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Just having fun with some wheel idea's>

method 17" wheels in gold - bronze with different lift and tiresize options.

the top is what I'll have when I'm done building my hemi conversion.
the bottom one is actually what I would love to build at some point.

It's also the most involved:
it has sidetrack like flares, but: the axles are moved forward and backward 1", the flares are stretched to accommodate tire size so the wheels fit in the fenders rather than under the car.

clearly shows what a difference it makes when the car is adapted to the size of the tires instead of just lifting the whole thing.

what do you guys think? - what would you build?

My vote is for 2 or 4. I like 2 because it’s a little bigger but not too big. 4 I like because it’s got bigger tires but not too big of a lift, and I like the stretched flare idea. The only thing I see, which could be tweaked is the wood grain next to the flare didn’t match the wheel opening, especially on the rear. Could easily be fixed, just something I noticed.


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I’m a 2 or 4 fan as well. My truck is 2” taller than I wanted but it has 2” more up travel and ground clearance, for its use it’s perfect. That’s a cool bit of photoshop that is fun

Here’s my “other” truck with no lift and 37’s In comparison to stock. I really like the challenge of fitting the vehicle to the tire size.

I mean if it was MINE, I'd stuff 31"s under it and call
it done, if I was going for the biggest tire setup possible...depending on what I was doing with it anyway.

I'd start with the wheels; you can squeeze 31"s in there on the '74+; only rubbing is if you hit a really big bump, they might JUST brush the inner wheel well in the back. Then if you need more tire/height you can go from there, but it's inexpensive to start with the wheels.

Btw, love the wheel choice :bd

do the math on axle gear ratios required to permit proper engine rpm and torque to those wheels, on mine the original gear ratio was 2.73 sitting on H78x15 tires the calculated effective ratio had i not changed the ratio to the current of 3.73 sitting on 32x11.5x15's would have been 1.78 with the 32's and the 2.73 gears as you can see just lifting your rig and adding BIG TIRES, will have its issues, just thought you should know as most dont factor this in, there are all kinds of ratio/tire swap charts on line to help you sort this issue out just and FYI

I LOVE Wide Trac waggys. So, obviously if no budget exists, I would go that route. But boy is that body work costly compared to a 4" lift and 31.s

Also, I am a big method wheels fan. And the ones you chose look great. But have you considered the MR-701? They are a modern take on an old school wagon wheel. They come in blue, black, and bronze.

It is worth noting that many 17" wheels have too much back spacing for narrow track axles.

thej10guy wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 3:39 pm .... The only thing I see, which could be tweaked is the wood grain next to the flare didn’t match the wheel opening, especially on the rear. Could easily be fixed, just something I noticed.

absolutely you'd have to redo the trim with the proper line around the flare, same on the front, just did not feel like editing that in the picture

When I was gonna do a w/t conversion on the '88, what I wanted to do was leave the fenders w/o
the grain, and give it kind of a '40s woody look. Obv the bottom of the rear would still need trimmed, but some of those '40s woodies had body color fenders mounted around the wood--it wouldn't look too out of place. And on the later ones, the grain on the doors is connected, but there are verticals between the doors and either fender, on the outer woodgrain trim, so you could make it work pretty well. I had lots of ideas about that lol

And I was gonna paint it Dark Baltic Blue Metallic, so it would look VERY similar to yours, wimsurf.

I really like the 16" gold Toyota TRD wheels; that would give it a pretty cool look. IMO 17"s would look too big on it. But the TRDs would bolt right on I'm pretty sure; not 100% on the center but it looks like it would clear.

PLEASE tell me if you do a w/t conversion you'll just trim the rear flare and glue/weld part of it on the door, rather than shifting it down...shifted down is all well and good, but it messes so much with the look of the body lines, and with the w/t you need the extra clearance anyway...

What program did you use to mock these up?

why_rick wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 4:22 pm What program did you use to mock these up?

I used a photoshop clone ont he pac, Pixelmator

Srdayflyer wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 8:46 pm do the math on axle gear ratios required to permit proper engine rpm and torque to those wheels, on mine the original gear ratio was 2.73 sitting on H78x15 tires the calculated effective ratio had i not changed the ratio to the current of 3.73 sitting on 32x11.5x15's would have been 1.78 with the 32's and the 2.73 gears as you can see just lifting your rig and adding BIG TIRES, will have its issues, just thought you should know as most dont factor this in, there are all kinds of ratio/tire swap charts on line to help you sort this issue out just and FYI

Good one, Mine had the factory tow package and has the 3.31 gears.
I anticipate that the overall tire size should not be any bigger than 30.5 maximum. that would be about 1" taller than I have now.

with my transmission ratio (6th is 1;1. 7 and 8 are overdrive and final ratio is 1:0.67) that would mean 1500 RPM is 60 MPH.

nice and quiet cruise and with that engine speed I have about 340 lb-ft of torque available..

sierrablue wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 4:11 pm
PLEASE tell me if you do a w/t conversion you'll just trim the rear flare and glue/weld part of it on the door, rather than shifting it down...shifted down is all well and good, but it messes so much with the look of the body lines, and with the w/t you need the extra clearance anyway...

