after I would for instance leave the highway using the small exits as we have here in the north of my city, where you go from 130/140 kmh to 50 in very short distance.

After that, breaking power is affected for at least a mile before it cools again. I did change the rotors and pads, but just like on my more heavy t-bird, its just not sufficient when hot for my taste.
I didn't get to drive the car much before I replaced the brakes so it is not a fair comparison. It needed a brake job so I never hit the brakes that hard before the upgrade. However, I don't think the "regular" braking improved that much, but I would expect the "aggressive" braking to be an improvement. Over the two summers I have driven the car after the upgrade, I have not experience any brake fade. Especially, during the break-in procedure where I had to make some hard brakes I didn't experience brake fade. During break-in, the brakes were definitely smelling.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not to change the subject said:
Which Wilwood set did you get? I have Wilwoods in the front with 15" Magnums and no problem. In the rear i had another set of disc brakes that were touching a little. I ended up grinding a tad out of the caliper to increase clearance. The rears were one cylinder floater calipers so i would be less concern grinding the outer half than with the wilwoods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I have the mustang kit and I did try to grind a bit off for fit. It's just way too much to take off

and they will only fit with the spacers.

 I had to stop my "make it work" train of thought and re think on how to make it right.



 
Mjordan,

I installed the Chris Alston (TCP) system front and 4 link system rear.

After running new stock suspension on a short trip,(1300 miles) I decided to go with a newer setup.

I like cornering... a lot!  

Did I mention that my "old" suspension was for sale ?  ;-)













 
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