Has anybody tried to fit LM mustangs rims on their car. CL is full of 5 spokes from 90's and early 2000's but I am not sure of backspacing issues. I still have drums up front if that matters. Thanks.
A friend of mine put the wheels as in your picture on the rear of a '54 and they clear BUT that is because of the offset,they would need a spacer and longer studs to work on the front with drums.They might be OK with a disc brake conversion on the front.
I put late model wheels on my Falcon. It was drums but I used a kit from Vintage Venom that came with hubcentric spacers and longer studs. Their kit uses the stock drum hub, their spacer then the rotor. I've seen similar kits for sale online. I have also seen tons of vintage Mustangs with late model wheels and drum brakes so I don't see why it wouldn't work. As far as tires, I think the 17" has the right combination of sidewall to rim ratio. It is a personal thing of course but 15" tires look like they are balloon tires and 20" looks too skinny unless they are 32" tall tires. I have contemplated the exact same thing you are considering because of cheap cost and availability. Not to mention you can buy brand new knock off wheels in different sizes like the 17x10.5's I put on my Falcon.
I was thinking about those for my '57.....Do you know what the oem outer dia. of those tires is, and the bolt pattern?
MUSTANG GT94-UP size options 15"-18"bolt pattern 5x114.3stud size 1/2x20offset 70.3H MUSTANG GT 97-UP size options 16"-18"bolt pattern 5x114.3stud size 1/2x20offset 70.3H
Yes they are still 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern. The pothole comment is ridiculous. Almost every car now a days has at least 17" wheels and you don't see cars all over the roads with broken wheels.
The problem with low profile tyres on older vehicles is that you will get a much rougher ride than a newer car with the same wheel/tyre combo. There are several reasons for this but the main ones are that late model vehicles use variable rate springs and of course coils on the back with 4 wheel independent suspension and the low profile tyres have very stiff sidewalls which have limited flex. The 50's Ford suspension will give a great ride with higher profile tyres which are softer in the sidewalks. Been there, done that.
I used 17" police car wheels on mine. 245/45/17 tires it has a great ride. I feel it handles very well.
I got them to fit. Late model mustang rims. 18x8. My car has drum brakes all the way around and Aerostar springs in the front. I had to get 3" long wheel studs then added a 2.25" spacer in front and 2" on the rear. Fills the fender nice and clears with the wheel turned max both ways.
I have no experience on this, but I would strongly advise against 2 1/2 inch spacers on the front (the rear might be better, but!!) as this changes the steering geometry and creates more stress on the spindle. Hitting a bump or a large pothole might cause the spindle to break.
im not a fan of spacers. but with the offset of the wheel. the spacer is moving the center point of the wheel to normal position of a standard wheel there should be no steering geometry change. or extra stress on the spindle.
Boy, that's horrible to read and figure out what it says without breaks or spaces between sizes and description of the next item. I've been trying to find and compile this info for the T-bird folks who want to ditch their stockers, and have probably learned more than I need to about wheel sizes in the process. Now, there are some other critical measurements that would be great to know that we don't have yet - I've inserted those into the descriptions with (need info). To break the rim info down further so that it's easier to read, with translations for us Imperial measure-type guys: MUSTANG GT 1994-UP Diameter (at tire bead): 15"-18" (381-457.2 mm) Diameter (overall): (need info) Widths (at tire bead): (need info) Hub center bore diameter: (need info) Bolt pattern: 5 x 114.3 mm (5 x 4 1/2") Stud size: 1/2" x 20 (1/2" w/ 20 threads/inch) Back spacing: (need info) Offset: +70.3 mm H (2-3/4+") (H = high offset - in this case positive) Inside rim clear diameter: (need info) MUSTANG GT 1997-UP Diameter (at tire bead): 16"-18" (406.4-457.2 mm) Diameter (overall): (need info) Widths (at tire bead): (need info) Width (overall): (need info) Hub center bore diameter: (need info) Bolt pattern: 5 x 114.3 mm (5 x 4 1/2") Stud size: 1/2" x 20 (1/2" w/ 20 threads/inch) Back spacing: (need info) Offset: +70.3 mm H (2-3/4+") (H = high offset) Inside rim clear diameter: (need info) For comparison, the stock 15" x 5" drop-center rim used on a '49-'56 Ford car (including wagons/sedan deliveries), Ford part # 8A 1015-D, has these specs: Diameter (at tire bead): 15" nominal Diameter (overall): 16" nominal Width (at tire bead): 5" (127 mm) Width (overall): 5-3/8" (136.53 mm) Hub center bore diameter: 2-5/8" (66.68 mm) Bolt pattern: 5 x 114.3 mm (5 x 4 1/2") Stud size: 1/2" x 20, 1-1/2" (38 mm) long Back spacing: 3-5/16" (84.14 mm) Offset: + 5/8" (15.875 mm) Inside rim clear diameter (not including rivet heads): 13-1/4" (336.55 mm) - deduct 1/8" (3-4 mm) or so for rivet heads. If anyone can add info for the GT rims, that would be wonderful to see.
I have a set of the 99-04 "Bullet" wheels for a fox body thunderbird project. I tried to fit on the rear of my '56 and I had leaf spring interference.
Mine hit too. That's why I added the longer studs and wheel spacers. The back spacing on the late model mustang rims is not right for these cars, but the spacers make up the difference. It's more work, but I priced 18" rims with the correct backspacing and this saved me lots of $$$$. CL is full mustang rims cheap.
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