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PostPosted: February 22, 2018, 1:12 pm 
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Hi Marcus-
I have the standard Ford 5 X 4.5 bolt pattern at all four corners. In the rear, I used aftermarket hubs that mate to the T-bird upright but have the 4.5 pattern. I think these are the same ones, if not, they're very similar:
https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-1109-A
Had to re-drill the rotors to match, but not a big deal. I cried about the cost, but it was a new part, good and strong, etc...

I'm pretty sure I did the mix-and-match CV joints on the inner end, installing T-Bird parts in place of Mustang Cobra ones. I think... YMMV. Based on your chart, there's numerous possibilities.

I also seem to remember that the Explorer had long/short axle shafts for driver/passenger side. Seems like somebody in here used two passenger side axles to narrow the track. Don't recall who, zackly.

If I can supply any more half-answers, feel free to ask!

:cheers:
JDK

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PostPosted: February 22, 2018, 5:37 pm 
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Thanks again Tom and JD. I read your paper Tom and sorry I forgot you had written it. Sadly with the Explorer diff I have picked a combo that you don't cover very much. It is more recent and common so I think it's worth sticking with and figuring out.

JD, I noticed the T'bird hubs are about $100 compared to $155 for the Mustang units, but then you have to redrill for the larger bolt pattern and redo the studs. Not sure it's worth it.

Then I'm looking at parts and you can get Ford Escape hubs for as little as $15. It's really irritating. You can get a better quality Ford Esacpe hub, bearing, axle nut and retainer circlip from SKF for around $45.

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PostPosted: February 22, 2018, 6:42 pm 
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horizenjob wrote:

What I found eventually was the Weld Racing ProStar, a wheel intended for 70's and 80's cars for street and drag strip use. https://www.weldwheels.com/product/prostar/ It wasn't really the look I wanted but now I have grown fond of them. They cost twice the cheap aluminum cast wheels but they are forged and weigh 14 lbs. instead of 20. These are available in many widths, including 8" with a 6.5" backspace which works out to a 50 mm offset. I talked with their staff and since it is an older design and targeted at the drag strip it is not an ideal choice for something like a Camaro used for road racing. Might be fine on our Locosts though. They are very willing to recommend their modern wheels which cost %50 more for severe cornering use. Both Jegs and Speedway offer identical looking wheels for half the price with load ratings suitable for an SUV. Not so light though and 1" less backspacing.

Not sure the Weld wheels will take the 5/8" wheel studs though so need to look a little more.



I am quite the lurker, and I have to say I admire the effort you've put into Car9...what a great build!


Regarding the wheels...considering the way they are constructed, I would not want to use them in any sort of car that would turn on a sticky tire. Maybe for a tourer, but not anything with any G's in mind. They are two formed halves that use a floating steel spacer where the lug holes are to keep from crushing the center.

On to the studs, for a normal 1/2-20 stud you would have to use a shank lug nut:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Weld-Racing/927/6 ... gLTkvD_BwE

for 5/8 studs, you would use:
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance- ... 3/10002/-1

I must have skipped over that detail, but why 5/8 stud on a small/light car? 5/8 studs are normally a necessity when you have ~1000hp in a drag car that dead hooks.

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PostPosted: February 24, 2018, 12:52 am 
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OUTLAWD thanks for the compliment.

The 5/8" studs are just because that's how they sell 10" disks for Pinto spindles. They are intended for use by oval track people. It's just one of the things that makes getting the setup I want painfully hard. Most of the 11" disks actually weigh %50 more, like 21 lbs.

What your describing about the ProStar wheel sounds right. I've never actually seen one in person. I didn't think I was asking for something crazy when I wanted an 8x15 rim with a large offset. The ProStar is available with a 50 mm offset which really helps get the Pinto spindle scrub radius down to a small number. It's pretty easy to get attractive, inexpensive and light 7x15 wheels in 40 offset. Here's one that is $100, 16 lbs. and 1600 lb. rated. I found another one for that price that was 14 lbs. and 1400 lbs. rating. https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-wheels/drag-dr-33/p/62796

If I don't wear my reading glasses, the ProStar is about twice the money and a little lighter for an 8x15. I could do that. The wheel that Weld sells that is better suited is around $360. Again without reading glasses I could basically buy a whole set of wheels for that.

I seem to be able to decide how much I would spend to save some weight or offset or width, but having trouble deciding all of them at once.

On the ProStar, my car at 1500 lbs. is well under half the weight of the many of the cars the wheel is targeted at. The wheel is rated at about a 1300 lb. load. I am generally thinking I want a bit more than that for inexpensive cast wheels, but for these maybe it would be OK.

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PostPosted: February 26, 2018, 8:31 am 
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Yo Marcus!
I might be playing devil's advocate... Or maybe just bein' the devil... :twisted:

As far as wheels go, have you thought about going for cheap for the first set, like your basic steel wheels? They're heavy, I know. BUT, if my experience with the Slotus counts for anything, I found out real quick that the wheel/tire combo I started with wasn't what I needed. I have traded out the 10" wide rears for 14" wide and I really need to go to 12" at the front to accommodate the American Racer slicks I've been using.

YMMV, perhaps you can get it right the first time, but if not, then you've bought some high(er) dollar wheels that you no longer want/need. Just sayin...

Peace, Love and ProStars-
JDK

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"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom


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PostPosted: February 28, 2018, 6:11 pm 
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Well, I don't know why I have let myself get stalled over this stuff. I did recently find 8x15 wheels with a 50 offset, but they are 4x100 bolt pattern. On the front I could redrill my rotors or buy aluminum hubs with a 4x100, not really a problem. On the rear I would need to find a bolt on hub or an IRS upright that was 4x100. Probably have to find and then register at some kooky website where people build cars from scratch with 4x100 bolt patterns.... Oh wait... hmmm.

