Got my Leroy's! (TTII's)

[bluex]

So I'm sure the title has everyone confused. In the small town where I live there is a local car dealer that sells "newer" used cars. He also keeps one or two old hot rods around. Almost always they have Torque Thrust II's on them, so around here these wheels are called Leroy's since that is his name.

On another side note, he also has a sweet 68 or so chevy truck thats his shop truck. I have never been able to catch it to get pictures of it. It has the six lug version of the TTII with a gray center. Very sharp truck, at one time I was going to trade my '78 to him and he was going to use my drivetrain for that truck. But the deal fell through and I kept my truck, and I have no idea what he put in that one. But back to the story at hand...

I purchased F. Monroe's wheel setup. They arrived on a Wedensday and I had a very busy week so all I got to do was take a few pictures and put them in the garage. Didnt even get to unwrap them...

All four where the UPS man left them....


Now one at a time....

[bluex]

Upset at the teasing yet?

That was how I felt the rest of the week since I just couldnt find the time between working third shift, kids ballgames and other day to day issues. I felt just like a kid at christmas that knew exactly where the presents were hidden, but couldnt do anything about it.

Finally I got time to at least unwrap them......

Fronts:





Rears:





On top of the packaging Frank did, he also went an extra step to put a label on the back side of each wheel/tire assembly. This was to ensure that they would still make it to me in case the covering over the face of the wheel was damaged or lost. These were a little time consuming to remove, but well worth the effort to ensure that all four would arrive. I was out of time now and it was eating me up even more to get them on the truck....

[bluex]

So at this point I realized I had no good before pictures. So one day before work I pulled the truck out of the garage and took a few. This is where you guys will gasp at the fact that I'm putting such nice expensive rims on a crappy truck......









Specs on these wheels/tires:

Front:
255/60/15 on a 15x8.5 with 3.75" backspacing.

Rear:
275/60/15 on a 15x10 with 3.75" backspacing.

The truck is dropped with Western Chassis 2.5" spindles, and a shackle and hanger kit for the rear set at full drop of 4". It also has air shocks in the rear. It is a heavy half truck and has the longer 10 leaf pack in the rear. I have a set of 4 leaf shorter spings I'm going to swap in someday to try and remove a little bit of the rake. Yes, it rides like crap, a large enough bump will almost put your head into the roof when the rear hits it.

I will admit, I never really liked these wheels They are polished aluminum that I have only polished one or two times in the 10-11 years that I have had them. They badly need to be sanded and brought back up to a super shine. They are not damaged, just neglected. I actually cleaned them with a brillo pad and polished them with a mothers power ball last summer and they look 100x better, but nothing like the new wheels to come....

[bluex]

So, up to this last thrusday (5/5). I had got off work and took a short nap, I didnt want to sleep much since it is my long weekend off. We had errands to run, then my wife had a meeting. As the kids were driving me nuts in the house and I was getting sleepy I decided I needed something to keep me up until she could get home.

My solution was to put the wheels on of course. It also got the kids outside to run some of their energy out and help them sleep better two birds with one stone!

I did manage to take one in process picture with my "helpers" during the madness....



Unforturnely by the time I was finsihed I was worn out, my wife had come home with supper and it was getting dark. I didnt even get a chance to pull it out of the garage and check it out from more than 3 feet away.....

[bluex]

I can hear you guys screaming for the finished pics already!!

Well on friday we had our local American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I was tied up all day/night with that setting up and then keeping my kids so my wife could stay since she was on the planning comittee.

But this afternoon I did manage to pull it out and get those pictures. I also when for a short ride with both my sons, since my daughter was asleep. I'm sure I will have to take her tomorrow when she finds out she didnt get to go.....









Specs on these wheels/tires:

Front:

235/55/17 on a 17x8 with 5" backspacing

Rear:

275/60/17 on a 17x9.5 with 5.5" backspacing

No other changes from the above mentioned suspension mods. I tried to get the truck in the same spot as well....

[bluex]

Here are a couple more, straight on side shots.





Thanks Frank for the deal and for shipping them to me. Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. Frank was a pleasure to deal with as well.

I dont have plans to drop the truck more, only to swap the rear springs to decrease some of the rake. Having said that, I believe these wheels are setup for a truck with more drop or bags. They sit much farther inside the wheelwells due to the increased backspacing. That I dont like so much. If you can tell from the before pics the old setup was pretty much even with the edge of the fenders. I really liked that look, so I will probably remdy it with spacers one day. Every set of wheels and tires I have had on there until now also set right at the edges of the fenders so it might just be that I'm used to that look more.

I do want to put the CPP trailing arm conversion on the rear of this thing one day, so I might get bags then since it will be so much easier. Nothing extreme to lay rockers or anything just bags in place of coils in the rear, then cups/plates in the front. They will probably suit the truck much better then. I also think a slightly wider and taller tire in the front would help. Those are the exact same height as the 15's though. The rear tires however are 2" taller.

