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Help with... BRMs/Tire Size/Cal-look/NO China!!
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Neil Davies
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I run the first generation Flat Four BRMs on my car, with Michelin ZX 145's on the front and some 205/65's on the back. With the '67 long axle gearbox it does allow the tyres to rub the rear arches, but on your '66 you should be fine. I've got some 195/70's to go on soon, but will probably end up putting them on split rim Empi 8's and a late 4-lug box.
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On this car that I built for my cousins husband, we used 155/70 (Continentals I think) on a 5.5" MWS eight spoke on the front - roughly the same height as a 145 but 1/2" wider. Rear tyres weren't tall enough, think they were a 185/65, but could have done with being a 70 or 75 profile.
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ALB
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Neil Davies wrote:
I run the first generation Flat Four BRMs on my car, with Michelin ZX 145's on the front and some 205/65's on the back. With the '67 long axle gearbox it does allow the tyres to rub the rear arches, but on your '66 you should be fine.


You know you can put '66 and earlier short axles and tubes on your trans...
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Neil Davies
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ALB wrote:
Neil Davies wrote:
I run the first generation Flat Four BRMs on my car, with Michelin ZX 145's on the front and some 205/65's on the back. With the '67 long axle gearbox it does allow the tyres to rub the rear arches, but on your '66 you should be fine.


You know you can put '66 and earlier short axles and tubes on your trans...


I know, but before I had it painted it didn't rub at all - I must have tweaked the wings a little when I repaired the rust in the bottom corners.
I have got a set of 195/70's which I thought about trying on the BRMs, but over the winter I'm planning on sticking a late 4-lug box in there and disks on the front so I can run my split rim Empi 8 spokes. Very Happy

One thing to think about is that the MWS BRMs are actually wider than the Flat Four ones, with the extra 1/2" on the outside lip. I've got one for a spare and it's amazing how different they are! Shocked
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'68/'70 Karmann Beetle, wife's project, progressing slowly.
'80 Devon Moonraker, wife's ratty but cool toy.
'86 Scirocco special project - still measuring up...
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RicFlat4
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Neil Davies wrote:
I run the first generation Flat Four BRMs on my car, with Michelin ZX 145's on the front and some 205/65's on the back. With the '67 long axle gearbox it does allow the tyres to rub the rear arches, but on your '66 you should be fine. I've got some 195/70's to go on soon, but will probably end up putting them on split rim Empi 8's and a late 4-lug box.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


On this car that I built for my cousins husband, we used 155/70 (Continentals I think) on a 5.5" MWS eight spoke on the front - roughly the same height as a 145 but 1/2" wider. Rear tyres weren't tall enough, think they were a 185/65, but could have done with being a 70 or 75 profile.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Neil... BEAUTIFUL cars. Thx...
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EMPIFLAKE
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

just posting to give ideas of stances and looks! EBI 2011 Cool
If your lookin for a nice look and ride that says olschool!! Do 2 inch drop spindles wit 145's leave the ass end alone!!! Besides a 145 fits better on a 5.5 rim than a 135! I like both but its better with the 145 IMO!! Wink
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fivelugshortaxle
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 2:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice looking rides......old school Cal look is the way to go.
sweet t bars.......stock rear and dropped nose.......with a tire burning 2 liter hanging out back.......exactly what I'm doing with my 70........just not sure what wheels to go with .....its between the Porsche 2 liter and the 4under lug BRM's ......I've grown to love to 4 lug BRM's but the 2 liters are way nice......anybody got any pics of Cal lookcars with these wheels?
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RicFlat4
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

EMPIFLAKE- BEAUTIFUL cars, man... Exactly the look/stance I'm shooting for. Thanks again...
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EMPIFLAKE
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

RicFlat4 wrote:
EMPIFLAKE- BEAUTIFUL cars, man... Exactly the look/stance I'm shooting for. Thanks again...

No problem!!! If you like Cal Look check out the Green Hearts!! Cool cool guys!! Heres a link!!!!!

Also check out the BBI vid link below pretty cool!

http://jg54greenhearts.blogspot.com/

http://vimeo.com/26098459
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RicFlat4
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

After some soul searching, I've decided on the BRMs from Flat-4... 5" up front and 6.5" in the rear.

This has been a great resource & I appreciate all the feedback...

Will post up pics when completed. Thanks again...
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Mike Fisher
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fivelugshortaxle wrote:
Nice looking rides......old school Cal look is the way to go.
sweet t bars.......stock rear and dropped nose.......with a tire burning 2 liter hanging out back.......exactly what I'm doing with my 70........just not sure what wheels to go with .....its between the Porsche 2 liter and the 4under lug BRM's ......I've grown to love to 4 lug BRM's but the 2 liters are way nice......anybody got any pics of Cal lookcars with these wheels?


This is a NorCal looker barn find with original 2.0 liter's for some bling. Wink

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Harrison
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great thread with some good info. Thanks for posting guys.

Question though: once a guy has decided on a 205/70/15 for a true "Cal Look" rear tire size, what is the best option for brand/style in a radial?

My research shows that the Firestone F710 205/70/15 was popular but is no longer available. I was hoping to find a period correct looking Firestone to match my Firestone F560 145/15's.

Thanks, Jim
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Harrison
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PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought 145's for the front of my '63 and 205/65/15's for the rear. I'm running the stock wheels for now.

My rear tires are just rubbing the rear torsion plates though. I want to drop the rear one or two splines and (obviously) can't have the tires rubbing the torsion plates. Has anyone encountered this? Everyone says a 205/65 works but no one mentions rubbing problems.

I can't be the only one to run into this problem.

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks, Jim
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lolight70
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:31 pm    Post subject: et Reply with quote

Whats the least mentioned is the et of the wheels
Thats what makes the biggest difference
Im looking at the bbt sprintstars for my lowered 65 bug,
they come in 4.5 and 5.5 in wide
But the important thing is the et:10,15,25 and 34(which is oem std et)
The lower the et,the more "gap" you have between the lip of your rim and
the fender lip.
That way u can work out the tire width you can and want to run
Also take into account if you have dropped spindles and aftermarket discs
Im looking at running in the front 4.5 with et 15,i have std beam, dropped spindles and std drums with 135 or 145
rears,looking at 5.5 wide with et 15 with 165 or 185 tire.
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ALB
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If all you're interested in is going fast in a straight line then 135's or 145's will do it, but as I've said earlier, they have their limitations. Because they have a smaller footprint you have to run them with more air, making for a harsher ride, and there's less tire touching the road (this becomes very apparent during braking on wet or dusty pavement, especially with discs on the front. I eventually went to type 3 drums/shoes on the back to help balance braking). When you multiply the sidwall height by the section width you can compare the footprint of different tire sizes, and you'll see that a 135 has just a little more than 2/3 of the footprint of a 155/80-15, so no wonder it's easy to lock up the front in a panic stop when the type 1 brakes are dealing with a wider/taller tire in the back.

The whole Cal Look thing was about innovation and making your car as fast as possible. They stretched 135's and 145's over 5" wide rims because they were the only sizes available in such short overall diameters at the time. If you want the car to be as safe as possible on the street and still maintain the front-down "Look", 175/60-15's are almost the same rolling diameter of 135's, puts the same amount of rubber on the road as the 155's, and will go on a 4 1/2" rim (specs call for minimum 5", but my tire guy says no problem).

With the variety of tire sizes we have to choose from today, there's something for everybody.

As usual, just my 2 1/2 cents (I'm Canadian, eh). Al
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