I'm in the process of changing over my '71 2 door to Granada 5 lugs discs up front and looking to swap out my current 4 lug rear. Here're the question of the day, what rear should I be looking for? A Maverick 5 lug obviously makes sense but will I have wheel & tire limitations? Should I be looking for a slightly wider rear axle? I'm totally green to the wheel - tire issues but having good plentiful options in wheels is one of the main reasons I'm going to 5 lug. Options & pictures are much appreciated! Thanks, Todd
if i was going to change and wanted to keep the 8" i would definitely look for one from a maverick. will bolt right in and be the right width. wider rear end may limit you as you'll have to get different backspacing.
Get the 8" (or if you are lucky 9") out of the donor Granada! They are only slightly wider and will impact your wheel fitment minimally. If you go wider, you just must use more backspace than you otherwise would. For example, most stock Mavericks max out around 4" on backspacing. If you put in a rear that is 1" wider on each side, you now must use 5" backspacing when trying to squeeze a fat tire under there. I think you will find that (stock) 4" BS and 8" total width is about the limit on rim size for the average Maverick. Some have reported that 3.75" is max BS for their car, while others claim 4.5" max. You must take into account that 3/8" variance is not at all unusual in these cars from the factory. Add to that the variance in rim width from the factory and between different makers. Same goes for variance is tires. Hope this helps some! Dave
Great stuff, thanks for your time guys. Is there a common backspacing that would yield a better range (or lower cost) when purchasing wheels used? Do you know what the later model Mustang wheels have for back spacing?
Later Stangs, Fox bodies on, use a very deep BS. Something like 5.5"-7" depending on year and overall rim size/width. I think it was figured a while back in a discussion that recent Cobra rims had 6.5" BS and to use them on a Mav with NO spacer, you would have to swap in a rear from a 71-73 Mustang. That is a substantially wider rear than ours, and will bolt right in with no mods except for needing a great amount of BS to keep the tires under the car. This would work for the rear only of course. The front would still need spacers to use matching rims. Most aftermarket rims for our cars use common BS figures like 3.5", 4.0", 4.25", and 4.5" being the most common for rims with reasonable pricing. Of course other more exact and oddball BSs are available in high line rims, but that is part of what you are paying for when you spend the big dough. Older Stangs, FWIW, tend to use slightly more BS on the fancier stock rim options like Magnum 500s and such. Which can be helpful to us when we try to tuck larger tires, however it also makes some rims, like Shelby repops, too far BS'd, for my taste anyway. Dave
Ratio, Are you sure about the '71 - '73 Mustang stuff bolting in. I've heard elsewhere on the site that the perch (sp?) plates would need to be cut off and repositioned for Maverick use. I ask because I have access to a local rear from a mustang, with a 3:71 posi in good shape. I really see myself going with Mustang take off wheels of one design or another just to keep the costs in line. Thanks, Todd
Todd, they all have the same spring perch width. Approx 43" perch to perch for: 57-59 Ford car 65-78 Mustang All Maverick/Comet Non-Fox body Granada/Monarch/Versillies That is what matters for a 'bolt in' rear. Where the brake lines, u-joints, and cables are concerned, they should be same or at least close enough for a very minor tweak. The u-joints should be your biggest worry going from 8" to 9". However, you can get hybrid joints with one pair of bearings to match the driveshaft and another to match the pinion. I have used them myself.
Thanks a ton, this is all great info. I decided due to the amazing amount of info you all have shared, I'm becoming a supporting member. I've easily saved $20 worth of BS just from this one thread alone. Thanks again & have a good holiday!
Merry Christmas! The best thing about supporting is the loss of all the advertisements. Worth 20 bux in itself.
