Is 1/2" leaf spring relocation worth the trouble?
- Thread starter Mojoe9955
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Yep either of those would be very close to the right width
The 65-67 B rear would be a good match for the 18x10 +24.
I run the 68-70B rear with the 1/2" offset with the same tire size and 18x10's that are +38. With drums on the car that combination was VERY close to the springs. The 65-67 B rear is ~8mm narrower per side, so that would put you at +30 to match my combination. And with drums I could have used an additional 6mm to the springs.
Yes. Otherwise you'd have too much backspace, and without that backspace the wheels/tires would hang outside the quarters. If you want 295's inside the quarters you need the 1/2" offset spring kit. And probably still some rolling/trimming on the quarter lips. Only other way to do it is hang them outside the quarters and lift the *** end of the car until nothing hits anymore.
I think you'd be better off with the 65-67 B rear and the 18x10 +24's.
With the 18x10, +45's you'd be looking at using the 68-70 B body rear, and then you'd probably need a 10mm spacer which is quite a bit of spacer. It would take longer wheel studs to get it done. Unless you ran disk brakes too, in which case you'd still probably need a 5mm spacer.
sorry, but what the heck is the gizmo that you show in your first post??? It is unlike any 1/2-3/4 relocation kit that I have ever seen!!!
I looked to see how it might be done online and found that. Some leaf spring shackles and a piece of pipe fabricated in such away to allow an offset.
It may or may have not been a 1/2" or even work, the point is though you have to start somewhere and "there is more than one way to skin a cat".
It may or may have not been a 1/2" or even work, the point is though you have to start somewhere and "there is more than one way to skin a cat".
Yeah - IMHO DON"T GO WITH THAT!!!
Look at the kit on DrDiff's web site or the one from Mancini Racing. That design was developed by Chrysler engineers for Direct Connection/Mopar Performance and is tried and true.
Look at the kit on DrDiff's web site or the one from Mancini Racing. That design was developed by Chrysler engineers for Direct Connection/Mopar Performance and is tried and true.
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
I run and 18X10 and a 275 tire with the offset front hanger and slider. I autocross regularly and I have zero tire contact. However, I did before changing to the slider. The tire would rube the inside the fender well. I do think I could fit a 10.5 wide wheel and run a 285 without contact. Honestly, the hardest part is finding a wheel and tire you want to run that have a match for the front. Unless you are getting a custom wheel, then it doesn't matter.
Nice car and work Joe. That is something I'm getting set up for. As far as tire wheels and tires it's been a challenge finding the right fit in what I want. I like your wheels, are they FR500 type wheels?
What rear are you running with that setup?
Thanks
What rear are you running with that setup?
Thanks
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
A-body 8-3/4. They are rocket racing wheels.
Finding a wheel and tire combo is tough. I’ve found the rear size is much easier to find than the front. If you want a 9” wheel on the front, you will need 6.5” of backspace. They are out there, but then you won’t get the same wheel with the correct backspace. The easy, but expensive solution is custom wheels.
Take a look at Forgestar. They have 2 stock designs that are offered in sizes that will work on my car. They can also do custom backspace.
I could easily run a taller tire on the rear, but I wanted to keep the front and rear close to the same height. You will have to do the same research on tires. Not all of them are offered in the size you may want.
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DionR
Well-Known Member
I just completed my set of (4) 18x9 Forgestar F14's, bought the last 2 off American Muscles website. Just checked and they don't show the ones I bought anymore. They still show them on the Forgestar website though.
But AM does show an F14C in 18x9.5 that might work.
Forgestar Mustang F14C Semi Concave Satin Black Wheel; 18x9.5 F16289565P35 (05-09 Mustang GT, V6) - Free Shipping
FREE SHIPPING! Forgestar F14C Semi Concave Satin Black Wheel; 18x9.5. The Forgestar F14C Semi Concave Satin Black Wheel offers a striking balance of style and r
www.americanmuscle.com
An area of concern on the 18x9.5 wheel is could the wheel contact the UCA at full lock and the suspension at full droop. If that were to happen on the road, things would be going all kinds of wrong, but I wouldn't run a wheel that could do that. The fix for that might be tubular UCA's.
