libertygleam

Ok, where to begin...
My 66 was a family project build, of sorts, for my mom. I took the keys almost 2 years ago, and dont know everything about her, sense I didnt do all the work myself. Currently has 1st Generation Toyota Supra rims on her with 1/4" spacers all around to center everything up (This was my Pop's doing). I had noticed the inside of the front left tire had been rubbed up against the Upper A-arm when I got the car, but figured that was from my Pop's trial/error with fitting the right rim spacers. (Note: Im not a big fan of spacers, but 1/4 inch seems very minimal to me)

So shes been parked for over a year. I look into replacing the dry rotted tires. And run into this:

The Left side tire is closer to the A-arm than the tire on the right side. I can take the 1/4" spacer off the right side and it still has more clearence from the A-arm than the left side (that is with a spacer on the left side but not one on the right) So im at a loss....
The Ball joints look fine, and alot of the parts in the front end are either new or in good shape. the space difference between the two sides is close to a half inch.

I dont know if its just in the rims or what... Id like to keep them on because we have alot of mustangs in my town with the classic rims. Plus I love how everyone complements the look but cant figure out where the rims came from. Here are some pics to show what im lookin at.

All pics are with the 1/4" spacer

Left side up close


Left/right


The wheels appear to sit where they should

LynnBob Mustang

I don't recognize those wheels, but I bet they have the wrong back space for them to fit correctly.
You probably need a wheel with the correct back spacing for the wheel to get out away from the tire.

Lynn

Norm Peterson

What happens if you switch the front wheels left to right? Have you actually measured their backspacing (all of them)?

Do you know the entire history of both knuckles (sometimes incorrectly called "spindles")? Although I can't tell from the pictures because the angles are not quite the same, one may well be slightly bent.


Basically, measure EVERYTHING and assume NOTHING.


Norm

libertygleam

Thanks for the reply Norm. Ill swap the left with the right and hope the gap change moves with it
Maybe ill be that lucky, and its just the tire.

The spindles/knuckles were the only culprit I could single out. One challenge though; I cant find spindles for the I6 mustang anywhere... Are V8 spindles the same as the I6? I want to say they are because the hub determines the lugs, but im not 100%

2+2GT

V8 and 6 had different spindles 64-66, and they are not interchangeable.

Check your wheels with this:

Mustang Wheel and Tyre Chart

tx65coupe

I recognize those wheels except for the center cap. Its from the 80's Celica GT I think. What size tires do you have?

I agree about measuring everything you can to compare sides. Also, it is possible that one wheel is not the same as the other. You could try switching the two wheels and see if the same issue is there or if it switched sides. I wouldn't leave it that way though put them back the way they were to keep the tires rotating the same direction. I have seen tires have issues after being switched from side to side.

Anyway, The backspace on those wheels if not right. I have no idea why one is closer than the other though. My car has 215 60 15 TA tires on 15x7 Magnum 500's with 4.25 backspacing. My tires are both very close to the upper A arm as well. They don't seem to ever tough though. I think there is about 1/4 inch of space between the tire and A arm.

libertygleam

Ok so I took a second look and checked the backspacing.
My tires are 215/60R14

The backspacing on all four rims are 4.5
Which according to the chart that "2+2GT" posted I dont need to have 1/4 spacers on the rims in the first place.

I roughly measured both spindles and there distance from surrounding parts. Didnt come up with any substantial differences. (everything was within a few Thousandths) So I dont think my spindles are bent.

I swapped the front tires with no change in spacing, which tells me the problem lies in the left side itself.
Also Just out of curiosity I put the factory spare on the left front to check its spacing, and came up with shocking results. The A-Arm was touching the tire WITH the 1/4 spacer on. So the problem has to be in the left side b/c I know the factory spare is made to fit without any form of spacers. Here are some pics with the Spare on.



The only thing, other than the spindle, that controls the distance of the rim from the A-Arm is the bearing assembly inside the hub. Does anyone think that could be the culprit? I replaced both wheel bearings not to long ago and dont recall seeing anything out of place. I there are any pics I could take to make it easier on you guys just let me know. Thanks guys

Starfury

Problem #1: 4.5" backspacing is for 8" rims, not your 7" rims. Even then, tire clearance is going to be a potential problem on the front with wide tires on a first generation car.

Problem #2: How do you know that's the original spare? I doubt it is.

The hub is integral with the drum on the front, so you can't have the wrong hub on there. Loose wheel bearings could potentially be a problem, but only when the car's on the ground, and you'd be able to feel that much play very, very easily.

libertygleam

I know the rims aren't the ideal size, but that isnt the cause of the problem im having
I know its an original 66 mustang spare rim because it came out of a 66 mustang that had been in the family sense it came off the line.
Yes, I know that the hubs cant be wrong.
The wheel bearings are tight and new.
Im just stumped as to why the spacing is different from the left and right by almost half an inch. Any insight on that?
I assure you that Im not mechanically stupid. Just running out of ideas as to why, and looking for some help.

Deviousfred

I thought when it came to wheel-to-control arm clearance, wheel width had little to nothing to do with it. It could be a 5" to a 12" wide wheel, a 4.5" BS is a 4.5" BS. If anything I believe wheel diameter has more to do with the BS. I wanna say a 4.5" BS work with 16" wheels. I thought I read somewhere that a 15" could get away with 4.25" at most.