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DuraPine II

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Doesn't zero offset mean the mounting flange is on center and a 5" wheel would have 2 1/2" backspacing?

Bill
 

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
I found this to be a good calculator when I was trying to figure out all the wheel/tire possibilities for our cars. (I thought about creating a chart, but there were just too many variables)

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

Punch in the original wheel/tire specs (I've been told it's 185/70 R13 with 4.5" rims with -27 offset), although Bill, you could put in the Saab wheels' specs. Then punch in the proposed specs (I did 185/55 R15 tire on 5" width rim with the 0 offset). And here's the result I got:

Package 2 is 27 mm (1.1'') closer to suspension/brakes components. Make sure that you have enough room for that. If not, consider lower offset, narrower tires or using spacers.​
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Greg, you forgot to punch in the Saab wheel offset. It is 33mm. Also, I think that in order for the 5" wheel to have 3" backset it must have 1/2" offset. The new wheel should calculate to have about 1 3/16" more suspension clearance than the Saab wheel.

Bill
 

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Doesn't zero offset mean the mounting flange is on center and a 5" wheel would have 2 1/2" backspacing?

Bill




Bill,

Backspace is the distance from the wheel mounting flange to the farthest inward point of the wheel and includes the "thickness" of the inside tire bead flange. The overall width of wheels (alloy or steel) is typically about 1" greater than the rim width.

The bottom line is that a 5" rim width wheel with zero offset typically has a backspace (and "frontspace") of about 3".

The backspace for a 15x6 wheel on the front of a Series Alpine needs to be about 4-1/2" to keep the wheel / tire under the fender. For a 15x5 wheel, the backspace could be reduced to about 4".
 
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Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Thank you. Good to know exactly the meaning of the jargon. I've always wondered about this and assumed backspacing would use other standard wheel measuring points. The big question in my mind has always been do we measure 5" mounting surface or add the thickness of the wheel. Good to know it is easier than that. Generally speaking, such details are hard to find.

Bill
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Making some headway on the paint job. A local body shop owner looked at it the past Monday. He said it was not as nice as he thought based on the general photos he had seen. That initial impression had lead him to give a guestimate of $6500. He said he would get back to in a few days. Its almost a week and no word from him.

In the meantime I contacted One More Time Rods and Restoration. He works on a $40/man hour shoptime + consumables cost and does not work on total cost contract. Thought the job would be $8500 - $10,000. Would not be able to get to it until Feb, would finish in March. This is full time operation, not a body shop shop doing custom work as a fill in. Beautiful work and much more likely to get it done on time. I think we will use this shop. Possibly a bit more money, probably a better job done within a reasonable time frame.

While waiting, I decided to address the car's door gaps. Neither door would close properly and I was convinced the drivers door was racked about 1/2". Two days later, both doors close and the gaps are good. The bottom hinge on the drivers side had a .065" spacer. That was removed, still not right. Removed the hinge and collapsed it about .060". Turned out to be perfect! Also had to collapse the upper hinge. I am amazed at the results. When I started I thought the problems were in the doors and adjusting the gaps would give the body shop a better idea of how bad the problems were.

Bill
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
What do you mean by collapsed the hinge and how did you do it?
I place it in a big vise and reduced it closed thickness by .060". When I did the Orange car, I used a sledge hammer and a granite boulder. Much more effective, but no control of the process. Bang! its done, vs. squeezing it down in ten thou increments.

Bill
 

Fergusonic

Donation Time
One More Time R & R..... I think I may have told you about that one. I have been there a couple times at a Car Show and saw their shop with in-progress Projects..... Quality work for sure.
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
One More Time R & R..... I think I may have told you about that one. I have been there a couple times at a Car Show and saw their shop with in-progress Projects..... Quality work for sure.
You did and I'm sure they will do a great job. However, after seeing the shop, I think that their rebuilding of the wrecked unibody would be a bit of a stretch.

Bill
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Onward. Time to redo the header. The new more upright engine installation requires relocating the alternator from the extreme lower to the upper right. Right beside the header. So, here's dodging the alternator.
IMG_6855.JPG
The 2 x 4 was located using the old header. Then the header was cutup to salvage the "hard" parts for the new header. The collector outlet was bolted onto the 2 x 4 in a slightly different location. The header is being built using four 1 1/2" I.D. "U" exhaust sections, courtesy of Speedway motors. It looks like the job will cost about thirty bucks and a boatload of bandsaw time.
Bill
 

Mike O'D

Gold Level Sponsor
I know how much work goes into a good paint job (I painted my own), but wow that's a chunk of change. And people wonder why "rat rods" are so popular? $50 worth of Rustoleum spray cans and a couple of hours and you're done!
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
I know how much work goes into a good paint job (I painted my own), but wow that's a chunk of change. And people wonder why "rat rods" are so popular? $50 worth of Rustoleum spray cans and a couple of hours and you're done!
Yes. I did the original paint job, twice. Add to all the of the body work the needed paint booth. Installing it inside the garage and taking it down is probably a week of very strenous work for me.

Also try the Silverstone II wheels.. They do 14x5.5 iirc
I need 15's to clear the 11.2" rotors. Additionally, their web site indicates they do not "do" four on four and quarter wheels.

Bill
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
I need 15's to clear the 11.2" rotors. Additionally, their web site indicates they do not "do" four on four and quarter wheels.

Bill

Bill typo.. Should have said 15... They certainly do 4x108 as several sunbeam people have them and they offered them on ebay with tigers shown.
They do 15x6 for sunbeams in the correct offsets but i think its the TR or MG wheels they did with the thinner rim depth.. It they drill them already in 4x108 im sure they could drill a 4x108 on their other size as a request as the casting the cebtre section is rhe same .

The Silverstone II by gc360:
images

images


The retro 4 design by VTO ( copy of the period libre wheels)
alpiners15x6.JPG
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Yes, the "do" 108's. Normally have 6 m x 15 with 24mm offset, but are out of stock. Would not do me any good anyway.

Meanwhile, back to the header. It is 99% completed. Really glad to get that job done. I'm a terrible welder and not very good with spatial problems, probably why I put big engines in little cars. It will soon get header wrap.
IMG_6886.JPG
Bill
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
I too am a terrible welder.... thought that is what grinder disc was for:)
Here's a thought - "If you have to grind your welds in order to make them pretty, that makes you a grinder, not a welder". However for me, making them pretty is out of the question, I have to settle for "make them look presentable". So maybe I'm not even a grinder.
Bill
 
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