One thing to be aware of with the Forgestars is that if you buy them from AM, they have a Mustang center bore size which doesn't match the spec on Forgestar's website. Guessing they are custom machined for AM. Only trips you up if buy them from AM, don't run a Mustang spec wheel bore size on your hubs and expect them to fit without machining.
One nice thing for me was that because I machined my front hubs to fit Mustang wheels mine bolted up without any work, including opening up the wheel hub beyond the locating bore. Some wheels (like Enkei RPF1's) have to be bored out so the center caps don't work, but these didn't need that. And Forgestar sell a raised center cap that might even work, but not certain.
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Titanium Attack wheels?
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
They are the attack series. The color I have isn’t made anymore. After talking with a Holley guy at Moparty,(Holley owns rocket now) he happened to be the engineer that worked on the wheels. Apparently they had color match problems between batches with the color I had. So they discontinued it.
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
Man you need to get these things mounted up. I’m anxious to see how they look. I saw they were running a sale on some sizes of the bronze finish for under $200/ea. if they would have had the sizes I wanted, I would have bought them and had them re-powder coated. Only the 18x9s were on sale.
Nice slider brackets! Not sure I’ve seen pictures of yours before, much prettier than the ghetto version I made up out of rectangular tubing I had on hand. But they still work!
When I was running 295/35/18’s on 18x10’s i didn’t have any issues with those rubbing, although in addition to the 1/2” offset and sliders I took about a 1/2” out of the quarter lip.
When I added rear disks and went to 295/40/18’s the added track width from the disks and the height of the 40 series was causing a little rub on hard cornering or full compression because of the “bump” in the stock outer wheelhouse. 18x10.5’s and 285’s should be fine though.
Tubular UCA’s, as long as they’re the “V” shape instead of some that are a “U” shape, solve the issue of rim to wheel interference at full suspension extension and steering lock.
My 18x9’s just touched the stock UCA’s at full steering lock and suspension extension, but that’s also backspace and steering stop dependent. And with the steering stop being cast into the lower ball joint that actually varies quite a bit, I’ve seen those steering stops be a over a 1/4” different in height and that makes a big difference in steering angle.
Tom (member Tomswheels) had 18x10’s on the front of his Valiant, I’m fairly certain they’d work on my Duster.
Also the RPF1’s I had machined, I probably could have had the hub machined to match them instead of the wheels. But I decided to modify the hub bore on the wheels rather than the hubs. Not saying one is better than the other, just what I decided to do at the time.
It’s pretty much all the same. In the back a ‘72 Demon is no different for body clearances or frame dimensions than a ‘70-76 Duster or Dart Sport. Obviously the rear axle options changed from the factory, but we’re talking about axle swaps too so that’s less relevant.
There are some minor differences in front fender clearance because of the different shaped openings, but, I ran the exact same wheel/tire combo with ‘74 Duster fenders and ‘71 Dart fenders in the front after I changed over to make my car a Demon clone.
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67autocross
A new iron curtain drawn across the 49th parallel
I just did a quick test fit of a rocket attack 18x10 6 inch back space…it honestly looks like it would work with maybe some fender pushing…
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
That will likely require lots of fender modifications. That wheel has 5.5” of “front space”, which is approximately 2” more than what fits in the fenders without cutting anything. It will definitely hit the front edge of the fender and depending on how much caster you run, it will contact the splash guard on the backside of the fender.
That’s not entirely accurate. If it’s 18x10” then it is 11” wide outside to outside. If it has a 6” backspace that’s outside of the lip to wheel mounting surface. So the front space is 5”, not 5.5”.
