Hi-Tech question for TJD

[Gaz64]

Bob,

Your car looks different ride height between the two photos, and almost different track as a result.

Did the car have a suspension change, and you are still running the same wheels?

Gary

[snakeeyes]

Gary, all photos were taken at the same time. I did lower the car front and rear after I bought it, but the pics were taken after lowering (and driving it to get it to settle).

Front track is 56.5”; rear is 55.75”. Tom, they’re one-piece wheels that were on the car when I got it. The fronts are 8.5” wide per the seller. They’re six-pin knock-offs but I haven’t been able to figure out whose; there are no markings inside or out that I’ve found. I’m going to upload a pic of the front hub assembly—maybe you can tell me if it’s “stock” Hi-Tech.

[snakeeyes]

The pic is not the greatest; sorry. The calipers are Wilwood Superlites if that’s not clear from the photo.

[snakeeyes]

Originally Posted by HTM101

snakeeyes,
Have you re-measured your track width using the suggestions shown in this thread? I'm interested in your front measurement and the rear track also.

I own Hi-Tech #101. My car has Trigo wheels with 2 3/4" backspacing on the front, and 3 5/8" back spacing on the rear.

Do you happen to have any front end/front 3/4 shots you can post? I’m curious to see how the Trigos look on there.

I’m thinking that my 8.5” front wheel width may be the culprit. In looking at the Vintage Wheels website their “standard” front wheel is 7.5”. Obviously backspacing plays a role too. This may ultimately provide my excuse to install a set of FIA wheels on my car—I’ve always liked the look. Maybe front FIAs with my current rear wheels, for that “early 427” appearance, LOL.

[xb-60]

Bob, what about posting a picture from the front of the car looking directly down one side? That would show how the front and rear wheels/tyres sit in relation to the body.
We can then maybe appreciate better what your concerns are.

Cheers,
Glen

[HTM101]

Deleted

[snakeeyes]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Bob, what about posting a picture from the front of the car looking directly down one side? That would show how the front and rear wheels/tyres sit in relation to the body.
We can then maybe appreciate better what your concerns are.

Cheers,
Glen

Glen, here are some existing shots I have, although they're taken from the rear looking forward. I'm starting to key in on the offset of the fronts versus the rears as I peruse these.





And one more from the front:

[xb-60]

Looks great. I wouldn't change a thing if it was mine.
Nice car!

Cheers
Glen

[Mongoose930]

I think your car looks great!! Here are 2 Hi-Techs and an ERA at one of the car shows we attended this summer.

[DanEC]

I believe 8-1/2" front wheels are a little outside of the norm. I would guess that is most of what you are seeing.

[snakeeyes]

Glen, Mongoose, Dan, thank you. I love a solid red Cobra--thanks for posting those pics. Dan, I'm thinking the same thing about the fronts. When I summon the energy to remove the safety wire and pull one of the front wheels off I'm going to check the backspacing, then give one of the wheel companies a call and compare notes with their "stock" 7.5" front wheel specs. I suspect I'll eventually end up swapping out the fronts, just because I can never leave well enough alone, LOL. If/when I do I'll resurrect this thread and post pics.

[Mongoose930]

If you do decide to go with FIA wheels in the front, make sure you do a lot of measuring first. I actually had to put spacers on the front so the FIA wheel would clear the caliper.

[snakeeyes]

Originally Posted by Mongoose930

If you do decide to go with FIA wheels in the front, make sure you do a lot of measuring first. I actually had to put spacers on the front so the FIA wheel would clear the caliper.

Noted—thanks for the tip! Does yours have the Wilwood setup illustrated in the photo I posted earlier in this thread?

[krausewich]

Congrats on the new ownership!!
For the wheel situation, it looks like the front track to body ratio may be a little too wide. The front wheels also look a little deeper dish than common as others have said. But it looks like they were made to max the fit of the wheel well.. nothing wrong with that. I wonder if the the extra deep rear wheels is what's throwing you off? They almost seem like wheels meant for a GT40?

[Mongoose930]

Yes - Wilwood Calipers. Craig machined off the Wilwood logo, removed the black finish and did a clear powdercoat so that they would resemble the Girling calipers that were used on original Cobras.

[Mongoose930]

Angled view with FIA wheels. The front tires are closer to the edge of the fender than the rear tires.

[snakeeyes]

Originally Posted by krausewich

Congrats on the new ownership!!
For the wheel situation, it looks like the front track to body ratio may be a little too wide. The front wheels also look a little deeper dish than common as others have said. But it looks like they were made to max the fit of the wheel well.. nothing wrong with that. I wonder of the the extra deep rear wheels is what's throwing you off? They almost seem like wheels meant for a GT40?

Thank you. I don't know what the story is on the origin of the wheels, but you may be correct that the front width combined with the offsets of all four are making things look odd. I wish I had checked the offsets when I had them off to paint the centers, but that's easy enough anyhow.

Mongoose, that's a really nice touch with the silver on the calipers. Something else to add to my "someday" list of projects when I have more time than sense, LOL.

[krausewich]

Follow up on the wheels.. I did find in my travels, that a Canadian company named Mongoose produced 427 kits a ways back. It may be possible that the wheels were produced for them? The one black and white image I found seemed to have a front wheel with a bit more offset than normal.

[snakeeyes]

This is an old thread, but since I finally got around to addressing this I figured I'd update it. I pulled one of my front wheels off and did some measuring. The backspacing is 2.75", which seems to be pretty common with Cobra front wheels, but the wheel itself is a massive nine inches wide. That 1.5" width difference versus the typical 7.5" wheel is almost certainly why the front of the car has bothered me since I bought it.

I've been talking back and forth with Bob at Vintage Wheels and have ordered a pair of 7.5" FIA fronts. I realize the rears are not FIAs, but I've seen more than one pic of a competition 427 from back in the day with mis-matched FIA/GT40 wheels front/rear and for some twisted reason I kind of like the idea. If I decide I don't like the look I'll go ahead and order matching FIA rears.

I'm hoping that getting these installed will finally put to bed the nagging voice I hear in my head when I look at the car from the front. I'll post pics when I get them in, painted, and put on.

[snakeeyes]

And Mongoose930, thanks for the heads up on the clearance issues with your FIA fronts. In looking over your build thread I saw where yours were Trigos, which appear to have a slightly different backspace dimension to the ones sold by Vintage Wheels. At any rate I've been working with VW to make sure these will fit, before they ship them off. I'm awaiting final word but so far it sounds like they're going to clear the calipers. For whatever reason, comparing the photos of my front hubs to the ones on your car, the "hub flange" (i.e., the part that the six drive pins thread into) on my car looks to be around twice as thick as the ones on yours. I have no idea why, but I suspect that may help me with any caliper clearance issues.