1969 GTX....The T stands for tetanus

[threewood]

man youre hauling. how about you push her out into the driveway with a few overall pics of how it looks. by my calculations, all thats left is finalize interior, motor/trans, all the lights and trim/bumpers, maybe some wiring? what are you doing for wheels and tires? mag 500s? maybe black steelies and chrome lug nuts (my favorite look) youre approaching that one year mark, still confident? also i dont mean to intrude, but if you care to share, this was the epitome of a budget build. you restored and reused almost every damn part you could, and did all of the labor. have you kept track of spending and hours? including initial purchase price, what do you think the total will be at the end? im just curious because theres guys who spend three times the purchase price on just buying new parts especially sheetmetal. but you did such a good job saving what you could, and creating your own little patches here and there. its the real definition of how much you save buy spending a little bit more to not be starting with a rust bucket,

Total expenditures to date, including price of vehicle is close to $13,064. Estimate on completing the engine (including machine work) is a bit over $4606, trans rebuild plus tc and driveshaft is $1280.

For the wheels, I haven't decided yet. I will probably go with black steelies from Wheel Vintiques which would put me around $900. Magnums will add about $240 to that figure.

So I will be all in right at $20k. Yea, I hate seeing that on paper. This is not counting my time which I didn't keep track of. Everything done myself except machine work.

So, "budget build" is a fluid term. It could have been a cheaper build for sure but I don't think it could have been that much cheaper. I have read of guys going in $15k for just body and paint. I did my own but a majority of the expense is all the little things, not big dollar items. Carpet, fuel tank, brackets, wiring, weatherstripping, regulator parts, new lines, etc, etc.

 

[69 GTX]

Magnum 500s look pretty good! Got mine from stocktons. 15x5 & 15X10 But they are heavy.

 

[68GTXNH]

Ya, i wish some one made aluminum versions of all.the old steelies. And powedercoat and polish then to look identical. Mag 500s, keystone klassics, pontiac rally 2s.

 

[69 GTX]

Year one makes a 500 look a like but it's a 17" rim. I hate the rubberband looking tires.

 

[68GTXNH]

Year one makes a 500 look a like but it's a 17" rim. I hate the rubberband looking tires.

ya theres plenty of 17in versions of the old 15in wheel but they look terrible. our cars need big meats under them. theres several factors on old cars that make 15s ideal, assuming you have a relatively stock car. The main reason, and i hate that i know this, some dipshit rapper a few years ago said it just right "too much rim makes the ride too hard" 60s-70s designed suspension is crap compared to even the cheapest kia today. thin sidewalls have no cushion and just enhances every rattle our cars already have. even a full upgrade to our suspensions with modern bushings is just a leaf spring rear, which will still ride more like a truck regardless, simply given its design, unless we modernize to a full IRS or something equivalent, that wont change. our suspension upgrades always gear towards making them launch hard and ride a little better but its no full out modern car. unless you go with a full protouring with an entirely custom and modern suspension, with a chassis as stiff and sturdy as a tank, and you want to pull as many G's on a corner as possible, road track racing etc etc, you dont need big wheels, and they look dumb. i know the tiny sidewalls drastically improve handling, but only if that car is built to handle. modern 15 inch radials have very stiff sidewalls compared to old bias, and perform fine for how our cars handle. even a full out protouring car custom built still wont compare to a modern sports car. i dont care who you are, youd be hard pressed to come up with something in your garage, that millions of dollars spent in the engineering department of a major automotive manufacturer, hasnt already thought of, and thrown out already 5 times over because they were able to improve it. i bet everyone of us when we start the car and pull out of the garage everyone of us has some visions of going to a track and tearing through corners or getting into a street race or police chase like in some movie, but in reality, every one of us (short of track purpose built cars that are strictly towed everywhere) really only drives there cars out to get ice cream or a few errands on nice days, putsy-ing around town seeing how many people give us thumbs up, going to cruise ins etc. the only interesting thing that ever happens is when we luck out and are the front car at a red light with no one in front of us, quick look for cops and we punch it a bit. for most of us, thats the reality, so make it comfortable not ugly.

lol sorry for the book, rant finshed...

