I picked up a set of used Mangels 5-1/2x15 wheels available locally for my 4 lug to wide 5 conversion.
I noticed that the wheels have a 4 inch backspacing or offset (as measued from the inside mounting surface to the outer rim).
Can anyone running Mangels (or other manufacturer 5 wide wheels) on their Speedster confirm that this offset is correct for running on my Speedster. I am not sure whether Mangels made differently offset 5-1/2in. 5 wide wheels.
Thanks in advance, Grant
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Extra info. I have a 2000 Vintage Speedster with a 1970 pan and swing axle rear. I believe that its a long axle short spline. The car was built by Vintage with 5-1/2 in. 4 lug Mangel wheels, and I believe that the backspacing on these wheels is 4-1/2 inches (as measured from the inside hub mounting surface to the outer wheel edge).
Currently my 4 lug Mangels have 165x15s on them, and I have about 1 inch clearance at the rear from the inside fenderwell. Ideally I want to run 185x65 15s all around on the 5 wide Mangel wheels.
I guess my concern is whether the reduced backspacing of 1/2in., plus the increased width of the tire, is going to give me rear fenderwell clearance issues.
Thanks, Grant
You're converting from 4x130 to 5x205 with drums/discs? The best way to figure this out is a trial fit; wait until the dead of winter....Al
PS- if you need even more clearance then you'll have time to locate some early short/short axles and tubes ('60 or '61-66, I believe).
That is correct. I currently have 4 lug discs up front and 4 lug drums at the rear.
From my research it sounds like the rear wheel/tire fender clearance issue is the main concern.
I was planning on changing out the existing front disc brakes with the 5 wide front disc brake kit from AC Industries (as I understand that this is the kit that Kirk uses to build his Vintage Speedsters). At the rear all I need to do is change out the drums.
Since it looks like I would only be loosing only about 1/2 inch in backspacing (by changing wheels), I could probably get away with running the 165s all around without running into a rear fender clearance issue (an assumption based on my existing 1 inch of clearance)
However, ideally it would be nice to go with the 185x65s all around.
Thanks, Grant
I have an IM pan based car and have the same problem in the rear. When I purchased my new wheels (15x6) I found a tire shop with an old, used 185/65-15. I bought it for something like $15 and had them mount it. I then mounted the wheel/tire on each corner to make sure it would clear everything. Putting the wheel/tire on the left and right rear is important, because many speedsters have a body that is slightly skewed to one side.
If the 185 clears on all four sides you can go out and buy four new 185/65-15 tires. If not, you'll have to go with a narrower tire.
Hello Ron
I discovered that my rear is a short axle swing rather than a long axle.
Is your set up the same ?
This weekend I will be checking to see if I can get away with simply swapping out the rear 4 lug drums for 67 5 wide drums. My other issue is that I am running the wider 40mm shoes and am not sure whether the 67 drums can accommodate.
Grant
I have IRS.
Okay so I bought the `67 5-wide rear drums and found that they bind internally on the 40 mm brake shoes (that are currently being run on the 4 lug drums). So it looks like I will be having to convert to the 30 mm brake shoes to get the `67 5-wide drums to fit properly (i.e., with the castle nut torqued down).
Does anyone know whether this is purely a brake shoe swap out (replacing the 40 mm wide shoes with the 30 mm shoes), or is there other hardware changes needed such as wheel cylinder, springs, backing plate, ect?
Any help here would be appreciated.
