Hi guys- I am the proud new owner of a 67 Skylark. It currently has restored 14x6 ralleys (with three different offsets, uzzled: ), more or less stock ride height. I'm currently going round and round with the age-old "stock or modified" question. Chief on the list of possible mods is lowering it about 4" and putting disk brakes on the front. At that point, the 14"s would have to go. I like the idea of some larger diameter ralleys, but the price is stunning. I found these for the more reasonable $150/ea: wheelsforless.com/images/ion/625bclose.jpg I've been doing some reading, and it looks like a 17x7 w/4" BS should fit. However, my car has fender skirts, which I'd like to retain. Mostly because I don't know where to get the wheel well trim, and I don't want to permanently remove the skirt brackets. Anyone have any idea if these would work? Like many, I'd really love a 17x9 with 265+ on 'em, but I'd be happy enough with a 17x7 with a 235/45 or so. Thanks for any help!
You will probably need different back spacing on the rear to fit in the skirts. It is tough to figure out how much. Even after a whole bunch of measuring. Hope someone has done it before and can help you. You are right rear wheel well trim is real hard to find.
I swapped in a 81 Cutlass rearend under my 67 Skylark. I"m currently running 17X8's on the rear. I believe the backspacing is 4.5 inches. The 81 cutlass rearend is 4 inches narrower, allowing a more common wheel offset to be used without rubbing the quarter panels. I had to swap the spring perches and redo the brake lines, but I love it. I also put Scarebird rear disc brakes on it. I believe the 17X7 would allow the fender skirts to be used without rubbing. I could swap them around and check for you if you want. -Josh
Wow, that's great info, Josh, thanks so much!! Only mods to the axle were the spring seats and brake lines? IE, the trailing arm and driveshaft connections are the same? If you don't mind a test fit with the 7" that would be wonderful. Happy Thanksgiving!
Yeah, the spring perches on the 67 are in front of the axle, and the G-body perches sit on top of the axle. Also the brake hose on the 67 is center of the frame to the center of the pumpkin, G-bodies are side of frame to side of the pumpkin. I made myself a little note to swap the wheels around and put the skirts on, so I don't forget. I'll try to get that done over the weekend, and post pics for you. -Josh Here's my post on how I did the rear disc conversion. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?p=1346804#post1346804
First off, I apologize for the delay. At anyrate, I have good news. I didn't have to pull the 17X8's off to check the 17X7's because the 8's fit under the skirts!! The 7's have a 4 inch backspacing and the 8's have a 4 1/2 inch backspacing. Just for grins, I got my fender skirt and decided to see if it even fit at all. I could fit my fingers in between the tire and the skirt with no obstructions. -Josh
Well!! Now I have this raging boner, what am I supposed to do with it?:spank: Your axle is 4" narrower, which suggests that (if there were such a thing) that I'd need a 17x8 with 6.5" BS, 17x7 with 6". Looks like a narrower axle should go on my shopping list. ...I feel the wind blowing me toward the pro-tour look... :laugh: Thanks much for the test fit, really appreciate it!!
You're welcome. FYI, I pull the rearend out of the junkyard for $100. The 67 rearend is 61 inches wide from end to end where the wheels mount. THe G-body rearend is 57 inches. Mine's a 3.42 Posi. Custom offset wheel cost a small fortune for the special order. -Josh
In a last ditch effort to update my ride without spending a lot of money and time, I took a look at a set of 15x6 American Racing TorqThrustII's; 3.5" BS per seller, 225/70 rear, 205/70 front. Rear tire rubbed on the skirt, and had at least 3" of clearance inboard. That's nuts!! Guess the rear axle swap is on the list for sure now. Thanks again for the help!
That's one thing I always hated about the 64-67 a-bodies. They have such small fenderwell in comparison to the 68-72's. Same with the engine compartments. I had Super Comp full-length headers and I had to notch the crossmember to use them. I did the G-body sawp years ago, because my left axle walked out on me, and I had a 79 regal as a beater. Not knowing that it was a simple bearing failure, I just swapped the rearends. I was young and didn't know much about mechanics, let alone if they'd even fit. After the swap, I couldn't hook up the rear brakes (I didn't know much about re-doing brake lines) and the spring perches were different (The coil springs rubbed the shocks and popped them!!), but I had 15X7 Buick Rallyes with 245/60R15s UNDER the skirts on the rear. The car was lowered so much, the centercap of the rear wheels was hidden behind the skirt. It looked like one of those chopper Merc's that seem to hover down the street. -Josh
man that sounds like a sweet looking setup. don't suppose you have pics? I'm considering air ride, I like the idea of a lowrider/muscle combo machine.
I'll see if I can dig up a pic of the old 4-door. I might have to scan a negative or something at Wal-greens, but I"ll get it. -JOsh
