2002 Mustang Bullitt Wheels on a 1969 Valiant

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1969_Valiant

1969_Valiant

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I have an all-original 1969 Plymouth Valiant Signet 4-door and have been looking at some wheels and tires for it. Trolling around the web, I've seen some posts of people putting Mustang Bullitt wheels on Dusters and Darts. I'm assuming that I can put them on my Valiant, correct? They are 17 x 8 rims with 5.72 inches of backspace from a 2002 Bullitt. I have 245/45/17 tires for them already. With exception to spacers, will this wheel and tire combo work correctly on my car without any modification to the car itself? I appreciate any replies. Thanks a lot.
 
Thanks man. Looks like my search for wheels will continue. Sucks cause I had a set near me for a good price--with 2 good tires....sigh.......
 
I've continued to search around the web for 5 x 4 pattern wheels and I'm finding that there isn't much of an offering--couldn't find any 17s. Without changing the stud/bolt pattern(which would involve swapping the rear???) or spending thousands on customs, is this a lost cause? I'm looking for the classic mag wheels similar to the Bullitt design in 17 x 8 with a 5 x 4 bolt pattern. Thanks again for any replies.
 
1969_Valiant said:
I've continued to search around the web for 5 x 4 pattern wheels and I'm finding that there isn't much of an offering--couldn't find any 17s. Without changing the stud/bolt pattern(which would involve swapping the rear???) or spending thousands on customs, is this a lost cause? I'm looking for the classic mag wheels similar to the Bullitt design in 17 x 8 with a 5 x 4 bolt pattern. Thanks again for any replies.
Click to expand...

Welcome to owning an A body, 72 and earlier.

To me, the most economical solution, is to put the Duster disc brake conversion on the front, mine is from a 75. It has the 4.5 bolt pattern.

The rear, I put Moser axles in my 8 3/4 with the 4.5 pattern, but would have a hard time investing in them for a 7 1/4. Less than a grand, to convert them all over, much better than custom wheels.
 
i to put my ralleye wheels on the old ladys 2001 mustang to try to moparize it a little, she made me take them back off. but yes the ralleyes are for my 76 valiant, so it seems like the bullit wheels should bolt on, but backspacing might be a question. i had some 15 inch cragars with 245 /65s( i believe) that were about at the limit for clearance.
 
Ed-The brake and rear swap is a little more than I'd like to get into right now, but I'll definitely keep that info in mind. Great link Pauly--I think that's my answer. Quick, easy and it's the least expensive way out of this one. Justin--from what I've heard, the later Valiants changed to the 4.5 pattern, but the older ones used the rare 5 x 4. Thanks again you guys. Lots of great, immediate info on here.
 
One last thing---That Coys Custom Wheels site offers 4 and 4.5" backspacing. What would fit best on my car? It is all original with drums all around. Once again, thanks for the great info.
 
Well before you go ploppin' good money on bigger wheels for your ride...think about how it stops now. Does it stop really good? Probably not...is the answer. If you put bigger wheels on there it's probably going to stop worst. Then you go crap I need to upgrade my brakes...oh crap I have these 4" bolt pattern wheels and I really want to upgrade to 4.5"....yikes...crap...what do I do. I've done the disk brake conversion on mine and it is the best investment that I have made on the car. Stopping is very important.
I have actually found a 7 1/4 rear end out of a new Dart that has the big bolt pattern rearend or an 8 1/4 is an option...even some Ford rearends will work in your car.
 
good point. bad thing about big wheels is that everybody can see your brakes. drum brakes all around don't show very well. you're better off taking care of the safety/mechanical things first and go for the bling later.
... i'm just sayin
 
I definitely hear you guys. At some point I might do the conversion but right now, I'd like to leave the car as original as I can(except for the 13" wheels). I think it's cool to have a car this old and everything be the same as it was when it rolled out of the factory. It also saves me a lot of coin. I do have a good friend of mine with a 7-bay shop, but I don't have the loot to make it all happen, and he's already helped me out a lot with this car.

For now I want to get it ready for inspection. Two tires are smoked, so instead of investing money in 13" tires, I thought I'd throw it at new wheels since I already scored 3 Nitto 17" tires in good shape(thanks to a connect at that shop:).

The car actually stops well to be honest with you. The brakes stick a little when it's cold, but after that they perform pretty well---for manual drums ahahaah. My brother owned the car before me and took pretty good care of it. I know the larger rims and tires will effect braking performance with the extra weight, but I don't plan on racing it around.

I appreciate all of the good advice and information though. Thanks a lot you guys. You've been a big help. I'm sure you'll be seeing me posting around here with more questions in the future.
 
Good luck with your 69 and have fun with it !!
 

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if you do want to run bullitt wheels there is a very cheap option that no one mentioned. because the bullitt wheels have 1.25in more backspacing than stock you can just get a 1in spacer/adapter that converts 4in to 4.5in bolt circle.

my 64 barracuda has early kh discs with 4in bolt pattern but the rear has an upgraded 8 3/4 with 4.5" so to match the wheels i just put on the adapters.

to buy nice cnc'd ones it will cost a little, i think about 150-180 a pair...

but you can probably get lucky and find some old cast ones for cheap like i did.

good luck. im hoping to buy some bullitts for my barracuda tomorrow and try to cram them in some how.
 
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