Well there ya go, sorry for the novel. I dont post much unless I feel its relavant to the topic at hand but please guys let me know what you think!!!!

[f.monroe]

Looks like all the wrap, cardboard, and tape stayed on pretty well during the trip. For anyone shipping wheels ,I placed cardboard over the front and taped it in place . I then wrapped the wheels in shrink wrap and ended with 3-4 wraps around the tread of the tire. I then taped the wrap by wrapping tape around the tread in 3-4 wraps. Next is the crucial part . I rolled them anound the shop floor to pick up dust and coat the sticky plastic wrap with a slick coating of dust/dirt. This will keep them from sticking to anything . If they are sticky they will try to stick to each other and start pulling the wrap off .

I like the way they look on our trucks . My truck seemed to sit about 2 inches lower all around . I think the heavy duty springs are what has your truck sitting higher . If you change springs it will probably sit the truck right where it should be for this setup .
Frank

[Palf70Step]

Wheels (and the truck) look great!

[DBLSPRT68]

Nothing wrong with a project truck! The new wheels are nice! I actually like your old wheels too Frank is a super nice guy. I've met him and would have no doubts about telling anyone to buy something from him. A+

[87 chevy silverado]

i like it alot expecilly with new wheels needs a lil altitude adjustment

[N2TRUX]

There's nothing like the timeless styling of TTII's. They made a huge difference in your trucks appearance. Hopefully enough to motivate the replacement springs to get the rear down where it needs to be.

[bluex]

Thanks guys, overall I'm very happy with them. I'm not a huge fan of bigger rims so these were perfect in my opinion.

Frank, the packaging was in really good shape. The only place it got damaged was on the edges where they spun the tires around.

Keep the opinions and ideas coming!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Doug_J]

nice clean truck and like the new wheels.

[mooseknuckles]

looks good!....just need to lower the rear about 6"....

[1LowToy]

looks nice! Leroy hasn't sent any my way though.

[Pop's C-10]

I like tha look of both sets...

[80chevyshortbox]

looks good. love the wheels, time to drop that rearend.

[bluex]

Originally Posted by 1LowToy

looks nice! Leroy hasn't sent any my way though.

Ya, I wish Leroy would have paid for mine too but no luck there either.....

[bluex]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckles

looks good!....just need to lower the rear about 6"....

Originally Posted by 80chevyshortbox

looks good. love the wheels, time to drop that rearend.

Ya I know, I have had the other set of leafs for at least a couple of years too. Its just hard finding time with three smaller kids, working third shift and having to keep up the maintenance on the daily drivers....

[lilpoindexter]

TT's and 17 inch steel wheels in 5x5 cost about the same...If the steelies were like $100 each, I'd get them...but since the cost is so close to the "Leroys", I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to use adapters on the dodge wheels, nor do i want to swap rotors and axles.

[lakeroadster]

Nice improvement. Looked good before also.

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

There's nothing like the timeless styling of TTII's.

Except maybe old school... TTO's.

I guess I am showing my age. I can remember when TTII's first came out and many old timers thought they looked to much like a Cragar S/S wanna be.



By the way, what's up with the thread name "Got my Leroy's" ??

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by bluex

So I'm sure the title has everyone confused. In the small town where I live there is a local car dealer that sells "newer" used cars. He also keeps one or two old hot rods around. Almost always they have Torque Thrust II's on them, so around here these wheels are called Leroy's since that is his name.

Originally Posted by lakeroadster

.....By the way, what's up with the thread name "Got my Leroy's" ??

The answer was in his first post. John, you ain't the only gray hair in the bunch. I remember Cragar SS, Fenton chrome slots, and American Racing aluminum slots on the first go round too. These days I find it pleasing that I still remember that far back.

[Pop's C-10]

A 2/4 drop would level it out...but i like tha rake with tha TTII

[bluex]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

A 2/4 drop would level it out...but i like tha rake with tha TTII

Ya, it has a 2.5/4 drop now. Since it was a Big 10/Heavy Half to start with, it was higher than average I guess?

I have noticed that the rear spings are contacting the bed support at the shackle end. That could be holding it up some as well. Hopefully the new springs will remedy that as well.

[Pyrotechnic]

I would recommend rather than swapping springs, just take some leafs out of the ones you have. Mine is a heavy half and it came with 8 leaf springs that had a ridiculous overload spring. I took out the overload plus another one on in the middle of the pack somewhere and it made a big difference. It rides much smoother and it lowered the rear pretty much level with the front. I can still haul a load in the back too no problem.

Keep in mind, a longer leaf spring will actually ride much smoother than a shorter one. If you take some leafs out of your long springs, you can actually end up with the same spring rate but a smoother ride than the short springs.