My Harrison build

[sambo]

Ryder the offsets on those wheels you're looking at buying (from VWW) have the maximum backspace (minimum front space) that the manufacturer can provide. Merv had to go with another brand of wheel to get a proper fit - just in case this wasn't clear.

The minimum front space that VWW can do on an 8" front wheel is 3-1/8". This is the minimum the wheels will stick out from the hub face and it's a very close fit on a Harrison even when the body is perfectly aligned.

Geoff your backspace of 5" on an 8.5" wheel equates to front space 3.5". How did you get those to fit?

You may also need to account for a 1" variance, quoted below from this site.

"Advertised wheel width is generally measured at the inside tire bead mounting surface but you must determine the overall wheel width from the front to rear lip - usually 1-inch total. So a wheel that is advertised as 16x8 is 16-inches in diameter, 8-inches from tire bead to tire bead but 9-inches wide overall."

I take this to mean that you should add 1/2" to the advertised front space of the wheel.

I think.

[Ryder]

Ok my mistake, had a blonde moment don't mind me. Thanks for the info!

This is a pic of the wheels fitted to the Harrison as he had them.



They're close, not quite right, but I wonder if for the price of them something can be done...? hmm... Saving $700ish dollars would almost buy me a very nice set of speedhut gauges...

Might need to see them in the flesh, see what can be done with them before a decision

[Merv and Sharon]

Those rear wheels in the photo do seem to protrude and may come to grief in some states or inspection authority. I had that problem with VWW. They may fit other cars or even some Harrisons fine, however.

If you go to the Dragway site (Classic Wheels ) and then their Offset Chart you get a useful diagram with the necessary measurements.

I used measurements that I derived from other owners of Harrisons. They all vary in the way that the chassis sits on the frame (L-R), rim and tyre dimensions and the type of suspension fitted (typically R32 or R33) and also with how the suspension is set up.

On the chart (above) measure all four wheels carefully with a ruler and straight edge and determine the required measurements that keep the eventual tyre (17" or 18"s) within the 'guard edge and not hitting any suspension or brake components on the inside. Take your time with this step as it is the most important. Then talk to Dragway or another provider.

For my 17"x 8" rims, I eventually used a front space of 78mm on the Front and for the 17' x 9.5" on the Rear, 94mm. Fit is perfect, even with my larger AP brake calipers and disks. You can determine backspace as well using the diagram for a known rim width.

Not sure what bolt/stud pattern that you will have but they vary from front to rear on some Harrisons (GM/Ford/Nissan). I made mine all the Ford/Nissan pattern for convenience.

Also see: Harrison Cobra Rear Wheel offset

[Krait]

Originally Posted by sambo

Geoff your backspace of 5" on an 8.5" wheel equates to front space 3.5". How did you get those to fit?

The knock off adapter spaces the wheel out about half an inch, there's an image in my gallery.

Cheers

[puttputt]

The Harrison frame looks well designed to cope with twist.

[sambo]

Geoff, to improve the situation your spacer would need to somehow space the wheel IN, not out.

Confused yet?

[Krait]

Paul,

Excuse my red damaged brain cells this evening but if 'improving the situation' is in relation to wheel arch clearance it's all good.

VWInc's website measurements differ a bit from the email they sent me a couple of years ago and the car being 12,000 km away makes it a bit difficult to check

Cheers

[byroncobra]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tenrocca
Hmmmhaaawhat....gold rims..what the...............back to sleep.
Ryder, it will be great to watch your progress. If you need any info on the Skyline rear end get in touch with Ozvenom (Scotty Hampson). He knows pretty much all you need to know about them things!

Big thanks to Greg, Andrew and Merv for taking me back... Argh the memories.

Righto you clowns, the rims now have a slick coat of black 2 pack on them, but you"ve reminded me Merv that i forgot to spray the spacers........you should be able to see them thru the spokes just to keep you entertained further.

[Ryder]

Just a small but awesome update - I picked my car up from Warwick today, and now have it halfway home!
Quite impressed with the workmanship on it, it's all very neat. Got lots of looks from random people on the drive back, and every time we stopped for fuel someone would stop for a chat or to ask me about it. The finish on the fibreglass was so good that one servo guy actually thought it'd just come back from the painters, lol! Guess he didn't see the joining seams still plenty of bodywork to do on it.

My wife's been telling me I'm like a kid in a candy shop right now. Considering the timing, I reckon santa has been pretty awesome to me this year!

On the trailer

[jcraigau]

Congratulations on the delivery. It is certainly an exciting time driving it home all shiny and new!
Now the fun begins...

--JC

[boxhead]

Congrates Ryder, I too remember when I first saw and touched mine.

Wait till it is driving and making noise, you will spend extra time at servo's

[Aussie Mike]

Great stuff Ryder.

You've had it home 3 days. Time for an update!

Cheers

[Ryder]

Thanks guys.

Actually, i haven't got it home yet! I picked it up halfway through a 2200km trip while moving house - it's still sitting on the car trailer, teasing me.

I've got lots of plans and ideas though. Reckon bodywork may just be the hardest part, so I think that'll be a good place to start. Then i can do other things here and there as i get sick of sanding, itll help keep it interesting. Might just have to weld up a stand with wheels on it first up though, so I can roll the thing around easily...

[boxhead]

Personally Ryder, I would leave the body for at least 3 months (maybe longer) as it will still be "green" and settle in yet.

[sambo]

Ryder, my Harrison is over 5 years old now in original gel coat and there are at least 20 areas where the gelcoat has cracked and broken away over the top of air pockets - mostly around corners, wheel arches and other tricky areas. If you plan on preparing for paint now I suggest shining a bright light from behind wherever you can or using some kind of rolling pin or small hammer to try and find those voids so you can fill them before they give you headaches later.

[Modena]

I agree, mine is now just over a year old and has a couple of spiderweb marks coming through the gelcoat in a couple of places.

No, they're not cobwebs from it sitting idle!

[Merv and Sharon]

There are always a few marks that appear later, no matter how well you prepare. I had mine in a damned hot garage for 12 months being built and also in the sun wrapped in black plastic for some days as well, to bring as many air pockets out as possible. In the 3-4 years since I have only one blemish that has appeared in the paint. Now the odd stone chip is a different matter ...

Build it, drive it.

[Ryder]

Hmm sounds like fun.. thanks for the tip, will definitely look for defects like that. The gel coat looks immaculate on the surface.

I've heard leaving it outside in the sun during daylight with a thin sheet of black plastic over it for several weeks can help settle the glass - might look at doing that over this summer. Technically, most of the fiberglass is already a month and a half old, so hopefully it's settled somewhat already...

*edit - you got in just before me with the post Merv

[Rob. Smith]

Other than the fibreglass settling...leave the paint till last. Fitting bits and pieces can scratch and chip a nice paint job. Get every thing done then dismantle just enough to paint.

[Ryder]

So, finally got her home, and moved into the new house. Over the last few days have been upacking, enjoying the excesses of christmas and trying to unpack the shed!

I've got the car on chassis stands yesterday, where I reckon she'll stay for some time. Have been playing around with the front suspension, though still need to take a trip to the wreckers to get the last few parts.

The plan for the next few weeks is to:
a) relax and drink a lot
b) find, modify, reconditon and fit an R33 diff
c) finish the front suspension, fit dodgy old ford wheels
d) maybe do the door locks, or see what else I feel like doing...
e) talk to the engineer at some point soon.

For the meantime, heres a pic of my toys competing for garage space. Sorry for the bad pic.

Also looking at buying the donor car at auction soon, depending on what comes up!