Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Readers Rides "Buckeye" - '95 G2500 StarCraft Conversion

Well, when we picked it up I saw that the exhaust pipe was halfway blocked by the fiberglass flares but I didn't figure it would melt and crack so fast. Not to worry, I had another insomniac moment and came up with a solution. I cut it out and made space for a dual tip that I had ordered as soon as I hatched this idea...



I had also been dreaming, almost incessantly, about getting wheels and tires for this thing. The tires on it were fine, the tread was fine, but they were 15 years old (left). It was time for them to go...



Since I was a teenager I always wanted a set of these wheels... But they just weren't the look I was going for on Wild Bill. It's more of a pro touring car and needs modern rubber. But the van? Whoa buddy, the van is the perfect candidate for some Torq Thrust II's and some BFG's.

15x8 (3.75" BS) with 245/60r15 and 15x10 (3.77" BS) with 295/50r15 BFG Radial TAs. Sizes for future people who are interested...

Before:





After:





I figured the 5.7L 350 vin K engine could use a little help, it was struggling with the 29" tires on our way back from Ohio so I didn't doubt that the 27" 295/50 would help a little and it surely did. The thing at least gets off the line a little better now. It has a 3.42 gear, same as my Cutlass, and I run 305/35r18's on that, roughly the same diameter as the 295/50's and I know it works well on the street. Also, I'm not too fussed about keeping the floor surface level so we're going to do something about that front end ride height sooner rather than later...

And maybe we'll do something about that hub cap that won't fit because the brake rotor / hub sticks out too far. We can't have that with a new set of wheels.

Oh! And remember that fiberglass repair I did earlier? I hired a shop to cut the original catalytic converter off and install a 14" Magnaflow muffler in it's place. They also installed the tip I had ordered... It sounds incredible! So much more mellow than Wild Bill, but still just as beautiful!