Watch Mike Finnegan measure perfect wheel and tire fitment on a C10 truck
When he’s not filming automotive shenanigans alongside David Freiburger in the duo’s Roadkill show, Mike Finnegan can be found in his shop in Georgia, where he has a number of projects. His updates make excellent fodder for tech tips, which can be found on his channel, Finnegan’s Garage.
Finnegan’s latest video involves his long-running project on an LT4-swapped 1967 Chevrolet C10 that has been ‘bagged on a set of aluminum wheels that don’t quite fit right. The inside of the wheels have been battered from contacting the custom suspension and they’re not as wide as he’d like. To get the proper look and know what fits and what hits before he buys any more wheels, Finnegan’s relying on a trick tool from Wheel Fit that holds a tire in place on the hub and can simulate various backspacing scenarios.
A pair of Michelin 295/30ZR20 tires are mounted to Wheel Fit’s GRYPR tool so that they can be put in position under the front fenders. The first test reveals that the initial backspacing setting wasn’t adequate. However, with a quick change on the GRYPR to simulate four inches of backspacing, the massive meats clear fenders and the firewall, and suggest that wheels with a similar backspacing would clear the modified suspension and its extra beefy spherical rod ends.
The Wheel Fit tool is $385 and the three-sided GRYPR is available starting at just under $600. As Finnegan mentioned, it might be something that your car club could consider purchasing to share, as it’s not a tool you need every day. But it could solve a lot of headaches and save a lot of money if it prevents ordering the wrong-sized wheels. Every dollar and every minute counts when it comes to a project car.
