Almost there!!

[ramairthree]

Ok, some sticky lifters (driver's side, no improvement with seafoam in gas, oil, or dribbled into carb and soak),
and needing a front end rebuild, but getting closer to road worthy.

Two wheel vintiques 15x8s I just painted,
and blasted two 14x6s I also painted,
ready to go.

465$ tomorrow and will have road worthy tires.
I am going 275/60 15 s in the rear and 225/70/14s up front.
465$ total installed for INDY 500 RWLs.

BFG T/As would have been a lot more, Cooper Cobras a little more,
and Primewll PS860s 80$ less. But I don't know if those Chinese Primewells are worth saving 20bucks a tire. I have the INDYs on a GTO, and the Cobras on a Javelin. Was planning on the BFGs but price was a lot more than last time I priced them. They used to be only about 5$ more a tire than Indy 500s but were more like 25$ more now.

I still need a headliner, radio antenna so I can rock my AM, new tank, rear diff gasket, etc. etc. but these tires will take me from yard driver to road worthy, at least until the engine gives in.

Do the pre-74 non domed tanks have the same dimensions except for the dome? I would LOVE to save a hundred bucks and use one of those instead.

 

[Kernel Sanders]

Yes the 73 tank has the same dimentions as the 74 with the exeption of the dome on top and are considerably cheaper too! I removed the 'hump in the trunk' and put a 73 gas tank in my 74. The 74 tank has a single return line close to the top of the 'hump' that connected to the vapor canister under the hood but the 73 tank has 4 of these nipples at the top front.... I just capped them all but the one

Hope that helps

PS less wasted room in the trunk too!

 

[ramairthree]

hell yeah, thanks for the tip! My trunk floor is solid, so won't cut it up. But will be happy to get a less than 175$ tank delivered than an over 300$ domed one.

If it fits loose because of no hump, I can just cut the hump off of my trashed original tank and tack it on the outside of the tank to make it fit good.

I MAY be able to save and coat the tank, but the gob of JB weld on the bottom and the rust I can get a look at tells me the 50$ or so tank restoring kit might be better spent towards a new non hump tank!

Thanks again.

 

[ramairthree]

side lined by piece of crap brand new Wheelvintiques mopar rally wheels.

I was all excited to pick up my roadworthy wheels for the RR today.

A brand new pair of Mopar Rally 15x8s with 275/60/15s,
and an old blasted and painted pair of 14x6s with 225/70/14s.

Was throwing them in the rig at the shop after paying for mounting,
and one was flat. Nope, not an old one. A new Wheelvintiques. In the middle of the rim on the back a bad seam/weld was letting air blast out. Not to mention the "good" one had about 4 times as much weight on it as one of the basket case vintage ones. Looks like two lead hot dogs lines up on the edge of the rim.

They have a bunch of stickers on the rims when you get them about if you paint or mount them you own them. Don't see how they can weasle out of a defective product you don't know won't hold air until you
ve got a tire on there.

Well, I've got 10 blasted and painted vintage rally rims under my belt for three different cars that stack up and work.

And brand new wheel vintiques is running 50% usuable.

 

[ramairthree]

I marked where the leak was.
There is just no way to make crap like this right. You lose shipping, time, dropping stuff off, paint, etc.

 

[Dako]

Did you give them a chance?

That is clearly a manufacturing defect. Did you contact Vintique directly? I would think they would cover shipping to get you a new wheel and keep their good name. A sincere phone call, followed up with an email showing photos of the problem usually go a long ways. Good luck.

 

[72Satellite440]

pretty shotty work- Wheres the quality assurance these days

 

[ramairthree]

That is clearly a manufacturing defect. Did you contact Vintique directly? I would think they would cover shipping to get you a new wheel and keep their good name. A sincere phone call, followed up with an email showing photos of the problem usually go a long ways. Good luck.

when you look around the forums, they have a TON of complaints about runoff, true, etc. I used to think that was just extra picky guys mad it took a quarter of an ounce to balance their wheel.

Then the wheels come with stickers "if you mount them you own them" "if you paint them you own them" and they brag about coming powder coated but then stickers that say "this is not a rust resistant coating you need to paint your wheel" so I am not that enamored of them right now.

Plenty of people get good wheels from them, but way more than should are getting bad rims. Quality control.

I printed out the form and sending them back to jegs. all I want is a good rim.

The killer is my boss got in a bad accident, I have been doing his and my job for the past three months plus out of town for a month, now NOT going to have road worthy wheels on this weekend,
wasted time and money on paint, going to tire shop, etc. etc. extra mount and dismount on a new tire. wasted time and hassle do not get replaced or fixed.

 

[Dako]

As for the weight...

When I have a tire wheel combo that needs a bunch of weight to balance, the 1st thing I do is ask the shop to break the bead, rotate the tire 180 degrees, and re-balance. More often than not, this will result in less weight needed. Neither the wheel or the tire is perfect. Unfortunately neither are most shops, as this should be a no brainer when a mounted tire needs more than just a couple ounces in order to balance.

 

[72Satellite440]

I would almost save the hastle and get it mig welded shut-i know you shouldnt have to but would save you time

 

[ramairthree]

When I have a tire wheel combo that needs a bunch of weight to balance, the 1st thing I do is ask the shop to break the bead, rotate the tire 180 degrees, and re-balance. More often than not, this will result in less weight needed. Neither the wheel or the tire is perfect. Unfortunately neither are most shops, as this should be a no brainer when a mounted tire needs more than just a couple ounces in order to balance.

guy in the shop was awesome, automatically knew to do rwl out, keep all weights on inside, use chrome valve stems, dress lettering on stem each tire, and try to get better balance. was a good car guy so he did try. I am exageratting, not two lead hot dogs, more like 6 inches of lead total. I have to say I was happy with the shop.

 

[ramairthree]

I would almost save the hastle and get it mig welded shut-i know you shouldnt have to but would save you time

can't say I was not tempted to bust out the grinder, and my 90$ flux welder.
But....
no way to say it would not still have been bad and then they could blame me.

 

[moparshaker]

When I have a tire wheel combo that needs a bunch of weight to balance, the 1st thing I do is ask the shop to break the bead, rotate the tire 180 degrees, and re-balance. More often than not, this will result in less weight needed. Neither the wheel or the tire is perfect. Unfortunately neither are most shops, as this should be a no brainer when a mounted tire needs more than just a couple ounces in order to balance.

ditto , any good tire guy will do this.