61 wheels / tires ??'s

[CynthiaChebultz]

Earlier I had posted about a popping nose in my suspension and a binding near center when steering - Some of you had responded about the width of the wheels / tires possibly being a problem - We took the wheels off and tried to measure them, they appear 7.5" inside (bead to bead) - the tires are 225 70R15 - as an RPO 687 car it originally came with 5.5" wheels correct? are the 7.5" cragars on it now part of the problem? if I do replace the wheels where's the best place to look for original looking wheels??




www.my61corvette.com

[James F.]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

Cynthia,
Originally '61's came standard with 5" wide wheels. Factory racing rims were 5.5" wide. If you took the tire off the rim and measured inside to inside of the bead (the vertical part before the rolled bead) and get 7.5" you measured correctly. Wide rims and radials do put more turning load on the front suspension. I can't think why these rims/wheels would cause a popping noise. A somewhat more pronounced "binding" at center, possibly. Jack the front end up with wheels off the ground. Is the "binding" feel about the same? Regards,

[Mike M.]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

Not all big brake cars came with 15 x 5 1/2 wheels but most did. 15 x 5 1/2 was an additional cost on top of the big brake option. the 7 1/2 wide cragars have probably contributed significantly to the damaged worm and sector and replacing the cragars with 15 x 5 or 15 x 5 1/2 probably won't correct the problem. If you elect to put 15 5 1/2 ORIGINALS on your c-1 , be prepaired to spend about 2k per wheel and even then finding true wide wheels is a difficult task.mike

[CynthiaChebultz]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

I've been told that I could use '8080' wheels but they are not exact. Atleast I could put the little RPO hubcaps on. Which my car is not a numbers matching car, but I would like for it to look correct.

Actually the popping noise is from the suspension somewhere, and someone had mentioned that either the popping noise or the binding near center was caused by the extra stress of big wheels.

I want to make sure that when we fix the suspension / steering that I don't just damage it again by having wide wheels.

Thanks!!

[Mike M.]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

the 8080 wheels that were common to 63 and 64 vettes will work just fine on your 61 with dog dish hubcaps, mike

[Frank H.]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

The noise may be your fast steering adapter working loose,or the kingpins and bushings are worn,I suggest jack it up on stands and do the wiggle test on all suspension component,and steering box.

[Jim K.]

Re: 61 wheels / tires ??'s

I had a binding that could have been described as a "pop" by some, it was the steering box worm and sector gear all knicked up. $400 later ans several hours of frustrating bearing and race removal (and replacement) and it works like new. Filled it with grease this time so it should last forever!!! Just a thought.