It’s also not 2” further out than what fits inside the fender without modifications. My 18x9’s are +35, so, 6.3” backspace. But my brakes kick them out an extra 5mm per side compared to a 73+ disk kit. So, 6.18” backspace to compare to OE disks. That means effectively 3.82” of front space, so those 18x10’s are only 1.18” further out than my 18x9’s if they’re mounted on OE 73+ disks.
I was running those wheels with Duster fenders without rolling the lips and pushing the fenders, at a slightly higher ride height than I am now. Granted, that was all the room there was so I don’t disagree that you’d need fender work to run those 18x10’s, you absolutely would. But the numbers you gave aren’t quite right either, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
And there are guys that have run 18x10’s up front, with various amounts of fender modifications. Personally I’d want a little bit more than 6” of backspace, a couple tenths makes a big difference when you’re fitting them that tight.
With my current fender modifications- extended fender to bumper brace, lips rolled and roller used to push the fender lip out, I’m pretty sure I could get 18x10’s on it at my current ride height, which is pretty low. I’d still be stuck running 275/35/18’s on them until I raise my inner fender, because I already just barely touch the tires to the inner fender at full suspension compression. So if I wanted to run say, 285/35/18’s I’d either have to raise the car or raise the inner fender. But my tubular LCA’s allow for more compression travel than factory LCA’s.
DionR
Well-Known Member
I am anxious too, but things have changed direction and those wheels will go on the '73 Duster that is going to get the 5.7/T56. And when that car first goes down the road, it will be probably be on the steel wheels it sits on right now, so it could be awhile before I get them mounted. The green '74 Duster is staying as-is and will be re-evaluated when the G3 swap car is on the road to decide what to do with it. Until then, I want to keep driving it so I am leaving it alone.
Just to be clear, only reason I bought a matching pair is because I didn't want to be caught out not being able to make a set. Better to buy them now and put them on the shelf instead of trying to sell the first pair at $0.25 on the dollar because I had to buy a completely different set of wheels. And AM doesn't list that wheel anymore now that I bought the last pair, so I am really glad I jumped on them.
DionR
Well-Known Member
Here a thread where a guy mounted a set of wheels with way too little offset and made them work.
www.forabodiesonly.com
Just food for thought.
18x9.5 +12
Hey guys, My new wheels just arrived. 18x9.5 with a +12 offset, which equals about a 5.75” back space. I had been looking for some in this exact size and these popped up, brand new never mounted on anything, they’re MST wheels... the same eBay brand I’ve had on a few other cars. They have always...
www.forabodiesonly.com
Just food for thought.
Yes! @Craig Burriss proved me wrong on that one for sure!
BUT, he also did what most would consider extensive modifications to the fender, and things that most folks wouldn't do on their cars.
The fender lips on the bottoms of his fenders are completely cut away. Not even "pie'd" and moved, but just gone. I'm not judging either, his fenders were rusty and he drives the thing so I'm totally on board, I love that set up and he changed my mind on that tire size. But that's not something everyone is going to want to do. I'm going to try and run 285's on 18x10's or maybe 18x9.5's myself at some point, but even my fenders have gotten to a point with the rolling/pushing that most folks would say I have "extensive mods", and I agree. I think 275's on 18x9's are probably the most you can do unless you want to involve painting the car or running at a different level of "finish".
Same goes for the "Project Yankee" car in that same thread. They actually have negative offset wheels on that car that are well outside of where the 275's on my car are at. Now I do kind of think that car is silly because they're not even running wider tires, they could have easily tucked their wheel/tire combination under a bone stock fender if they'd just used the proper offset. They just pushed the fender, but they went to the point where the body line and bodywork are damaged. They could likely re-work that still if they spent a bunch of time on the fenders, but they just did a crude push
I think those examples just show that you can fit anything you want if you're willing to do that amount of work, or run a different level of "finish" compared to what most folks want to do. Again, I'm not judging, but both of those cars have mods folks wouldn't want to do.
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