[Spridgets] Will 1972 Chevrolet Vega GT wheel's fit my 62 Sprite?

[Bob Spruck]

I acquired a set of five twelve-slot Vega wheels (not GT) a few years ago
to use on my vintage race '67 Midget and ended up not using them. The bolt
circle is the same, but the stud holes are 1/2" and even though I had
converted to 7/16" studs from the stock 3/8", there was too much slop for
me. There was also an issue with the center hole as the stock set-up is
hub-centric and the radius on the hubs must fit the hole and radius on the
wheel perfectly. Being 5" wide, the wheels and tires would not have fit the
square wheel arches even though I pushed them out as far as I thought
prudent when I originally did the body work. I even have a Panhard bar to
centralize the rear end. 

Of course, I could use them on my '72 (RWA) if I decide to convert from W/W
but they might give the car that roller skate look I don't like.

Of course, the key dimension is the back spacing and the tire size.
Backspacing of the Vega wheels is 2 5/8", Rostyle is 3 3/8", and stock
steel is 3", so the Vega wheel is outboard more than stock. Weight is
another factor. Vega weighs 17 lbs, Rostyle weighs15, stock steel weighs 14.

After all was said and done, I decided there were too many compromises and
the cons outweighed the pros. I still have them if anybody wants to try.

Bob


At 08:37 AM 10/31/2009 , Linda Grunthaner wrote:
>List,
>Will 1972 Chevrolet Vega GT wheel's fit my 62 Sprite? I'm pretty sure the
>lugs are the same but concerned about the depth. Anyone using them on a
>square rear arch and they clear? I rather have 5.5" Libres but this set is
>cheap so I thought I'd give it a try.
>Thanks Lin
>
>62 California Sprite "Pinky"
>www.freewebs.com/lgrunthaner