Clearance cut in wheels for Corvette spindles???

[mike_starling]

Guys,

Particularly those with DRB setups ...

I have a Sabre with Corvette spindles and currently Corvette brakes. The rear uprights are from DRB and the fronts from the 'Vette.

Lynn's wheel drawing shows a 1/2" recess in the back of the wheel (from outside the bolt circle to the rims) which I assume to allow clearance for the brake calipers. Can't seem to reach Lynn to ask. Hope he is just busy.

Is this clearance cut necessary for 'Vette brakes and would it be necessary for Baer's (PBR's) in the future?

Need to know to order wheels as that is the next thing this summer.

Thanks!

[Peter D]

Mike, its a little hard to visualise without Lynn's drawing, but looking at my setup (same as yours with DRB uprights, 88 Vette brakes), it seems that the outer parts of the calipers are around 3/8" outboard of the mating surface of the rotors / wheel hubs. Its midnight here now, so the concept of firing up the rattle gun to remove a wheel may not be a really good idea ! Let me know if you want some more accurate measurements.

I have Simmons 10" FR17 wheels set up as per DRB/GT40 Aust specs (140mm offset) & they easily clear the Vette brake calipers. The inner rim edges are quite close to the lower trailing arm rose joints, so you would not want to take them wider in the inside - but - I could do with an extra 1/2" on the outside. The Simmons wheels have quite a bit of "stand-off" from the rotor/wheel mating surface to the inner sides of the spokes (about 20mm in my case), so larger brake calipers are a possibility.

Hope this helps a bit.

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

[mike_starling]

Peter,

Here is the drawing ... sorry about its quality. Can happen when you convert a .bmp to a jpg.



Looks like Lynn is using a 114.3mm backset with a 1/2" inset cut on the center of the wheel. Looks like the cut is necessary. I am running flairs ... so there is plenty of room in the wheel wells! Probably means that there is not a problem with my shallower backset.

I sure do appreciate your help ... and can't blame you at all for wanting to head to bed at midnight!

Also, am about ready to mate the G50/52 to the engine. Bill Baynard has been kind enough to comment on the process of getting the throwout bearing in place. How did you do that?

Thanks,

[Bill Musarra]

That must be a cut in the wheel. The the stock Corvette rotor hat measures .31" thick at the mounting face. The distance from the hat to the outside face of the rotor is 1 3/4". If you have a caliper handy(auctioned mine off), mount it, and it is a simple measurement to see if the cut is necesary. Do you have a drawing from the wheel maufacturer? BTW which wheel(s) are you considering?

Bill

[mike_starling]

Bill,

From a safety point of view I prefer bolt-ons to pin drives. Fortunate as I am not wealthy ;>) I was going to use Compomotives as I have them on my Cobra and Lynn got a good fit with them. Unfortunately, they are getting more expensive faster than I can save money.

I tried to call Team III on Friday to see if they could make a wheel that fit, but Scott was not in and the connection was so bad I could not get any further information. I sent an e-mail note with the drawing asking for a quote. Haven't heard back yet. Must be a show this weekend.

Almost have the front equipment mounts finished. Just need to have a slot cut in one pulley ... don't have a broach setup myself. Transaxle is ready to mount on the engine. Need some extra hands to do a test install so I can measure the height required for the rear transaxle mount. When the engine comes out for that, I'll take apart the front equipment and engine turn the faces of the mounts and put it all back together the last time.

That'll be a major milestone!

DL

[Kalun D]

The Team 3's are nice, they have forged rims welded to a cast center. You don't get the distracting bolts that the Compomotives have.

The only thing I don't like about them is they are lug-centric and there's no hub -centric adapters that fit because the center hole is so big. If you want to go hub centric you're going to have to machine your own adapters.

They have 3/8" offset from the hub bolting face to the back of the spokes. I wouldn't call it a cut though. You could probably only take off an additional 1/8" max.

[Mike Dozier]

Mike

I've got 15" wheels on the Lola and 16 " wheels on the DRB,
both using Corvette parts. But Baers may not fit without 17" wheels...so if you're intent on future upgrade
you may have to go with 17". Baer should know.

What about Bob Lacey's wheels (Vintage)? Last I heard, they were not much more than the price on Team III.
I'm not a fan of knockoffs...but there's no denying
their authentic look.

MikeD

[Peter D]

Mike - some more accurate dimensions & a pic :

- From plane of the rotor / wheel centre mating surface out to the outer-most point on the calipers = 5mm (so a recess of 1/2" should give you plenty of room).

- From the centre of the spindle back to the point on the calipers furthest out radially = 180mm (this is the slight "hump" on the caliper approx in line with the outer face of the upright itself).

Kiind Regards,

Peter D.

[Peter D]

As I mentioned, I have Simmons FR17 wheels - they have a generous recess of around 20mm (see pic). In terms of the radial clearance between the calipers & the inner surfaces of the rims, I have about 20mm - Bill Bayard has FR16's with similar brakes & all is ok.

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

[Peter D]

Last one - re lug nuts / pin drives : I agree with you about the lug nut option being safer - I have often seen "safety wires" used on spinners & that looks like a band-aid to me (& you don't see them on lug-nut wheels).

One of the things on my endless list is to make up some lug-nut covers (just a simple circular aly plate, held on by the fake spinner) - this should address the issue of "looks" & only the total expert will be able to tell the difference !

The attached pic shows the Simmons FR17's on my car, compared with RF reproduction BRM pin-drives. It all seems to come down to personal taste on the look of the wheels, originality vs practicality, etc. (I chose the 17" wheels to give me a wider choice with tyres & brakes into the future). Hope this all helps a bit !

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

[mike_starling]

Guys,

Thank you VERY much! Your comments verify Lynn's comments and are the information I needed to talk with Team III. Have tried to talk with them but have not been able to make contact.

Thanks again,