Before I received my kit and started the build, the first purchase I actually made were tires! I knew I wanted 15" Goodyear Billboards because I just love the period-correct look. And a deal happen to fall in my lap: A friend in our local club is an SCCA racer and was building a track car. He bought a new seat of Goodyears for his build, but then decided he wanted bigger brakes and opted for 17" wheels and tires. So he sold me this brand new unused set for a price I couldn't pass up. They sat in my cool, dark garage in their plastic wrapping until it was time to use them. Which was next:
November 2014 I ordered a complete set of 15" Hallibrand-style 427 wheels from Trigo. This includes 7.5x15" front wheels, 9.5x15" rear wheels, hub adapters, pin nuts, tri-wing knockoffs, and alignment tool.
Look what Santa Claus brought!
So after reading all the instructions, I started on the rear wheels first, which was easiest. The lug bolts need to be cut down to a specific length so the pin socket can be inserted in the pins to torque them down. But first I used the alignment tool to get the pins in the correct orientation for the wheels. See in this picture the alignment ring is on the pins, and notice how the lug bolts are too long. A light tap with a mallet gets the pins aligned with the holes in the alignment tool. Next comes the cut.
After marking the correct length with a paint pen, I locked two nuts on each stud in order to make a clean cut, then threaded the nuts off to chase the cut threads clean. Measure 20 times, cut 5, and its done.
I then installed the hub adapter, tightened the pins down, checked the pins with the alignment tool again, torqued the pins and applied some supplied anti-seize to the pins and hub thread.
IT FITS! OMG, I remember this moment; I almost had a "Viagra" effect looking at the big fat wheel on there for the first time. its starting to look like a cobra!
Next are the front wheel adapter hubs, which won't be so easy.....
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