Aftermarket 17" Wheels for a 1969 Valiant

vynn3 said
Yeah, the lug nuts on my Coy's are tight. They're NOTHING compared to the bottom center nut on the exhaust manifold for my slant. Doesn't stop me from removing it, though. What's the big deal there?

vynn3 said
Yeah, and none of us would EVER suggest dual exhaust, headers, an open element air cleaner, or (!) a 4bbl on a "deathtrap" drum brake car. None of us have ever done that, right? Every time someone asks about upgrading their 318 2bbl with a Performer intake and a Holley, we all make sure he has disk brakes. Absolutely.

vynn3 said
Big bolt pattern is not necessary to have disk brakes OR nice rims. A disk brake discussion is SEPARATE from a wheel backspace discussion.

Dude, unwind just a touch. I don't think anybody was really getting upset that the OP wanted to put big wheels on his stock Val. Most of us have been down this road before and know there are options out there. Personally I haven't seen very low dollar K/H disc setups lately. Last time I went looking for new rotors, it made way more sense to me to do the BBP conversion. At that time, I already had an extra set of stock wheels for my Charger, so I went with the conversion, rolled on those until I could afford the wheels I really wanted.

I pulled a couple of your statements just to comment on, nothing more.

As far as the correlation between an exhaust manifold fastener and a wheel stud, there are a few differences. Both are for retaining parts on a car, but the loads an exhaust manifold is subjected to are not exactly the same. With wheels, the farther apart and larger the studs, the better the clamping force and the more stable the wheel. Todays NASCAR wheels are using a 5x5 bolt pattern with 5/8 studs. Yep, you can drive and fart around on the 5x4 bolt pattern all day long, probably for the life of the car. If you push your car to the limits hard enough, long enough, you'll eventually consider moving on to parts with more capability. If you plan on performance upgrades for the future, why not plan ahead from the beginning? Not to mention that the variety of wheels available for the BBP is a lot better.

Which brings us to.....
No, no one gets into the whole put disc (not disk) brakes on your car before you add an air cleaner or headers. Maybe they should. Anyone who seriously upgrades the performance of their vehicle's engine and doesn't consider the capability of their suspension or brakes is simply a fool. We live in a world where the average beater Honda can outstop a perfectly restored 340 Duster by several car lengths. You add more power to a car that simply "stops fine", you're building a recipe for disaster and make yourself a danger to yourself and everyone else on the road. Don't fool yourself by saying you're a better driver than that. You're only as good as the a$$hat on the cellphone in the Toyota next to you. I've got a couple of family gravesites for you to visit if you think I'm just blowing smoke.