Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Post your technical questions and information here.
1977 Cutly
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:21 am
TOA Membership Number: 1059
Years Owned: 1966 Toronados
1977 Cutlass Supreme
"Aftermarket parts are simply the beginning of a very expensive search for the next weakest link in your drivetrain. You heard that here first." -MKing

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby 1977 Cutly » Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:42 am

I can't help I'm afraid.
I know one off wheels are outrageous $, but it might be one of few options available to us.
1966 Toronado, 1992 5.0 Mustang notchback w/T-56 6spd, TOA #1059
"Aftermarket parts are simply the beginning of a very expensive search for the next weakest link in your drivetrain. You heard that here first." -MKing

bluecab
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:52 am
TOA Membership Number: 0
Years Owned: restoring a '66, have Moto Guzzi motorcycles, an Audi convertible and a bunch of other junk
Location: Massachusetts/Rhode Island

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby bluecab » Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:24 pm

No, I meant that I need the measurement from the wheel hub centerline to the fender lip for both front and rear wheels.
My car is up on jackstands with the front end apart so I need the measurement to figure out what wheel sizes will fit.
Thanks

Graniteman
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:00 am
TOA Membership Number: 70
Years Owned: Owned a '69 back in about '77, this cat was a legend in the Nebraska panhandle, it was very fast even for it's size. It would absoloutly fog the front tires from a standing start; I don't mean spin them, I mean just boil 'em from a standing start for at least 100' (measured)! I know what you're thinking, they weren't old rag tires they were modern Yokohoma radials. I'm sure this car would have ran 150mph too because many times I had the cruise set on 135 with 1/2 the gas pedal left. BTW this was in the middle of nowhere Wyoming.
I'm finally about to start work on my '66 that I've owned for 10 years. I plan to make sure my '66 425 runs just as strong as my '69 455 did. I hope to be doing some write-ups for the Driver as I go through the '66. I'll be updating it with disc brakes, electric fans (gasp), good stereo system, battery in the trunk etc., etc. as time and money allows.
I also may be building some new wheels with the correct offset, etc.
Location: Hastings, Nebraska

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby Graniteman » Thu Aug 29, 2013 6:52 am

Just in case this would help anyone speedwaymotors.com in Lincoln, Nebraska has wheel center blanks in wider widths than our Toro wheels, if you wanted to you could build some wider steel wheels. Depending on your welding skills for most I'm sure you'd want to have a pro weld them up for you.........................just a thought ;)

Mike

TOA # 70
TOA # 70

Graniteman
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:00 am
TOA Membership Number: 70
Years Owned: Owned a '69 back in about '77, this cat was a legend in the Nebraska panhandle, it was very fast even for it's size. It would absoloutly fog the front tires from a standing start; I don't mean spin them, I mean just boil 'em from a standing start for at least 100' (measured)! I know what you're thinking, they weren't old rag tires they were modern Yokohoma radials. I'm sure this car would have ran 150mph too because many times I had the cruise set on 135 with 1/2 the gas pedal left. BTW this was in the middle of nowhere Wyoming.
I'm finally about to start work on my '66 that I've owned for 10 years. I plan to make sure my '66 425 runs just as strong as my '69 455 did. I hope to be doing some write-ups for the Driver as I go through the '66. I'll be updating it with disc brakes, electric fans (gasp), good stereo system, battery in the trunk etc., etc. as time and money allows.
I also may be building some new wheels with the correct offset, etc.
Location: Hastings, Nebraska

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby Graniteman » Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:27 am

Graniteman wrote:Just in case this would help anyone speedwaymotors.com in Lincoln, Nebraska has wheel blanks in wider widths than our Toro wheels, if you wanted to you could build some wider steel wheels. Depending on your welding skills for most I'm sure you'd want to have a pro weld them up for you.........................just a thought ;)

Mike

TOA # 70


In other words you could cut the center out of the Toro wheel and weld it into the new blank for a wider wheel...........................at least it would fit and have correct backspacing, etc.
TOA # 70

bluecab
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:52 am
TOA Membership Number: 0
Years Owned: restoring a '66, have Moto Guzzi motorcycles, an Audi convertible and a bunch of other junk
Location: Massachusetts/Rhode Island

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby bluecab » Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:45 pm

There are also a few vendors that will widen wheels to order, if you want to stay with 15's but go wider.
I am looking for 17" / 18" wheels so that option does not work for me.

