MopaR&D
Nerd Member
Are the B-body brake caliper mounting brackets the same as A-body?
They should be but I'd definitely check with Vlad to make sure.
Are the B-body brake caliper mounting brackets the same as A-body?
They should be but I'd definitely check with Vlad to make sure.
After some researching on FABO I decided to go with some modern 18" Mustang wheels, 18x9 for the front and 18x10 for the rear. They are the "FR500" style and I purchased them new from OEWheelsLLC.com. One thing that drives me nuts about the current wheel/tire setup is the rears don't have quite enough backspacing so they rub the fenders but have over an inch of space to the leaf springs; I want to lower the rear of the car and get rid of the rake but the tires will just rub worse. So I did some measuring and used an online tire/wheel size calculator to make sure the new wheels I got for the rear would let me lower the car and not have to worry about rubbing.
Here are some pics of the mock-up for the rears. The center hub registers have a lip that I needed to grind down just a hair to clear the "hubs" on the rear axle flanges. The fronts are currently at a machine shop getting the hub registers bored through because the hubs on my '73-up front discs stick out too far and don't let the wheel seat on the hub.
I have a pair of 275/40-18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS-06 tires coming in the mail for the rear; my neighbor car guy friend made me an offer for 2 of the tires on his car he is taking off to mount bigger ones and the price was too good to pass up (those are 255/40-18 and will be going on the front of mine). I had been debating getting summer-only-rated tires for more grip at the track but winters are cold (consistently below freezing from Nov-March) here in northern CO and I like driving my Duster year-round. I don't drive it much in the snow anymore but summer-rated tires have warnings to not use them in freezing temps or the rubber can get damaged. I will eventually get dedicated track tires and wheels though for sure.
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So those wheels fit without relocating the leaf springs inward?
Did you ever post any pictures with your 18” wheels, besides your avatar?
Any idea what your offset was on the wheels you bought?
Here's a link to the wheels I bought, you can read the specs there: Fits Ford Mustang Wheels - FR05B Mustang FR500 Rims - Black Mustang Rims Staggered
And a pic I took recently... sits a tad low in the rear now that the springs have finally settled, I'm debating whether to drop down one more slot on the rear shackles or putting back in the stock front hanger brackets
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Here's a link to the wheels I bought, you can read the specs there: Fits Ford Mustang Wheels - FR05B Mustang FR500 Rims - Black Mustang Rims Staggered
And a pic I took recently... sits a tad low in the rear now that the springs have finally settled, I'm debating whether to drop down one more slot on the rear shackles or putting back in the stock front hanger brackets
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No worries, happy to answer. I got some guidance from @72bluNblu on front tire size, they fit like gloves lol. No rubbing at all. I do have a touch of rubbing in the rear on the fenders with the 18x9" standard-offset Mustang wheels and 275/40ZR-18 Continentals even after folding over the inner fender lips (read: smacking with a 2-lb sledge lol). Note I swapped a 1967 B-body 8 3/4" into my car as well. Tires are pretty close (<1/2") to the rear leaves as well so that's about the max width that will fit in the rear on a Duster/Demon/Dart Sport.Any issues with the front fenders with those wheels and tires? Clearance to the frame and UCA ok?
Hate to bug you again, but didn't see anything about that when I re-read your thread (not that I couldn't have missed it).
No worries, happy to answer. I got some guidance from @72bluNblu on front tire size, they fit like gloves lol. No rubbing at all. I do have a touch of rubbing in the rear on the fenders with the 18x9" standard-offset Mustang wheels and 275/40ZR-18 Continentals even after folding over the inner fender lips (read: smacking with a 2-lb sledge lol). Note I swapped a 1967 B-body 8 3/4" into my car as well. Tires are pretty close (<1/2") to the rear leaves as well so that's about the max width that will fit in the rear on a Duster/Demon/Dart Sport.
From my experience previously running 215/65-15 in the front, those actually did rub just a hair on the fenders at full lock. Tire diameter seems to be the limiting factor on these A-bodies more so than width. Also going with 18s as opposed to 17s give extra clearance to the upper ball joints and allow more wheel width towards the center of the car.
Thanks!
I really want to run a 275/35R18 all the way around, but am struggling to find a wheel that works and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. And even with the right offset, sounds like a 275 takes a little work. Not opposed to messing with it, just easier if I don't have to.
If I am honest with myself, the rear has to have a 275 (or bigger) tire, the current 245 just looks too small proportionally back there (IMO), but the front would probably be fine with a 245/40R18 or the 255/40R18 you are running. And if they fit on a 18x9 +24mm wheel, that costs half what I am seeing for an 18x9 +35mm wheel, all the better.
Besides, part of the reason I want to run a square setup is so I can rotate the tires. But there is a good probability that the rear wheel will end up with a different offset which pretty much negates the idea anyway.
I think @72bluNblu is running 275-wide fronts on his car, I believe he's using thin (1/4" or less) wheel spacers on "standard"-offset wheels to make it work.
I got my wheels from here: Home - I don't think they're actual legit OEM replacement wheels but the quality is good. Not as good as more expensive wheels and they're probably on the heavy side and surely made overseas but if you want affordable there aren't a ton of options. Mine are FR500 style for 1994-2004 Mustangs. Just had to take the fronts to a machine shop to have the center hub registers bored out to fit over my '73-up disc brake hubs. Rears fit fine with just some minor trimming of the hub registering "lip" using a dremel.
I think @72bluNblu is running 275-wide fronts on his car, I believe he's using thin (1/4" or less) wheel spacers on "standard"-offset wheels to make it work.
I got my wheels from here: Home - I don't think they're actual legit OEM replacement wheels but the quality is good. Not as good as more expensive wheels and they're probably on the heavy side and surely made overseas but if you want affordable there aren't a ton of options. Mine are FR500 style for 1994-2004 Mustangs. Just had to take the fronts to a machine shop to have the center hub registers bored out to fit over my '73-up disc brake hubs. Rears fit fine with just some minor trimming of the hub registering "lip" using a dremel.
I was running spacers at first, with the 13" DoctorDiff style cobra brakes I'm not running spacers anymore. I have 275/35/18's up front with 18x9's that are +35 offset. My wheels do touch the frame at full lock, but that's because my QA1 tubular LCA's don't have a steering stop. Not likely to be an issue with factory LCA's.
Initially I got away with not having the fenders rolled, but at my current ride height my fenders needed to be rolled and pushed so as not to cause rubs when compressing the suspension with the wheels turned sharply. You could probably get away with not having as much clearance as I've done, but I try to set mine up so I can drive "normally" and not creep over every bump and dip.