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Hello out there in Oldsmobile land. I am a newbie to the forum. I have a 1966 Cutlass, 2 door coupe with a 330, PS, PB, AC, AT, white ext., black int., bench seat. I am the second owner. The original brake shoes are going away and I am putting on a four wheel disc brake conversion from "The Right Stuff" (AFXDC41CZ). I have the original 14" steel rims and hubcaps which are in good condition. My understanding is that my old steelies won't fit over the new calipers. The Right Stuff directions suggest that I need to upgrade from 14" to 15" rims. Would the right 14" steel rims that fit over my new calipers be an option? If so, than I could use my groovy original hubcaps. If that is not a good option (for reasons I don't know), my questions are what size 15" rims and tires do I start shopping for? Rim size? I am not a rimologist, so I need this spelled out. What size rim do I need? Would some reproduction SS1 rims that are 15 x 8 with a 4.5" back space be correct? Is a 5" backspace rim not acceptable? Can I run Cooper Cobra 245/60R15 tires with no ill effects? Does anyone suggest a different tire or rim size that would work better? The last thing I want is tire rubbing because I didn't do my homework. Once the new tire is rim mounted, they say you can't take them back, so I need to get this right the first time. I want to have the same size tire on all four rims. I am not a speed demon. I plan on making my car fun to drive with some modern safety upgrades. The single master cylinder (yikes!!) or brake fade when the shoes get wet or hot (from locking'em up) won't be missed. My ball joints, control arm bushings and coil springs are all getting replaced during this process. Thanks for any advice you throw my way.
Welcome. The original 14" wheels on a 1966 won't clear disc brakes, but that's due to the design of the wheel, not the disc brakes. Almost all of the 1967-72 A-body cars built by GM that came from the factory with disc brakes also had 14" wheels. Those wheels are shaped differently on the backside to clear the caliper. See the photo below. The disc brake wheel is on the left (#1), drum-only (as would be original on your 66) on the right (#2). Inboard side of the rim is on the right for both.
Note the different shape of the "drop" in the center of the rim (yellow vs. green arrows). Also note the "bead" on the disc brake wheel (lt blue arrow) that is not present on the drum brake wheel (dk blue arrow). You can see this feature from the backside even with the tire mounted. If you have a disc brake 14" wheel, it will clear with no problems. FYI, all SSII/SSIII wheels clear. The SSI wheels unfortunately came both ways and need to be checked.
I will look and see if I can find four new steel rims. I will be able to use my original hubcaps which are still in real nice shape! Thanks for the reply.
Your original steel rims may clear factory disc hardware already. These are NOT the SSI.
Note that I said factory. Aftermarket stuff is different. You certainly don't need rear discs. Factory disc hardware is the preferred way to go, because it works with disc compatible
factory 14 inch rims. If you're already committed, well, you're committed. You may need 15s for aftermarket.
Your original steel rims may clear factory disc hardware already.
Original steel wheels from a 1966 Olds will NOT clear factory disc brakes. The original wheels will look like the ones on the right in the photo I posted above. If they look like the wheels on the left in the photo, they are not original to the car. Olds did not make any of the "disc brake" 14" wheels until the 1967 model year, and then only on cars with factory disc brakes.
Original steel wheels from a 1966 Olds will NOT clear factory disc brakes. The original wheels will look like the ones on the right in the photo I posted above. If they look like the wheels on the left in the photo, they are not original to the car. Olds did not make any of the "disc brake" 14" wheels until the 1967 model year, and then only on cars with factory disc brakes.
Ok so the 67 steel wheels are not the same as the 66 steel wheels and there are disc 67 steel wheels that are different from the others? I know the Super Stock alloy wheels well, but not the stamped steels.
Ok so the 67 steel wheels are not the same as the 66 steel wheels and there are disc 67 steel wheels that are different from the others? I know the Super Stock alloy wheels well, but not the stamped steels.
67 drum brake cars got the same wheels as 66 cars. They do not clear discs. The few 1967 cars that came from the factory with discs got the different disc brake wheels.
Hello out there in Oldsmobile land. I am a newbie to the forum. I have a 1966 Cutlass, 2 door coupe with a 330, PS, PB, AC, AT, white ext., black int., bench seat. I am the second owner. The original brake shoes are going away and I am putting on a four wheel disc brake conversion from "The Right Stuff" (AFXDC41CZ). I have the original 14" steel rims and hubcaps which are in good condition. My understanding is that my old steelies won't fit over the new calipers. The Right Stuff directions suggest that I need to upgrade from 14" to 15" rims. Would the right 14" steel rims that fit over my new calipers be an option? If so, than I could use my groovy original hubcaps. If that is not a good option (for reasons I don't know), my questions are what size 15" rims and tires do I start shopping for? Rim size? I am not a rimologist, so I need this spelled out. What size rim do I need? Would some reproduction SS1 rims that are 15 x 8 with a 4.5" back space be correct? Is a 5" backspace rim not acceptable? Can I run Cooper Cobra 245/60R15 tires with no ill effects? Does anyone suggest a different tire or rim size that would work better? The last thing I want is tire rubbing because I didn't do my homework. Once the new tire is rim mounted, they say you can't take them back, so I need to get this right the first time. I want to have the same size tire on all four rims. I am not a speed demon. I plan on making my car fun to drive with some modern safety upgrades. The single master cylinder (yikes!!) or brake fade when the shoes get wet or hot (from locking'em up) won't be missed. My ball joints, control arm bushings and coil springs are all getting replaced during this process. Thanks for any advice you throw my way.
HEY THERE
"GROOVY original Hubcaps" Are these small , poverty caps?? If so you will have to find wheels that fit disk brakes and have the center with nubs to retain the caps.
IF you have full covers , for example the spoked Hub Caps , they will fit on the readily available "rally" SSI SSII 14 inch wheels
I have full cover hubcaps that were factory originals on the 14" steel rims. I really appreciate everybody's input. All of the pictures and comments have really helped a lot. When I get a chance, I will post some pictures of my forever project.
April 9th, 2020, 04:34 AM