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Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.


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PostPosted: March 2, 2018, 11:02 am 
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I ran into the same problem when shopping for 15" wheels in 5x100. There really are not any good choices for small wheel in 5 bolt patterns. If you could figure out a way to go 4x100 I would do it. You may also look into wheels for rally racing. I know Brade makes lighter wheels for tarmac rally that are 15" and they can be ordered in tons of offsets and bolt patterns. Team Dynamics makes the Pro Race 1.2 that is pretty light and affordable and can be ordered In any bolt pattern. I was going to get a set of these but the wait was really long and I fell into a deal on a set of Kosi K1s 15x8 in 5x100 that they don't make anymore.


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PostPosted: March 2, 2018, 12:50 pm 
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horizenjob wrote:
Well, I don't know why I have let myself get stalled over this stuff.


Did you take a look at Diamond Racing?
http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/index.php/street-wheels/pro-street-wheels

I used them for my first 7. Very happy with the wheels.

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PostPosted: March 2, 2018, 1:36 pm 
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OK, ordered a set of wheels. I've been going around in circles for awhile now on this. Just not sure completely what problem I was trying to solve I suppose. I had to break down and just start writing notes as different websites would have different amounts of information. Then also having to keep track of who had free shipping and who didn't, and who I could save on shipping by driving 100 miles... :rofl:

I had two different inexpensive sets of wheels ordered and waiting on the submit button when I did some more checking using the part numbers of some slightly more expensive wheels. Who'd have thought Walmart has the best prices on wheels? :rofl: Business is becoming weird in the modern era. I was thinking matte bronze would look a bit nicer than flat black ( maybe it doesn't though, we'll see ) and they didn't have that, but they did indicate the actual seller of the wheels which isn't really Walmart. So I went to that site and bought them and they cost about the same ( $0.50 difference ) after I found a somewhat obscure discount code.

What I've landed up with is Motegi Racing MR131 17x8 40offset in 5x 114.3 at 17.7 lbs.
http://4wheelonline.com/motegi-wheels-mr131-traklite-matte-bronze.254995.0

Sigh, they appear to be $2 cheaper today...

Lee, that Team Dynamics wheel looks really good. Being able to order the offset you want is nice. It's possible that different offset front and rear makes sense for our cars because of clearance at the rear and getting a good scrub at the front.

Horchoha I like the Diamond wheels and spent a long time on their site. I may well do that when I decide to go for slicks. I thought I might want to be able to have two ride heights, one for street and one for track, so will go for 15" for track wheels someday once this is on the road.

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PostPosted: March 2, 2018, 1:44 pm 
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Not sure if you have seen this, but ccrunner swapped early Miata rear 4x100 hubs to 5x4.5 using the Mazda parts bin. Not sure if it is applicable to your situation, but figured it might be worth sharing. Not sure if there is a similar option for the front.

Link: https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309&start=56

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PostPosted: March 7, 2018, 12:22 am 
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I'm still going thru parts trying to scrape dimension specs out of RockAuto parts listings. Lots of updates to the table on the last page. http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15687&start=313

Some of the dimensions were driving me a little nuts and then I realized they were just metric even numbers. Because we've actually been a metric country for a long time now. Even stuff designed back in the 70's and 80's is really metric.

It looks like the rear bolt on hubs from the Edge and the normal hubs from the Escape are looking like useful parts. On the Escape the front hubs are a good amount cheaper because many Escapes do not have rear wheel drive. These hubs use the same diameter bore bearing that the T'bird uses but the bearing is 2mm larger in diameter and 6mm wider. A good quality Escape front hub and bearing is about 1/4 the cost of the equivalent parts for the T'bird spindle. You would have to fabricate an upright though.

The Edge rear hub is bolt on and also economical at about 1/3 the cost of the T'bird hub and bearing. Neither of these costs comparisons includes the actual T'bird upright which is about $170 each.

The Edge and Escape parts offer the interesting possibility for lighter halfshafts, they use smaller CV joints and the bar between the joints seems smaller diameter. The next question is what it takes to interface into the diff. If the half shaft bar between the joints is smaller it would seem the joints may not be interchangeable with them.

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PostPosted: March 7, 2018, 7:48 am 
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Neither of these costs comparisons includes the actual T'bird upright which is about $170 each.
They's be a lot cheaper than that at the local junkyard... Just sayin'... :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: March 7, 2018, 3:29 pm 
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OK, I'll do some looking. What's the link for the place that finds you parts in junk yards, I forget?

My local yard just doesn't have that old stuff anymore. There's been a set on Ebay for a few weeks now - $150 for a pair + $40 Shipping + $50 or $100 for new bearings. As opposed to $345 at Summit. Summit used to be unclear about wether the spindles came with bearings, but now they explicitly say they do. That drops the price about $100 if you also get the Ford bearings.

From the chart on the previous page it looks like the Escape front hubs might work. RockAuto lists the Dura-Go hub at $14.11 as opposed to $155 for the Ford part at Summit. The bore diameter of the bearing is the same, but the width of the bearing is 1/4" more.

Maybe that's enough savings to move this along...

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PostPosted: March 7, 2018, 3:54 pm 
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The Haynes guys just weld up their own uprights.


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PostPosted: March 8, 2018, 8:24 am 
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horizenjob wrote:
What's the link for the place that finds you parts in junk yards, I forget?
The one I like/use is Pick N Pull, a chain of junkyard, uhh, "Auto Recyclers" that might be big enough to include your area. I'm sure there are others. Any-hoo, the website is: http://www.picknpull.com/

Happy Hunting!
:cheers:
JDK

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"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom


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