[DeTomaso] GR 4 Rims

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/19/08 0 35 3, roofit at hotmail.com writes:


> I guess I am not sure of what I am looking for.  Right now I have a 1973 
> Body and I want to add the fibreglass gr4 flares.  The look that I am 
> eventually going for would be to have the rims flush with the outside of the flares 
> with little or no spacers possible.  I also like the original gr4 rim look as 
> opposed to any aftermarket look.
> Any suggestions?
> 

I happen to prefer the original 15-inch GT5/GT5-S wheels, which are 15x10 
front and 15x13 rear.   They are light, and short, and when fitted with the 
appropriate sized tires (285/40-15 front and 345/35-15 rear), the car sits 
incredibly low, compared to a regular Pantera.   Gr4 flares are the widest flares 
normally found on a Pantera, and the race cars were fitted with 15x14 rear wheels 
which took up the extra space.   Those wheels are exceptionally rare and 
expensive.   When equipped with 13-inch rear wheels, normally the face of the tire 
is set in an inch or two from the face of the flare.

The problem here is that front tires are not commonly available, and you 
would have to go to extreme measures to get some--either importing some from 
Sweden, or fitting Michelin or Avon dual-purpose street/race tires, which are 
super-sticky but expensive.

The Pantera vendors sell Gr4 style wheels too.   I happen to prefer the ones 
that Steve Wilkinson originally made in 17-inch.   These used a very thick 
aluminum center, and thus have become prohibitively expensive for him to make, so 
he no longer offers them except as a special order.   Instead, he had changed 
the design to use a much thinner, and thus cheaper blank.   They work, but 
knowing what his first wheels looked like, I would accept no substitute.   I 
would have to pay about $4000-5000 for those wheels however.

He also makes these wheels (the less expensive style) in 18-inch, which are 
of course more expensive.

Marino at Pantera East also has some 17-inch GT5-style Campy wheels, and he 
makes his wheels wider than the others, which greatly helps to correct the 
grossly incorrect steering geometry that is introduced when you go from the narrow 
body to the wide, flared body.  (Perhaps before you spend the money to make 
this change, you might want to actually drive a widebody car, as the radical 
offset of the wheels does no favors for the handling at all, and can really make 
the cars unpleasant to drive if the road surface isn't perfect).   Marino 
gets $3600 for his wheels in 17-inch, but if you go up to an 18-inch rear, the 
price jumps to $4400.

Larry Stock sells GT5-style wheels, normally in 18-inch front and rear.   He 
is relatively new to the wheel market, so I've never personally seen his 
wheels before.

I can't stand 18-inch wheels on a pantera, because I feel they overpower the 
car visually.  Plus, because they are so tall, and the flare angles inwards so 
sharply, in order for the tire to not hit the flare, the car has to be jacked 
up like a dune buggy.   There are some wide-body cars in Las Vegas each year 
that are fitted with 18-inch wheels, and they look so high that it seems as 
though you could drive another Pantera under them!

So, think very carefully before you go down this path.   Figure an absolutely 
minimum cost of $10,000 to get Gr4 flares on the car, by the time you have 
purchased new wheels, tires, flares, and then done the extensive body and paint 
work to get everything installed.   If you have original 15-inch wheels, the 
car will look terrific when you're done.   If you have 17- or 18-inch wheels, 
it will sit either a little bit, or a lot higher off the ground than it did 
before, which presumably would adversly affect the handling.   And with the 
extreme offset of the front wheels, the nose of the car will hunt and follow every 
rut and irregularity in the road.

Mike


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