14" X 5 1/2" steelies hitting SSBC front disc calipers!

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DartGTDan

'71 Dart GT Fan
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I found, and purchased, a set of 14" X 5 1/2" (sbp) steel wheels for the Dart GT. Pulled passenger front side Rallye (also a factory 14" X 5 1/2" sbp) and bolted the steelie on (snugged up by hand). Tried to rotate the wheel and discovered it hits/rubs the caliper. It appears I'll need to grind down the caliper(s) to clear the steel wheels. How much clearance do I need? Does the caliper move at all while braking? As always any guidance/experience is appreciated.
 
what brakes do you have? KH? can you tell if the wheel seated all the way against the rotor?
 
so they're the 4 piston calipers?. if so, they don't move, they're fixed. things to check: are you sure these are mopar wheels and not some other brand (ford)? are you sure they're 14" and not 13's. are they literally locked up and don't spin, or just grinding on the caliper?. what part of the caliper are they hitting? is it both sides and both wheels?
if they are just hitting a high spot, you can usually grind a little off the caliper. it's a pain to check these things on the car. might be worth pulling one of the knuckles and assembling the brakes on a bench so you can get a good look and test fit that way.
sucks a simple wheel change turns into such a pain
 
numerous threads on this subject......dont think you will find sbp steelies to work.....grind caliper....
 
I'm running the same setup on my Dart. I had to grind the calipers to get them to clear along with running wheel spacers also. SSBC has a "little" footnote that says you must use 15 inch wheels with their kits. I never understood why a brake company couldn't make a setup that would work with the 14 inch wheels. The factory did it. If their going to all it a "conversion" to disc then make it a direct conversion without all the grinding and spacing to get things to clear. Big bucks for a kit that you have to grind on. Not cool.
 
This may not help but I'll try . wheels designed for disc brakes have a flat surface on the inside of the hub where the studs go . Wheels designed for drums are scolopted . (I can't spell it). It doesn't matter if the rim is for a ford, AMC , Weld or Crager . If it has a flat on the back face it will work . The factory put many typs of rims on their cars and finally they standardized them but I don't know when . Hope this helps .
 
The steel wheels I found/purchased are Chrysler wheels (not another mfr). The wheels do spin but are rubbing/hitting the caliper, as there are "witness" marks on the caliper when the wheel is removed.

One reason I bought the SSBC kit (~14 years ago) was because SSBC assured me the 14" X 5 1/2" small bolt pattern Rallyes would fit fine. They did/do. I don't want to convert to big bolt pattern as the rear-end is the factory installed A-body 8 3/4" with a 3.23:1 sure-grip.

I wanted to change up the look of my car by swapping the Rallyes for steelies and red line dog dishes. I was told, by multiple sources, that the factory 14" X 5 1/2" steel wheel and the factory 14" X 5 1/2" Rallye wheels were interchangeable and I shouldn't have any issues. Well I guess that theory is shot.

I guess I now have a winter project doing a little grinding on the calipers.
 
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Maybe a thin wheel spacer, like 1/8" is all you need? Might be tough to find spacers with 4" x 5 bolt pattern. The 100mm x 5 fits imports and might be easier to find (it's close enough).
 
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