GTA wheels not clearing in...the front?

[Homie_Telefrag]

Wheels clear just fine in the back, but for some odd reason, they are hitting the ball joints on the tie rods...steering rack....whatever in the front? I tried putting a 5/16 spacer on the front to bring the wheels out further away, but no joy. They are still running and not allowing the car to move without scraping. Anyone else have this issue? Whats the fix?

 

[79transam]

are you using the zero offset front GTA wheels. the one with the wider lip..i have 4 zero offset and have no issues. if your using the rear GTA wheel in front, which is a 16mm offset (I Believe) you need a spacer. not sure what though. also what size tire are you running

 

[Homie_Telefrag]

tires are 245-50-16s. Using 4 fronts, but after digging and talking to a few people on the phone, thats the way to go - just need longer studs and a 1/2in spacer? Anyone know the part # for a 1/2in spacer that works?

 

[UNGN]

I ran 12" brakes with B-Body spindles with GTA rears in front with no spacers. It's been 15 years so I forgot what mods I did to make the rears fit, so I went out and looked.

I took a dremel tool to the bottom of the tie rod ends and rounded off the square corner where they were rubbing - problem solved. You don't need to take off much.

Spacers with fronts is going to force you to run very small tires in front - like 225's (to keep the tires off the fender lip)

 

[UNGN]

You can see the shiny bottom of the tie rod ball joint where the radius is.

 

[novaderrik]

mine is a good 1/2" away from hitting on the "front" GTA's that i've got on the car, but the inner wheel weights did scrape a bit when i had "rear" GTA's on it at one point... pretty sure mine has the original toe rods, so if you have beefier replacement tie rods then there might be issues. your steering arms might also be bent a bit, too.

 

[UNGN]

Beefy Tie rod ends was my issue. I bought B-body ends that needed rounding.

The higher the tierod ends are, the less bumpsteer the car will have so a reaming the tierod end holes to move them up and away from the wheels might be the best solution.

 

[Homie_Telefrag]

You can see the shiny bottom of the tie rod ball joint where the radius is.

View attachment 256841

View attachment 256842

Did the joints clear after you grinded them down a bit with a spacer? Spacers tend to worry me so id like to get away from useing one if at all possible...

 

[79transam]

I run the same size tire and don't have any issues. stock studs too

 

[UNGN]

Did the joints clear after you grinded them down a bit with a spacer? Spacers tend to worry me so id like to get away from useing one if at all possible...

No spacers are needed to to clear the modified tie rod ends with stock or B-Body 12" brakes with any of the GTA's.

To run LS1 brakes/Baer 12" Brakes with older GTA's (non dimpled) you need to run at least a 3/16" spacer, but the modified Tie rods don't need a spacer.

 

[Homie_Telefrag]

I just double checked... I was willing to bet money that I had gta fronts on all 4 corners. The fronts are rear GTA wheels Even grinding the lip/dimple on the tie rod ends didnt give me enough clearance. So with that said am I just stuck using 1/2" spacers with longer studs? -Ben

 

[TurboJunky]

All I can add is that I had a TTA and after I owned it realized the rear wheels had different offsets from the fronts. Not sure if you have bona-fide GTA wheels but if you do they may look the same but they're not all the same.

 

[UNGN]

I just double checked... I was willing to bet money that I had gta fronts on all 4 corners. The fronts are rear GTA wheels Even grinding the lip/dimple on the tie rod ends didnt give me enough clearance. So with that said am I just stuck using 1/2" spacers with longer studs? -Ben

Yes. I never tried GTA rears in front with stock brakes, only with 12" B-Body and LS1 brakes (where they are ideal because 12" brakes move the wheel 3/8" outward in relation to the spindle)

I have used 1.5" adapters to put the rears on the rear and it works fine on the street, and looks better than fronts on the rear.

 

[Homie_Telefrag]

What do I need to convert over to 12" B-body brakes? Is there a certain year Id be looking for? My front brakes are close to toast anyhow, so If I can upgrade AND make my wheels fit thatd be great!

 

[UNGN]

It's easiest to buy everything from somebody who is upgrading, but you need B-Body spindles, calipers, shoes, dust shields and hardware, IROC 1LE Rotors and most people add upper control arms. The + about this set up is T-Type wheels work without mods.. None of the 12" brakes work with 86-87 GN wheels. T-type wheels don't wok with LS1 12" brakes.

I struggled with bumpsteer with the B-body setup until I put in an adjustble centerlink and Bumpsteer was minimal, then I added tall lower ball joints and the bumpsteer vanished. The Taller spindles give a better camber curve and the braking is very good. The weight difference is about 8lbs per side more, but the brakes are a lot larger than stock.

I would sell my low mileage B-body setup With Tubular A-arms for about $400 + shipping to give you an idea of what they are worth.

 

[Homie_Telefrag]

Is there a link to what B-body parts you need and maybe a tutorial on what needs to be cut/copy/pasted to make the swap work?

 

[EVIL]

Get 2 more GTA front wheels.

They are cheap enough and it’ll be safer and you’ll be happier.

Instead of doing all this unnecessary work.

D

 

[BuickMike231]

I'm running GTA fronts on the rear with no spacers and rears on the front with 5/16" spacers. I've got 255/50/16s on all four corners. I noticed the fronts are a little close to the tie rods like mentioned above. I too was going to buzz off the edge of the tie rod like UNGN did. Quick and easy. Other than that there shouldn't be any real clearance issues. My rears are close to the frame on the inside but dont rub. Hope that helps! I just autocrossed on this setup yesterday and pushed it hard with no issues from the spacers or anything.