I made the bottom version exactly for that reason:
i want to follow the dogleg part behind the door, keep the line and thus cutting a small portion off the door away and stretch the fender to accommodate for the tire size. by doing that you can tuck the big tire in more.
it will be the most work of all options, but you can keep the body lines correct, and align the top of the rear fender flare to be horizontally equal height as the front one.

basically the yellow 78 wagoneer 4xe they made for MOAB this year seems to do it the right way, raised flares, stretched wheelbase, and it still looks very ok and balanced on that one.

wimsurf wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 4:02 am

Srdayflyer wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 8:46 pm do the math on axle gear ratios required to permit proper engine rpm and torque to those wheels, on mine the original gear ratio was 2.73 sitting on H78x15 tires the calculated effective ratio had i not changed the ratio to the current of 3.73 sitting on 32x11.5x15's would have been 1.78 with the 32's and the 2.73 gears as you can see just lifting your rig and adding BIG TIRES, will have its issues, just thought you should know as most dont factor this in, there are all kinds of ratio/tire swap charts on line to help you sort this issue out just and FYI

Good one, Mine had the factory tow package and has the 3.31 gears.
I anticipate that the overall tire size should not be any bigger than 30.5 maximum. that would be about 1" taller than I have now.

with my transmission ratio (6th is 1;1. 7 and 8 are overdrive and final ratio is 1:0.67) that would mean 1500 RPM is 60 MPH.

nice and quiet cruise and with that engine speed I have about 340 lb-ft of torque available..

Yeah with however many bajillion gears (yes, yes, it's just 8) you have tied to that Hemi, I'm sure it'll find a good gear lol

The WK2s have 30.5" tall stock, same engine/transmission, a lower coefficient of drag but I highly doubt they have less total frontal area (which makes a bigger difference), AND they have easily 500 lbs more to haul around...with 3.45s, in the Trail Hawk. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Also (not aimed at you wimsurf) 2.73s make these things absolutely dogs. Unless it's out of your price range, overdrive is a far superior option to steep gearing (aka don't try to keep it at 2.73; make it like a 3.31 or 3.54 equivalent at least).

Stuka wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:39 am But have you considered the MR-701? They are a modern take on an old school wagon wheel. They come in blue, black, and bronze.

It is worth noting that many 17" wheels have too much back spacing for narrow track axles.



MR701.png

The MR-701 looks amazing, but I could not find them in 6-lug, I'm looking around now for something that looks a bit period correct, so a couple of wheels that look like turbines, or some us-mags 101 in 17x9

If you are looking for a 17x9, I did a quick google search and saw these. They are 17x9 with 6x5.5 for $311. They are similar to the ones Stuka listed earlier on in the thread. Website is powehousewheels.com


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I love the us mag U101. Running them in 15x9 on my truck. What I have issue with is in 17” is the back spacing, they stick out 1” too far to fit my truck.

FYI Method does offer the 701 in 6 lug. I just wish they offered them in machined finish. In color they look too modern even though you could get bronze colored original spoke wheels on some FSJ’s stock.

wimsurf wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 12:58 pm

Stuka wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:39 am But have you considered the MR-701? They are a modern take on an old school wagon wheel. They come in blue, black, and bronze.

It is worth noting that many 17" wheels have too much back spacing for narrow track axles.



MR701.png

The MR-701 looks amazing, but I could not find them in 6-lug, I'm looking around now for something that looks a bit period correct, so a couple of wheels that look like turbines, or some us-mags 101 in 17x9

Strange, I know several people with them on Toyotas.

They are listed on their page here: https://www.methodracewheels.com/collec ... 8704202788

16x8 and 17x8.5, both in 6x5.5 lug pattern. The 17" may have too much back spacing for a narrow track waggy. But the 16x8 has 4.5", which is closer to working.

ah, just did not look good enough, thanks.

I'll first finish the jeep, do some test driving around, and then I'll need to replace my saggy rear springs, they are not ready to carry anything more than a bare empty jeep. a bit of luggage, and a passenger or two will make it look like a lowrider at this point.

Yeller wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 3:59 pm I love the us mag U101. Running them in 15x9 on my truck. What I have issue with is in 17” is the back spacing, they stick out 1” too far to fit my truck.

FYI Method does offer the 701 in 6 lug. I just wish they offered them in machined finish. In color they look too modern even though you could get bronze colored original spoke wheels on some FSJ’s stock.

I have seen people powder coat them white which gives them more of a classic look.