GM Rally Wheels
The summer my oldest child turned sixteen was an exciting time. He’d already had one vehicle that we had worked on together. Through the course of that project, he learned about basic tune-up type stuff and how to work on a car as you use it. From there I showed him how drastically you can alter even a mundane vehicle’s appearance with stance and wheels. No small feat for a ’79 Mercury Monarch. Eventually it got lowered and we bolted on a set of Torq Thrust D’s with big and little rubber. Not a bad little driver for the kid to learn in. He and his little sister both learned how to drive and park in that car.
Ultimately, Jonny’s attitude and school performance led to the Monarch being sold. Yes, I’m that Dad. I follow through on promises.
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and things straightened out at home and school. That’s when we located the GMC on Craigslist. Boy, did we get every penny’s worth out of his budget. All in all, pretty decent body with a TBI 350. Short box two-wheel drive. Load her up and tow it home.
After we got it running decent and repaired a ton of “deferred maintenance” along with some serious shade tree mechanic brake line repairs, we finally got to drive it around the block. This is usually the point where a project starts to get fun.
The first order of business was to get decent tires under it. The set that it came with were literally four different sizes. Since we we’re getting new tires, it seemed like the perfect time to also spring for some new, more aggressive wheels as well.
Given a teenager’s budget, that left few options to choose from. The Speedway Rally Wheels we offer fit the bill perfectly. They come in a variety of sizes and bolt patterns. Including 5 on 5” and 6 on 5.5” to outfit Chevy trucks. Since future plans for the truck included lowering, we decided to go with 15x8” in the rear and 15x7” up front with staggered tire size front to back as well.
The silver powder coated finish proved to be durable and also a nice compliment to the body colors.
I had an extra pair of new Cooper Cobra 275/60R15 tires for the back of the Sedan Delivery and we found a new pair of matching Cobra 215/70R15 tires on Craigslist that rounded out the package.
It’s at this point where most people would take everything to the local tire shop and have everything mounted and balanced. Fortunately, I change wheels and tires enough on vehicles that I invested in a tire machine for personal use years ago.
Jonny already knew how to dismount and mount tires from his experience on the Monarch. I’m proud to say that he executed this set with no assistance other than my instruction from the sidelines. He finished with ten fingers and no new cuts or bruises. What we call a good day in the shop. We added the highway patrol caps to finish the combo off. You could also outfit these wheels with stainless beauty rings for a more polished look. It was decided that those may be a little too nice for this project.
