New guy! 1985 Caprice Wagon

Thanks a lot gentlemen, I do appreciate the approval.

 

I see a lot of folks on this forms maintain their stock wheels- so I hope it's not "frowned upon" when I ask where I can get a decent set of American Racing wheels from? I love the whole muscle look/stance and I think that's where I'd like to take my car, just to add a touch of attitude

If anyone has any good suggestions and or photos, I'd love to see them! The tires are a bit old on the wagon and if I have to replace it soon I'd like to change out the wheels as well.

So I'm looking for what bolt pattern, off set, and widest I should be able to go?

I'm really liking these- but with no photos to go by I don't know if it'd be a bad decision. Any inputs?

 

First, congrats on your new wagon. Don't be shocked your eyes pick up on more, some may even follow you home. And your friends will think your 80 years old inside and give you crap for buying a station wagon, then they ride in it, it is then the "wagonitious" all comes together!

I have owned 7 wagons now since I was 17 (I'm 31 now) and all have been stock or gone back to stock. The beauty of a station wagon, no matter what make, model, year, they are ALL cool. A tubbed out '68 Chevelle with a blown 455 or a faded green, tired little '78 Corolla (like I had), they are an extension of your personality. So make it unique as you are to the world.

 

Thanks wagon nut I should say that although I can appreciate what many of you have- I'm only here in passing, my heart longs elsewhere when it comes to my dream car (Or a car that I'd invest most of my time and money into). Many of you have had multiple wagons that you've longed for most of your lives, maybe because your folks had it when you were young- I myself choose it as something cheap to get from point A to point B allowing as much room as possible for the kids, as well as the cost of maintaining and the ease of working w/ the V8. Not to say that I won't enjoy the wagon- or that I'll be treating it like a rented Saturn. The wagon will still have my full attention to detail, my blood sweat and tears, and it'll be better than how I got him. Just that my desires are for quicker, lighter, computerized turbo'd cars with 1/2 the cylinders

This will be my next purchase- which is why I'm getting rid of the neon.


I'm sure many of you cringe at the sight of a car like this- but from what I've seen these cars can do- the amount of physics these cars are capable of bending, I've never wanted anything else.

 

Alright... 5x4.75 is the bolt pattern. Does anyone know how wide of a rim I can go? And what size tire I should be using?

 

Ok first off thank you for your service. Next is that you got a great buy. After that if those wheels are 5X4.75 they won't fit. BTW it looks as if you like cars that handle. If so check out my thread.
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3375
You might be surprised to see how well one of these wagons can corner. I also have so vids you might like in my YouTube link in my sig.

 

Could you tell me what wheels would? lol I searched on line and I got 5x4.75 or 5x100? I'm really digging the American Racing Ansen Sprint wheels. Just need to know what size and how wide I can go to not get rub or fitment issues.

When test driving the wagon I noticed it handled pretty well- as well as having an awesome turning radius, but it more floating than ground clinging. The point of the evo is to run 10 seconds in the 1/4 as a daily driver, as well as to be the ultimate in turns and cornering.

You're car looks awesome man- I'm really happy to see all the custom work you've put into her. That 350 was mean

 

You need 5X5 or I think it is 5X127mm bolt pattern. Anything more than a 5 inch back space and you will need a bolt on spacer. I am using a 1 inch one on the rear with a 5 inch back space just to get the rear wheels out a bit more for looks. I have 18X9 Boss wheels with 275/40-18 BFG G-Force Sports all around. Was like $1500 or something for wheels and tires. I have a small rub on my front swaybar at full lock but that could be the design of the aftermarket swaybar. And you are so right the turning radius on these is surprising.

 

Sweet thanks man. Does yours have A/C? Mine has the R-12 system, I'm curious if it just needs recharging.

 

It did but I yanked it to save some weight. I must have gotten a decent amount off with it and other things as the nose came up some.

 

Welcome Only 1. From the pics and the way you described it, you did very well paying $1000. Obviously it's difficult to tell from a pic, but at first glance, I'd believe it has 59000 miles. Of course, I'd have to take a much closer look, (ie, check out the accelerator and brake pedals to see the amount of wear, see the driver's seat to detect if the cushions have lost their "springiness", etc), but I think you did fine. As far as the wheels go, there's those of us that absolutely, 100%, prefer the factory wheels and tires, (of which I happen to be one), and there's really just as many that prefer the aftermarkets. The cool thing about this forum is that everybody respects everybody else's opinion and there's never any judgements made about what one does to their long roof. (Oh wait, there's currently a discussion going on about a gross orange Colony Park for sale where nobody likes the color, but the car doesn't belong to any of us, so it's okay to talk about it behind the owner's back.) I think you're going to find that the more you drive your Caprice, the more you're going to fall in love with it.
Welcome aboard and best of luck with it.

 

It may work for a little while but in most cases they have a leak in the system for it to need to be re-charged. I am going back with the R-12 for now because it was still full when I pulled the motor and I also have a 30lb bottle of R-12 so as long as I didn't create any leaks by disturbing the lines and all I should be set

 

Hmm... Is there a place where the leaks normally occur? How easy is it to recharge R-12 on your own? How safe is it.

 

Only1 see your making friends already...glad you found your way here.

 

Thanks fannie There's a lot of helpful and nice people here- although I wish there was more traffic flowing through