Howdy!! I picked up a brand new set of 17x8 factory Ford Bullitt wheels for my 64 Ranchero (I couldnt say no, I paid $200 for all 4 wheels and tires). I havent tried putting them on yet, but I'm sure that they arent going to just bolt right on...my luck is never that good! Does anyone know what kind of problems I'm gonna run into? Any help would be REALLY appreciated..... Thanks!!!
spacers not recommended, but you'll need them for the front at least, backset is different on newer rims. I find new Mustang takeoffs all the time on craigslist, I don't wanna play the spacer game myself. Some folks are okay with them, but I think they put too much extra stress on your hubs, not to mention it's another set of bolts to torque.
You'll need a set of 1" thick adapters (I find them on Ebay all the time) to put those wheels on the Chero. I have the same wheels with 225/45R17 (front) & 245/45R17 (rear) tires on my 64 sedan. The backspacing on the Bullitts is 5.74" and to clear the front suspension, rear leafs, and body panels the most backspacing you can run is 4.75". I've gotten some rub with the 245's in th rear and might go to a 235 or possibly 225's for a little extra space.
Bullitts on 64 Ranchero Thanks for the info guys. This is the first Ranchero I've done. Its a 64 wih a factory 260 V8 and a two speed auto. My last vehicle was a 65 El-Camino. I'm quickly finding out that its a Chevy world when it comes to finding parts. It seems like its twice as hard to find Ford stuff and it costs more than the Chevy parts. It'll be worth it though. I like being the only guy at a car show with a vehicle like mine.... I dont want to have a cookie cutter car....(my last few cars were a 64 Rambler, tubbed with a 472 Caddy engine, a homemade sprint car with an olds quad 4 engine and a hood & grille from a Farmall tractor and a midengine 66 Corvair with a 327 in the back seat.) Its nice to have a place like this where I can get the info I need...
I agree with tweet66. I have a 17x8 in the front with 4 1/2 backspacing and I had to go with a 225/45/17. I also lowered the car.
There's a whole mess of spacers/adapters on ebay (go to Car and Truck parts/Wheels tires, etc. section/do a search for "Mustang adapters" or "Ford adapters"). Example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JEEP...180411566QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180180411566 I just got through mounting a set of 17" Bullitts on my Mustang II project.....found a set of 2 inch thick 4-to-5 lug adapters.....that's a total of 9 lugs and 6 hex-head machine screws to mount the two adapter plates together.... per wheel!! LOL Not the best set-up, but it'll give the car the "look" and something to roll on until I can do a 5-lug conversion on the car, then I'll either go with regular 1.25 or 1.5 inch thick spacer/adapters (just 10 lugs per wheel) or I'll buy a set of Bullitt repos from the wheel company that makes lots of different modern wheel styles to fit early model cars without having to use spacers/adapters. http://stores.ebay.com/Custom-Wheels-Market_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm In my opinion, if you want the looks of the 17" or 18" modern wheels, without the PITA (Pain-In-The-A**) factor and/or safety concerns about spacers/adapters, it'd be worth the money to get a set of those new style wheels custom made for older cars. A couple of things to keep in mind....since most car's lug studs are longer than the adapters are thick, you'll probably have to cut the studs on your car down a bit, or replace them with shorter ones. If you use just spacers instead of multi-lug adapters, you'll probably have to get longer studs to make sure you have enough thread to reach through the spacers, the wheel's hub, and give your lug nuts enough to tighten down on. I love 64 Rancheros.....The Bullitts would look great on it. .
I have 17x8 front & 18x10 rears. Got the right offset so I didnt need spacers. I did have to minitube to rear to get those 18x10s to tuck. Thinking about Air Ride suspension later. The fronts are 4 1/2 backspacing & the rears are around 6 1/3 backspacing. Worth the extra work if you have me. I'm scared of spacer when have alot of horsepower. Picks are in my gallery.
Streetrod, that looks sweet....It'd take alot more than a mini tub to fit 18x10's in a Falcon or Ranchero though. The Chero would be easier to tub though. the biggest problem I have with the 17's right now is putting them on and off the Falcon. The quarter panel design, sweeping, low curve covering a portion of the tire, makes it virtually impossible to remove the wheels without unbolting the shocks and sway bar so the suspension droops all the way down. It's a P.I.T.A. but the look makes it worth the aggrevation.I'm not even sure an 18" rim would get in there.
That's what i was going for. That's why i need the air suspension. I would like to tuck the front tire but with no air, the tire will hit the fender when making turns. Unless I could change the suspension some how & make the tire sit in more without rubbing.
