First MC (72) Late starter.. any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated!!

[Court1984]

My wife brought me a 72 MC for my 40th birthday!! So far I’ve noticed the rear tires rub the wheel well (275’s) but love the look, it’s also been slightly lowered. So suspension, carburetor, and electrical work is what I can see so far. I’m in Pa., near Harford County MD. I’m skeptical about taking it to any shop I’d rather do it myself but I’m a novice. Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. https://share.icloud.com/photos/07d6asQ26pb3jCiNptvl4-LNw

[Dtret]

First of all. Welcome to our family of Misfit Toys. ( Christmas is coming). We actually were posting about tire rubbing yesterday. I can’t get in your photos so you are more than welcome to post them here. The more pictures we get the happier we become. Great group here. We can help you with your questions, just ask. We were all novices at one point so no worries. My first guess would be that your tires are too big and/ or wrong offset on the rims. 

[Rob Peters]

Welcome aboard the boards.  We hope you like what you see here and decide to become a full fledged dues paying member of the club and maybe attend my mini-meet in Carlisle in Carlisle in June.

Looking at the picture of your car, I am not so sure it has been lowered so much as maybe a slight aging sag.

rob

[Ron Tevis]

Age makes a lot more than cars sag:)… ! Welcome to the FGMCC boards!.. youl find a lot of good people  here and answers to questions about your 72 , Congratulations on your perfect gift!!

[willie]

Welcome to the madness Court!!!!!    Plenty of knowledgeable people here so just ask away!!!!  Good luck with her. And Happy Birthday, Great present!!!!

[cny first gen 71]

to the site. From what I can see looks like a pretty nice car to start with, better than mine was lol. Looks like if you pick the back up a little it may cure the rubbing issue but not totally sure. Good luck with it hopefully you won't find to many gremlins but if you do ask away someone here will know the answer ton of knowledge here.

[cbolt]

1 hour ago, Rob Peters said:

 

Looking at the picture of your car, I am not so sure it has been lowered so much as maybe a slight aging sag.

 

That's what I was thinking as well. Just some rear springs and it should eliminate the rubbing tires. 

 

Welcome to the site Courtland! 

[Chris shipley]

Welcome to the club. Nice present. Happy birthday.  Nice car

[Court1984]

Thank you all! Rear springs sounds very doable thank you @cbolt!  

[714024SPEED]

Welcome!! Nice birthday gift.

[Marks71]

Welcome to the club. If you need info or guidance on your car you’re at the right place.

[Marks71]

It’s definitely the rear wheel offset that’s creating the rubbing. I see it has the 8” Rallies. The front and rear wheels appear to have different offsets. It looks like the inside edge of the trim ring is tight against the wheel face on the front and there is about a 3/4” space between the  trim ring and the wheel face on the rear. Can you confirm that, because it might just be a reflection?  Also what size front tires do you have?

[Michael Boyte]

I fully agree with the spring replacement and proper backspacing, That should take care of the rubbing issue. Also, that's a very nice birthday present  !!  And you will get an awful lot of attention with it !!

[Court1984]

51 minutes ago, Marks71 said:

It’s definitely the rear wheel offset that’s creating the rubbing. I see it has the 8” Rallies. The front and rear wheels appear to have different offsets. It looks like the inside edge of the trim ring is tight against the wheel face on the front and there is about a 3/4” space between the  trim ring and the wheel face on the rear. Can you confirm that, because it might just be a reflection?  Also what size front tires do you have?

255 in the front 275 in the rear, it’s not even 3/4” maybe 6mm.

[Scott S.]

Interesting exhaust tips....

Almost anything is doable, especially with the help of the people here. 

They've been a great source of information over the years. I.m pretty sure you'll like it here.

Welcome. 

 

[Canuck]

It looks like the stock 15x7 rallys on the front and Corvette 15x8 rallys on the rear. Those Corvette rallys only have 4” backspacing so they really stick out father than the car was designed for causing the rubbing. I rolled my quarter panel lip a little to get clearance for my Vette rallys on my 70 Monte but I only had 245 tires on it. The rear wheel well can easily take a 275 tire if you get rims with a different offset/backspacing.

[Marks71]

If you zoom in on the 2 photos, look at where the trim ring is touching the wheel face (with the 5 slots) in 1 photo and in the other photo there is a space. Do you have the same differences with your front and rear?

[Marks71]

12 minutes ago, Canuck said:

It looks like the stock 15x7 rallys on the front and Corvette 15x8 rallys on the rear. Those Corvette rallys only have 4” backspacing so they really stick out father than the car was designed for causing the rubbing. I rolled my quarter panel lip a little to get clearance for my Vette rallys on my 70 Monte but I only had 245 tires on it. The rear wheel well can easily take a 275 tire if you get rims with a different offset/backspacing.

It looks like the  trim ring from an 8” rally though. Will they fit on a 7” wheel? No gap between the trim ring and the wheel face.

[Canuck]

23 minutes ago, Marks71 said:

It looks like the  trim ring from an 8” rally though. Will they fit on a 7” wheel? No gap between the trim ring and the wheel face.

Yeah, it does look like an 8” trim ring.

[Canuck]

26 minutes ago, Marks71 said:

It looks like the  trim ring from an 8” rally though. Will they fit on a 7” wheel? No gap between the trim ring and the wheel face.

I just tried, an 8” trim ring won’t fit a 7” rim. It must be some custom aftermarket trim ring on that front rim.

[kpcsgasp]

Welcome to the jungle! You won't find a better place for information (and banter) then right here!

[Scott S.]

2 hours ago, Canuck said:

I just tried, an 8” trim ring won’t fit a 7” rim. It must be some custom aftermarket trim ring on that front rim.

The 7" trim rings look like the mid '80's Camaro version....

They don't have the same "beveled" edge as the early '70's ones.

 

[Marks71]

3 hours ago, Marks71 said:

It looks like the  trim ring from an 8” rally though. Will they fit on a 7” wheel? No gap between the trim ring and the wheel face.

 

3 hours ago, Canuck said:

I just tried, an 8” trim ring won’t fit a 7” rim. It must be some custom aftermarket trim ring on that front rim.

The photos of the 2 rallys are from my car. Both trim rings are the same. The wheel offset would affect that gap. My rears have no gap and the fronts have a good 3/4”. If the rears had the same gap as the fronts, then my 275s would definitely rub.I’ve never checked, but maybe they’re aftermarket wheels. Possibly Wheel Vintiques with a special offset?  never seen a rally wheel where the trim ring was tight against the wheel face like my rears are. Sorry Courtand for getting a little off track you may have opened something up here. 

[Court1984]

New springs and shocks on rear end can’t get one bolt out on top of shock any suggestions?

[Chevy Dave]

Can you get a box end wrench on the top? If you can't reach it you can use a large pry bar to work the car body sheet metal up enough to get to the bolt or nut, whichever it is. If the issue is a stripped bolt that won't come loose you can use an air chisel to break the bolt. I just went through this on my 70 last week.