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I Got My 17 x 8 Mustang Wheels To Fit

10K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  wedged540 
#1 ·
I got my new rims on the front of the Valiant. They are 2001 17X8 Mustang bullit wheels with 5.72 back space. :D  I had to use a 1/2 spacer with them and install longer studs. The tires are 235/45/17s that are a nice fit for the 8" rims. They do just touch the sides on the upper control arms at full extension when fully turned, but when will these happen while driving? I tried them with a 1" spacer what was to close to the fender and they still they still touched the arms so it's back to the 1/2" ones. Now it's on to the back wheels. ;D




 
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#3 ·
Is this on a factory disk setup? Looks good, are you aware of any problems with the back yet?

--chad
 
#4 ·
Chad,

From the numbers I've worked up I should be able to use a 65 to 67 B body rear end to fit them under the back if I go with the same size rims with the same off-set. I haven't got the back rims yet, I still need to decide on what size of tire to run on the back too. I'm looking at 255/45/17 or if I can get a wider wheel in the same style I want to go with 275/40/17. This will also dictate if I move the springs and 1/4 tubb it.
 
#9 ·
I've got 95-96 Cobra wheels on my Valiant, dimensionally the same as those wheels.  I'm also running a 65-67 B-body rear axle, and everything fits great with 245/45-17.  It also fits pretty well with a 275/40-17, although a little more backspace in the rear would be helpful.

Yours is the second case I've seen of the Mustang wheels needing a spacer up front.  Mine clear everywhere, but I only have about 0.20" of space to the OTRE (as I discussed at the bottom of this thread.  The other case is on a friend's 68 Valiant autoXer, and he had to use a 1/4 or 3/8" spacer for the wheels to fit.  I can't remember if he's running aftermarket UCA's (I'm not), but he and I both have some form of 73+ A-body spindles and and Viper caliper kit from AREngineering.  Strange.  I'm currently thinking the difference MAY boil down to differences in the LBJ designs from different suppliers.  Not sure, and that's not really relevant here...

ANYWAY, with the B-body rear, you'll have plenty of space for a 245/45-17 out back using those wheels, and not plenty if you sneak a 275/40 on them.  The 275 really wants a 9" wheel, and that needs more backspace to fit properly on the B rear.  An alternative would be a stock-size A-body rear with a custom adapter to acheive the perfect location.  Most of the wider Mustang wheels don't have enough offset/backspace to work with the B-body rear.  There are some cross-over wheels, like the ones designed for early Fox mustangs to work with SN95 rear axles & such that DO have about the right backspace, but they're so expensive it's hard to justify using them when there are so many aftermarket wheels that WILL fit for less money.

Here are a couple pics of the 275/40 on the 17x8 wheel:



And rather than retype all the stuff from my previous posts, here are the threads on Moparts:
275/40-17 on 67-8-9 Valiant
17x9 Wheel on REAR of 67-8-9 Valiant

Clair
 
#10 ·
Hi Clair, I think I was talking to you a bit over on pro-touring


To update a bit I've played around with them a bit more. The aftermarket upper arms I have are 8" wide at the point where they are touching the rims and the stock arms are only 6 1/4" wide at the same point. So what I did was make-up some taller bump-stops for the upper arms to take out the last 2" or so of travel. I figure that I will never have the suspension a full extension with the wheels fully turned, but this will keep them from rubbing if I do.

I got a set of 67 B body axles on the way that I won on Ebay. So as soon as they get here we will cut one of my housing down for them and start on the back.
 
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