275 wide front tires on a gbody??

[itsnotanova]

I have an el camino frame that i've modified to fit 315 wide rear tires and i want to modify it in the front to fit 275's. Has anyone ever heard of anybody fitting something wider than 245's on a gbody? I haven't measured anything yet but I'm thinking I need to narrow the frame rails by four inches. I'll either have too make the frame rails narrower or notch the frame where the tires rub. The problem with that is the sway bar will still be in the way and I'm not sure how to get around that. I've been thinking about this for the last week and right now I'm thinking about maybe using something from S10's. I think the S10 is skinnyer, so maybe cut behind the a-arms and weld it to the gbody frame. What do you guys think?

 

[XbeasleyX]

With all the extra work and rolling resistance, would it really be worth the extra hassle over 245?

 

[itsnotanova]

I think it would have been cool looking to have really fat tires all around. Some guys like big tall wheels and there's guys like me that like the steam-roller look. I'll probable never do it unless I win the lottery, but I've heard of people drafting the front suspension from corvette's and using it on various different vehicles. I didn't research it much but supposily the C4's front is 62 inches and the rear is 62-64 inches depending on what years you use. If I were to go after that look, I would use the C4 suspension front and rear with the G body

 

[XbeasleyX]

Now a C4 suspension on a G-body would be quite the sight. Some nice 315+ tires on the back.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I would think you would have to narrow the frame a bit or do some cutting to make it work as 245's tend to rub a little as is. My car is modified to fit 245's without rubbing (see my build thread for details), and might be able to fit a 255 up front, but I doubt it could go much bigger. Then again, you could always go for a wide body look and make anything fit. As for a suspension, I would look for something other than a C4 rear. The geometry is horrible on that thing. Likewise, I would try to find a front suspension that has decent geometry too as the C4 Vette is not known for it's good suspension design. Maybe an FD RX-7? It would be narrow enough, and as LS1 swaps are popular with the FD crowd, it can probably handle the weight.

 

[Tony_SS]

I seen one guy do it on a Monte SS with 17x8 camaro wheels. I didn't like the look and it probably put a ton of stress on the ball joints, plus IMO the tire was a little too tall looking up front. I'd maybe try a 255/40-17. That should fit w/o any issues.

 

[dedub]

itsnotanova,

Please tell me (us) how you modified your gbody to accommodate 315's!!

Thanks

 

[itsnotanova]

I'm a little lazy tonight so here's the link of when I was selling that elc. It explains what I did

I think there's still picture of that elc in my photos. I sold it to a fellow member from StLouis and one of these days I'll get around to seeing what he did with it.

 

[itsnotanova]

As for a suspension, I would look for something other than a C4 rear. The geometry is horrible on that thing. Likewise, I would try to find a front suspension that has decent geometry too as the C4 Vette is not known for it's good suspension design

85 Cutlass Brougham, Why is this so?

 

[Mudweizer]

I'm a little lazy tonight so here's the link of when I was selling that elc. It explains what I did
http://gbodyforum.com/posting.php?mode=reply&t=7467

I think there's still picture of that elc in my photos. I sold it to a fellow member from StLouis and one of these days I'll get around to seeing what he did with it.

That link didn't work, can you repost it please.