Looking for feedback on my new wheels

Since we’re strolling down memory lane this morning…… circa 1977. Common combos for the times, and what would a Boss be without a Sears car top carrier?
The drip rails still show its use…….. UGH!!

jscott said:

either you will need mud flaps or prepare to deal with the damage kicked up rocks and stuff will do to your lower quarter. Since your asked, IMO tires sticking out of the wheel well look like crap and should be reserved for race cars.

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Good point on the road debris. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks

Cleveland Crush said:

@GERMYS_72 for perspective here's a few photos of my 72 and friends 73 wheel offsets.
Circa late 1970's

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Really cool that you took , developed , and saved these photos. My cousin had a 69 Firebird with massive tires on the back and flared out the rear quarters to cover. This was around 1994. He didn't snap any photos and I wish he had.

Thnx, more of a fluke that I still had them, and certainly a pleasant surprise!

Btw, there’s a Mustang show tomorrow at Apple Valley (Minnesota) Ford, it has a swap there also, 0900-1400. Then on Tuesday evening 1700 till?, the weekly drive in gathering in Henderson (Mn) will have a Mustang theme night. All vehicles and bikes are welcome there too.

Sheriff41 said:

Oversized tires, air shocks, and traction bars were the look back in the late 60's and early 70s. Check out some old Hot Rod magazines.
View attachment 89242

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Yep just need air shocks and shackles so they don’t rub. It’s how we rolled back then and if you didn’t you weren’t cool.

Cleveland Crush said:

@GERMYS_72 for perspective here's a few photos of my 72 and friends 73 wheel offsets.
Circa late 1970's

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@Cleveland Crush Where did you get that upward facing spoiler on that grabber blue 71 ? I would rather have that spoiler look then the standard spoiler

GERMYS_72 said:

@Cleveland Crush Where did you get that upward facing spoiler on that grabber blue 71 ? I would rather have that spoiler look then the standard spoiler

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That was an "American Racing Equipment Co." spoiler early 1970's vintage, all Aluminum. It's been off my Stang for many years and recently sold it to a guy in NYC, he mounted it on his 1970 customized Ford van (rear roof). Those spoilers are long out of production.

I had some 15x10 Cragars w/4.25" backspacing, and I loved how deep they look. I didn't think they stuck out too far until after the springs had settled a bit and started buzzing the sheet metal with every bump. I worked too hard getting this car back together to let some cool wheel rip apart the quarter panels.


I reached out to Summit Racing and ordered a new set of 15x10 Cragars w/5.25" back spacing - same price, and I wound up selling the others for what I paid, so it all worked out.

Here's the difference (from top and rear looking forward) the 1" change of backspacing made. No more rubbing.
Old:



New:



As much as I liked the deeper-dish of the old rims, it's a lot better knowing the tires won't be ripping up the sheet metal I spent so much time putting back together.



I will admit that after being parked next to this one for a day, I might be open to looking for some new shoes again. Rims make the biggest impact on how a car looks, after all.

Mister 4x4 said:

I had some 15x10 Cragars w/4.25" backspacing, and I loved how deep they look. I didn't think they stuck out too far until after the springs had settled a bit and started buzzing the sheet metal with every bump. I worked too hard getting this car back together to let some cool wheel rip apart the quarter panels.
View attachment 89323

I reached out to Summit Racing and ordered a new set of 15x10 Cragars w/5.25" back spacing - same price, and I wound up selling the others for what I paid, so it all worked out.

Here's the difference (from top and rear looking forward) the 1" change of backspacing made. No more rubbing.
Old:
View attachment 89326
View attachment 89327

New:
View attachment 89324
View attachment 89325

As much as I liked the deeper-dish of the old rims, it's a lot better knowing the tires won't be ripping up the sheet metal I spent so much time putting back together.
View attachment 89328


I will admit that after being parked next to this one for a day, I might be open to looking for some new shoes again. Rims make the biggest impact on how a car looks, after all.
View attachment 89329

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Your Cragar S/S's can hold their company at any party!

Not a fan of the super wide and jacked up look…but it’s not my car. If they fit in the wheel well I would say big thumbs up, rims are nice! Make it your own!! And love it!