 

[threewood]

I agree. 15" rims look so much better in my opinion. Reason I will probably pick the steelies over the 500s is I really like the A12 look. The 500s look great on nice restorations and I actually prefer them but the plane jane rims with the thumpy cam is going to be mean.

 

[68GTXNH]

I really like the A12 look.... the plane jane rims with the thumpy cam is going to be mean.

amen to that, period. i always prefer people to hear that it has power, not look like it has power

 

[Glenwood]

Ya, i wish some one made aluminum versions of all.the old steelies. And powedercoat and polish then to look identical. Mag 500s, keystone klassics, pontiac rally 2s.

I saw these aluminums in another post someplace. Looks like 17" is the minimum dia though.
http://www.circleracing.com/108oe.htm

 

[69 GTX]

• 
  
  HOME ABOUT US BILLET WHEELS SPRINT WHEELS CAST WHEELS GALLERY CONTACT

*** 94 Series Magnum 500 — Special Order — NOT Returnable ***

Sizes:

• 15x5
• 15×6
• 15×7
• 15×8
• 15×10
• 16x7
• 16x9.5
• 19x9.5
  
• 17×7
• 17×8
• 17×9.5
• 17×11
  
• 18×7
• 18×8
• 18×9.5
• 18x11
• 20x8
• 20x9.5

 

[68GTXNH]

• 
  
  HOME ABOUT US BILLET WHEELS SPRINT WHEELS CAST WHEELS GALLERY CONTACT

*** 94 Series Magnum 500 — Special Order — NOT Returnable ***

Sizes:

• 15x5
• 15×6
• 15×7
• 15×8
• 15×10
• 16x7
• 16x9.5
• 19x9.5
  
• 17×7
• 17×8
• 17×9.5
• 17×11
  
• 18×7
• 18×8
• 18×9.5
• 18x11
• 20x8
• 20x9.5

cool, but those are mustang wheels with the pony in the center cap, wonder if they accept mopar center caps or is they are machined as one piece, id love black aluminum plain wheels, like a12 H wheels

 

[69 GTX]

I know the Stockton steel 500s I have they just switch caps

 

[69 GTX]

Sorry 3wood didn't mean to hijack your thread.

 

[threewood]

Sorry 3wood didn't mean to hijack your thread.

No worries. Would you happen to know the weight difference between the Magnums and steelies? No one seems to provide this information.

 

[69 GTX]

The 500s I have already have tires on them. I'm sure if you called Stockton's they could tell you. Just my guess but I would say there is probably only maybe a pound or 2 difference.

 

[69 GTX]

I can weigh my fronts & rears if you like to give you an idea.

 

[69 GTX]

Got this reply from Circle Racing wheels, pricey!
John,

Thank you for looking I do make 15” wheels in the O.E. style. Price ranges from 500-600 a wheel depending on finish and size. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.



Jeremy Rutherford

Circle Racing Wheels Inc,.

www.circleracing.com

[email protected]

2238 S. ACADEMY AVE.

SUITE A

SANGER, CA 93657

559-251-1127 Ph

559-294-8386 Fax

 

[threewood]

Got this reply from Circle Racing wheels, pricey!
John,

Thank you for looking I do make 15” wheels in the O.E. style. Price ranges from 500-600 a wheel depending on finish and size. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.



Jeremy Rutherford

Circle Racing Wheels Inc,.

www.circleracing.com

[email protected]

2238 S. ACADEMY AVE.

SUITE A

SANGER, CA 93657

559-251-1127 Ph

559-294-8386 Fax

Lol. Way out of my budget. Very cool they are offered. Thanks.

 

[JimKueneman]

No worries. Would you happen to know the weight difference between the Magnums and steelies? No one seems to provide this information.

Sort of half the answer. Cooker shipped my wheels. 5 boxes (4 wheels and tires mounted, 1 with lug nuts and caps). 55lb for the boxes with the wheel and tire.

 

[69 GTX]

3wood we could buy some really nice lightweight racing wheels for 500 a piece, beadlocks even.

 

[threewood]

3wood we could buy some really nice lightweight racing wheels for 500 a piece, beadlocks even.

I know right? I have a set of what I believe are American Racing aluminum rims that came with the car that I could use, need to see what size they are.