Making Her Sit Right
I wanted the wheel & tire combo to: 1: look retro. 2: sport a badass rake. 3: plant a copious amount of rubber on the road.
Not wanting to run flavor-of-the-moment dubs, tub the rear wheel wells or run rubber bands for tires, I struck a balance between old and new. After taking careful measurements, I had Wheel Vintiques whip up a set of "old school" steel wheels in "new school" sizes. Rears, 17"X 8" ; Fronts, 16"X 7". While I was at it, I had them shoot me a set of their short bullet caps, too. The tires sizes are: 275-60-17, rear; 255-50-16, front. BFGoodrich TAs. With that much meat up front, it only made sense to equip the Burb with power steering, so I ordered a complete kit from REZ Engineering and it went in like a hot knife through butter (thanks Ronnie). The rim centers are color-matched to the paint. The initial rake was accomplished through 2&1/2" drop spindles, 2" custom drop springs, and, of course, tire and wheel selection. To achieve the ultra-slammed rake I wanted, I sprang for an AirRide 4-way adjustable air bag system. It was installed by Jon Henson of DB Rods in Pflugerville, TX. He also installed a pair of Early Classic Industries chassis drop cross members and a Classic Performance Parts C-notch kit as well as an adjustable pan hard. Jon's work was meticulous, on schedule and on budget. A super talented, intelligent and all around stand-up guy.
While we're under the car, I might as well mention the exhaust: The hooker headers marry to a custom-bent aluminized dual exhaust system by Austin's B&B Muffler, which, in turn, is plumbed into a pair of three-chamber Flowmasters with a pair of resonators added out back for good measure. We opted to install a crossover pipe to help balance the exhaust system and brought the pipes all the way out to the back with turndowns at each corner. Those B&B boys on South Lamar did a masterful job and it's much more livable from a decibel perspective. Hey, maybe I'll actually be able to hear the sound system.
