Wheels for disc brakes

[bpetska]

Thanks for the replies. It appears that the wheels I am trying to use have a 1 5/8" offset towards the inside. I tried putting washers on the lug bolts to move the wheel out 1/2". No go. So the offset is the problem. I will return them tomorrow and look for some with less offset. Is there any way to determine off set other that physically measuring the wheels? Maybe part number?
Thanks,
Bill

[simplyconnected]

There are two very important factors in finding correct wheels, Back Spacing and the Inboard Safety Hump area. Let's refer to the picture below:


Your original 14" wheels have less than the minimum 3-1/2" Back Spacing but there is NO Inboard Safety Hump to accommodate a caliper11" because drums simply didn't need the hump.. This hump appeared with Granada/Versailles/Mustang disk brakes.

For new 14" wheels that work with S10 (Chevy) or S14 (GMC) calipers, go to summitracing.com and search for 'Wheels'.

On the left, click on:
Part Type / Wheels
Wheel Diameter / 14 in.
Wheel Bolt Pattern / 5 x 4 1/2 in.
Backspacing (in) / 3.5 in.
Wheel Width (in) / 6.0 in.

Then adjust the search to show Price, low to high. These prices include shipping to your house. If you have any technical questions, call their Tech Support Team.

Leonard Wheeler recently purchased new wheels from Summit for his Scarebird front disk brake retrofit. He said his new calipers hit the wheels but he ground off very little from the caliper casting to make them fit perfectly. He's running with 205-75R14 tires. - Dave

[YellowRose]

This specific information has been posted in the TRL under the Disc Brake Conversion section. Thank you very much for posting this, Dave! It should certainly answer a lot of questions regarding the set up of these 14" disc brake ready rims vs the OEM ones.

[Lloydpo]

Will standard 14 inch spoked wheels work with disc brqke conversion kit?

[YellowRose]

Hi Lloyd, to my knowledge OEM 14" spoked rims will NOT work for the disc brake conversion. I think they have the same problem as the standard OEM rims. The lack of an inboard safety hump that is required for disc brakes and a minimum 3-1/2" Back Spacing. You will need to find 14" rims off of Granada/Versailles/Mustang or other Ford 14" disc brake equipped cars. Look for Fords in the 70's that have disc brake equipped 14" rims on them, and pull them from them. As it is 11" calipers just fit inside the rim with just a fraction of an inch to spare. I found five of them at a junk yard on a 70's Granada, and the spare. The reason why I got five is because if you have a flat on a front tire, you need a disc brake ready rim as a spare to replace the blown front tire. And when you rotate your tires, you will need all five of them to be disc brake ready, for proper tire rotation. Or do what Dave suggested in his post below and order them from Summit Racing. The other thing you could do, is IF your tires need to be replaced, go to 15" rims and tires.

[pbf777]

Your original 14" wheels have less than the minimum 3-1/2" Back Spacing but there is NO Inboard Safety Hump to accommodate a caliper11" because drums simply didn't need the hump.. This hump appeared with Granada/Versailles/Mustang disk brakes. - Dave[/quote]

I realize that the presents of the safety hump in the rim may aid in the fitment of the disc brake caliper, but, I felt one should maybe clarify the fact that the "Safety Hump" was not instituted for that purpose (note that it is present on both ends of the barrel). I believe rather to provide increased retention of the tire bead, under the adverse conditions of low inflation pressure values and high sidewall loads, such as in cornering; as even momentary disruption of the seal between rim and tire bead may cause deflation in a tubeless tire.

Also, it is advisable to avoid using wheel spacers for the purpose of making the improper fitment work for a number of reasons (new tread?). Scott.

[JohnG]

so I put all that info into Summit's website and came up with the following:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/u...4612/overview/

my intention being to replace an OEM wheel and use factory hubcaps. No chrome.

Note that I never did specify an offset.

Did I make any mistakes?

I note in passing that they show a load limit of 1400 pounds. That does not leave me feeling impressed. If a 3300 lb car is going around a curve with 2-3 people in it, and the brakes applied, it is easy to imagine more than 1400 of it on one corner.

I am not sure if $55 @ should make me happy or suspicious . . .

[Tbird1044]

John:
You might want to send Tim D. a private message and ask about the rims. Pretty sure he used the Summit rims with this brake conversion.
Nyles

[YellowRose]

Hi Nyles, I did send Tim a PM, and we will see what he has to say. Leonard also bought Summit rims and he is looking up the information on what he bought from them when he did his disc brake conversion.