Mister 4x4 said:

I had some 15x10 Cragars w/4.25" backspacing, and I loved how deep they look. I didn't think they stuck out too far until after the springs had settled a bit and started buzzing the sheet metal with every bump. I worked too hard getting this car back together to let some cool wheel rip apart the quarter panels.
View attachment 89323

I reached out to Summit Racing and ordered a new set of 15x10 Cragars w/5.25" back spacing - same price, and I wound up selling the others for what I paid, so it all worked out.

Here's the difference (from top and rear looking forward) the 1" change of backspacing made. No more rubbing.
Old:
View attachment 89326
View attachment 89327

New:
View attachment 89324
View attachment 89325

As much as I liked the deeper-dish of the old rims, it's a lot better knowing the tires won't be ripping up the sheet metal I spent so much time putting back together.
View attachment 89328


I will admit that after being parked next to this one for a day, I might be open to looking for some new shoes again. Rims make the biggest impact on how a car looks, after all.
View attachment 89329

Click to expand...

Great post for us newbies. 5.25 to 5.5 inch backspace seems like the magic number to shoot for, and this hopefully helps someone else out before they buy the 4inchers like I did.

Just got these bad boys set up. 305/30ZR19’s on the back. When I measured it out before buying the tires and rims I couldn’t find rims that would fit the front so I made the choice to go with spacers. Picked up the Shelby CS5 staggered set. I picked up a 1-1/2” spacer for the rear wheels but after installing them I think I could get away with 1” and 315/35 tires without making any other mods. Might have to push in the factory ford plate at the front of the rear wheel well on the inside edge of the tire.
It's hard to tell in this picture but the tire clears the outer lip by about 1/3" so hopefully I wont have to roll the lip. With 5 leaf springs I don't ever see a scenario where the wheel will contact the lip.

Wow - that's some serious meat, Aces! Can't wait to see how that all comes together!

Mister 4x4 said:

Wow - that's some serious meat, Aces! Can't wait to see how that all comes together!

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Been waiting for 3 weeks for the front rims to come in, they were "lost" in transit. They showed up yesterday and I dropped them off for mounting and balancing. Just got the text they are finished, hopefully they are open when I drive by in the morning so I can pick them up and mount them.
When I was installing the Global West upper control arms the pivot point was rubbing on the shock-tower so I have to use alignment shims to push it away on the passenger side. I am hoping the tire is still centered in the wheel well. If it's not I will need to get a different wheel spacer. Shit never ends with a restoration.
Here are the new front tires beside the old tires, almost exactly the same height. 265/35ZR-19's. Needed a 1" spacer to get it into position, hopefully that still works after an alignment.

I am more of a stock looking / fit in the wheel well guy. When I was younger I had the N50's on 10" rims and the airshocks and shackles like everyone else did and loved that look then. I find as I am getting to a certain age, haha, I just prefer the stock look. I originally had Vintique torque thrust looking 17x8 and 17x10's on my Camaro when I first completed it (damn, they fit the wheel wells perfectly). I found a set of five date-code matching original Rally wheels like the car came with and swapped them out. The guy I bought them from had just picked up a survivor numbers match SS at Barrett-Jackson and added aftermarket wheels. I felt bad that he was hurting the value of his car so I explained how he should keep them as they help the value of the car. He didn't seem to care or see the point, so I scooped them up way too cheap, guilt-free, haha. I prefer the look of the rally's on this type of stock-ish looking vehicle, personally. I ended up giving the 17's to my friend Mike for his 67 Chevelle which is not stock at all so they fit his car's vibe much better. The "Wide Ovals" on the stock rally's sure are a lot narrower than the 45's I had on there, though, just about half. The last picture makes it looks like I have a space saver spare on the left side, LOL. It is nice to have a matching spare though, just in case.

Nobody asked for my humble opinion, but. . . . . . I think the all-time best looking wheels on a '71-'73 Mustang are 15 inch Magnum 500s. As far as aftermarket wheels, for a car with a cruiser vibe, my hand-down favorite is the venerable Keystone Klassic. If the car has a road course vibe, a set of trans-am style 15 inch Minilite wheels would look good. If the car has a drag strip vibe, I like good ol' Cragar S/S wheels (bigs 'n littles).

I totally agree on the Cragars they just look right. Not that I would do it, these 71-73’s just look cool jacked up in the back, not too much and they just beg for big fat tires in the back.

Here's one with bigs and littles that popped up recently in San Antonio on FB Marketplace: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/977956377174057/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:da7ae63e-27de-46d2-893e-aeb96f5f9bf4