Fitting Tires and Metal Mods – Part 4 Of The Goodguys 2025 Giveaway ’87 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
We’ve said it plenty of times before, but will repeat it here: the right wheels, tires, and stance can make or break a custom car or truck build. If you get those elements right, it’s much easier for the rest of the build to follow suit.
Nobody knows this better than Jonathan Goolsby at Goolsby Customs. His shop’s track record of great-looking builds is so extensive partially because he makes sure to dial in a vehicle’s stance early in the build process, and then selects wheels and tires that complement the style of the car or truck or truck. That approach will be the same with the ’87 Monte Carlo Aerocoupe Goolsby Customs is building as the Goodguys Grand Prize 2025 Giveaway car.
Achieving a great stance was a natural byproduct of using a Roadster Shop SPEC chassis as the car’s foundation. The chassis is designed for a low, agile stance, along with some adjustability thanks to the coil-over front and rear suspensions. It will eventually roll on 18- and 19-inch Forgeline wheels that will match the car’s strong ’80s flavor, along with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires. With the Monte Carlo body temporarily mounted on the chassis, it was time to make some sheet metal adjustments to fit as much wheel and tire in the back as possible.
Since the Roadster Shop frame is built to use factory body mounts and be the same width as the stock frame, the Goolsby team did have some limitations on how wide the tires could be. One variable they could adjust was the inner rear wheel housings, which were widened 3.5-inches to allow better clearance for the wheels and 325/30/19 rear tires. The process was relatively straightforward and involved cutting out the original housings, trimming away a portion of the floor and package tray support, and welding extensions onto the wheel housings before welding them back into the car. The team also had to modify the back of the rear seat frame to fit with the new wheel housings. The following photos give an overview of the process.
Beyond the wheel housings, the team discovered that the driver’s side quarter panel had been replaced at some point. The repair was done with a tack-welded overlapped joint, so they refined that by cutting the quarter loose and butt-welding the seam for a better fit and appearance. They also built a patch to cover the original spare tire well in the trunk floor (which needed to be removed to accommodate the new frame and fuel tank) and started dialing in the gaps on the doors, which only required some minor adjusting. Lots of little details to make the 2025 Giveaway Aerocoupe really stand out.
Along with the fitting and fabrication work that’s happening, the Goolsby team has also started to fit a few new parts on the car, including the PWR aluminum radiator with integral dual fans, and the Vintage Air Sure Fit heat and A/C system that will keep the cabin comfortable in this modern street machine. It’s exciting to see these pieces coming together and processes starting to happen, and we can already tell this is going to be a special build when it’s completed. You can rest assured it will have a great stance and the right wheels and tires!
Check out the other Build Stories about the 2025 Giveaway SS Aerocoupe: Part 3, Part 2, Part 1
Photos by Goolsby Customs