Before I begin, I hope you guys don't mind me posting this here instead of in the wheel/tire forum. I was looking thru there, but it seems like most of the threads there are geared more toward newer Mustangs

I'm doing some research for my brother. He's got a '66 Mustang and picked up a set of black 17x8/17x9 Bullit rims. Being that the stock wheel studs are way to short for the Bullit rims, what size wheel studs does he need to bolt the rims on? If anyone could give me the exact lenght and width specs, or a part number, we'd greatly appreciate it! TIA!

 

If they are late model take offs he doesn't need to buy longer studs, he needs to buy adapters (spacer) that bolt to the hubs. The adapter bolts to the hub, the wheel bolts to the adapter because the offset on late model wheels is incorrect for use with classic mustangs.

If they are repro wheels made with the correct offset/backspacing you should be able to simply measure the wheel thickness to determine how long a stud you need. 2 inch is usually sufficient however.

 

The rims are aftermarket Bullit rims, just don't know what brand they are. We mounted one of the 17x9 rims on the rear, and it looks to sit pretty good on the stock rear hub/wheel studs, but we didn't try mounting the rims on the front. I just read thru the sticky right now, and found my way to the Mustang Monthly article/link which talks about the adapters for the rims. It seems like a good idea, but if all we need are just longer wheel studs, personally, I think it would be better to go that route (granted the 17x8s mount up with no problems up front), which might take a little longer, but should cost a lot less then the kit.

If I'm wrong with anything I've said, please correct me, as I definatly do NOT want my brother to have any saftey issues when driving the car!



Edit: If it helps any, the car has the stock drum brakes on all 4 corners of the car.

 

You want a least one diameter's worth of thread engagement, so 1/2" means 10 threads for a 1/2"-20 stud, which is what we have I think.
Also, mount the wheels on the drums and for the rear, make sure they center up under the wheel well and look for other obstructions. If not, spacers could fix that. In the front, verify no clearance issues with the suspension, you may need spacers or adapters.

 

The 17x8 mounted up no problem on the front? Did you try turning the wheel any?

Also, you will probably need to "roll" the fenders to get 17x8s up front.

 

Sweet! Thanks for the great info! If there are no clearence issues with the front, I take it that you're saying it is OK to just swap out the wheel studs, right? Thanks again!

 

No, we didn't mount the 17x8 on the front, we mounted the 17x9 on the rear. We weren't able to bolt it up, obviously, cause the studs were hidden in the rim lol As for the front, we'll have to yank the stock rim and check to make sure the 17x8 mounts up with no problems. If worse comes to worse, then I guess he'll just have to buy that adapter plate kit. I'm hoping we can just do a wheel stud swap, but it won't be the "end of the world" if we can't! LoL Yeah, we've got no problem rolling the fender for clearance!

 

I still dont understand how you will get wheels with that kind of BS to work without spacers.

 

In the rear, you need to clear the inner wheel well, the springs and the rubber bump stop bracket by at least 1/2" with respect to the inflated tire section width. You can simulate the tire buldge with any material such as wood or metal and assume the tire rises and falls vertically for suspension travel. I found the tables tend to push the rim further out than needed and that I could have used another inch of backspacing. YMMV!

 

Oh ok, sorry, it took me a little bit for it to register, but I understand now what you were saying lol


Sweet! Thanks for all the info and help! I'll definatly post up and let you guys know how things turn out!