User avatar
69W34
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:08 am

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby 69W34 » Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:24 am

captspillane wrote: we used the original '66 wheels originally covering drums, which I gather rub in ways that later Toronado wheels would not. It took a lot of shaving as a temporary fix to get them to stop rubbing. I'm anxious to find a Jeep rim that will work on the Toronado.


This subject has been visited and revisited numerous time over the years and always with the same results I believe Canter tried to offer a disc conversion 'kit' for the 66 toro that would employ the use of 66 toro drum wheel but it never made it to fruition. Jay Leno had a set of 17' wheels built for his 66 toro project car, however the end result it was a Toro in body only.

That said:

Not knowing how much 'A Lot' is and presumable taken off the caliper and not mounting bracket,
depending on just how much and where the materiel was remover the heat generated with braking along with the hydraulic pressures may open the door to a potential inadequate or failed braking under the right circumstance. Keep in mind braking system have the potential to generate 800# -1000# psi and with 2.25 diameter piston that 3.54 sq ins. that's pushing 2500 -3000# of pressure and from the what it worth I certainly don't want my fingers in there.
Bill
TOA #1

User avatar
69W34
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:08 am

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby 69W34 » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:15 pm

captspillane wrote: Actually I'm pretty sure both were shaved. Here is a picture of the final product. It doesn't rub, but it also doesn't leave much room for ventilation and heat dissipation.



O k a y ... after seeing the caliper photo and comparing it to one in hand ... along with your statement "I'm pretty sure both were shaved I'd like to know more about your wheels! because If i am reading that statement right the shaving had taken place be for you acquired the car ... yes? I am not seeing a lot of what i would expect to see in the way of material being removed from the caliper. Take look at the wheels of this car what do you see? .............. The fronts are disc wheels the rears are drums as you see its difficult to distinguish. I don't know where this has been converted to disc or not. But it has to do with the shape of the center section of the wheel, the disc style is more of a cup that allows clearance for the caliper. There is absolutely no room for that caliper with a 66 drum wheel, which is what I was concerned about.

Back to your current wheels do you have a shallow trim ring or a deep one with a relief for the air filler stem, as the drum wheel stem is on the out side or wheel face, the disc stem protrudes through one of the vent holes and is literally bolted to the wheel from in side.

What i am wondering if there is confusion as to which wheel you have ?
Attachments
$(KGrHqR,!rIFI4c5eFwnBSPJR!BiQg~~_4.JPG
$(KGrHqR,!rIFI4c5eFwnBSPJR!BiQg~~_4.JPG (101.22 KiB) Viewed 19108 times
Bill
TOA #1

User avatar
69W34
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:08 am

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby 69W34 » Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:13 pm

Not 100% sure but these look like disc wheels on the front, another item to look for is the 66 drum wheel had a reinforced center hub area the 67 drum didn't and then neither did the disc wheel.
Bill
TOA #1

User avatar
69W34
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:08 am

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby 69W34 » Mon Nov 04, 2013 8:28 pm

Well, I see it and as it is said, seeing is believing ....... though I am sure a lot of people are going to have a lot of questions! Not the least which, if it were that simple why did GM/Olds chose to change the wheels as opposed to redesigning caliper to fit the wheel.

More importantly however, the calipers have been altered which brings liability to play, and a good reason why 99.9 % of those that have made the conversion to disc have stayed with the course unaltered parts sacrificing the unique appearance of the 66 wheels and opting for the correct disc wheels.

Taking nothing away from what auto enthusiasts upon entering uncharted waters, a good rule of thumb is to always error on the side of caution. As stated earlier if there should be a brake failure or a case of inadequate braking resulting in bodily injury or death, it could be very problematic from legal stand point.

..... good luck with this endeavor
Bill
TOA #1

User avatar
Sparky
Posts: 46
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 7:56 am
TOA Membership Number: 116
Years Owned: 1966/67 Toronados (several). 1934 Olds F-34 1934 Olds L-34 (with side mounts) 1977 Eldorado
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Contact:

Re: Aftermarket wheels for early Toronados

Postby Sparky » Mon Nov 04, 2013 9:31 pm

Can't tell from these crappy pictures...take the damned rim off! NO conclusions can be made of of this...

Sparky
TOA# 116
TOA Vice President
TOA Technical Advisor Carburetors
http://www.sparkyscarbs.com


Return to “Technical Talk”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests