Wheels

[lalessi1]

Jim,
No apology required. On the contrary the info on the sway bar is good to know. I plan on installing one and never considered it might not clear the wheels. Whose sway bar are you using?

lalessi1,
   Buddy I owe you an apology, that wasn't the frame I was hitting, it was the 1 1/8" sway bar. I measured it while I was out there and it sticks out 3" from the frame. That's the first thing I installed on the car and that was back in 2005. Sooo, apparently the older I get the less I remember clearly. I didn't mean to give you false information. That kind of backspace just won't work on my car after installation of the sway bar.
Jim

[JimNolan]

lalessi1,
   It was a place in Texas best I remember ( there I go again). The Company had the word Thunderbirds and Western or West in it. I remember it was a new thing they'd made for the 57 Fairlanes. To be perfectly honest, I don't see how people stayed in the seat of a 57 Ford with that little sway bar that is OEM. I know it changed the whole feel of my car going around curves. It stays pretty well flat now. I was impressed so much I bought one for the rear end from the same company I think. It didn't seem to affect the car that much so when I did the frame off in 2008 I just left the back one off. I've still got the welded on brackets on the rear axle housing and frame. In fact, today, when I was replacing the 1310 yoke on my differential with a 1350 yoke I noticed those brackets and wondered why Ford had put them on the axle. I kept looking for a bumper stop. Sooo, ya see, it's not only you that my memory hurts. I need to add (best I remember) to everything I say. Jim

[lalessi1]

That is the sway bar I have been looking at. A company called "Quickor" makes front and rear bars for 57's I will look into theirs for more info. I think Concours Parts is selling the same bar you have. I really like the design of Thunderbirds Southwest front bar, it is a shame it may not work for me.

You mentioned 14 x 6 Ranger wheels earlier, do you know if they will clear Granada discs?

[hiball3985]

The Thunderbird place and Concourse sell the sway bars. I've never had a problem with the tires hitting but I'm only using 215 70 14's and I don't know what the BS is on Cragars.. I have 1 1/8 front 1" rear. The rear sway bar they sell now doesn't require any welding.

Jim Nolan, if you think a stock 57 Ford handles badly you should drive a 57 Chevy  Handling was a big reason I preferred a Ford.

[JimNolan]

That is the sway bar I have been looking at. A company called "Quickor" makes front and rear bars for 57's I will look into theirs for more info. I think Concours Parts is selling the same bar you have. I really like the design of Thunderbirds Southwest front bar, it is a shame it may not work for me.

You mentioned 14 x 6 Ranger wheels earlier, do you know if they will clear Granada discs?

lalessi1, I think that was before I had the disc brakes. I've got 14" wheels from 1980 that will work with disc brakes but I don't think the Ranger Wheels will work on disc brakes. I inventoried all my different wheels and tires I've got, and the Ranger Wheels are listed as non-disc with 4" BS. Jim

[JimNolan]

The Thunderbird place and Concourse sell the sway bars. I've never had a problem with the tires hitting but I'm only using 215 70 14's and I don't know what the BS is on Cragars.. I have 1 1/8 front 1" rear. The rear sway bar they sell now doesn't require any welding.

Jim Nolan, if you think a stock 57 Ford handles badly you should drive a 57 Chevy  Handling was a big reason I preferred a Ford.

Hiball, I run Crager SS 15 X 6" w/3.25" BS. I run a 215/70-15 Michelin tire all the way around. I think 3.25" BS is pretty basic for that wheel. At the time they sold me the rear sway bars a bracket had to be welded on each side of the axle at top. It was OK I guess, I just couldn't tell the difference other than it hit the tail pipes every now and then. Jim

[lalessi1]

Jim
I am looking for a "stock looking" 14" wheel to use for a spare. The wheel I have now won't fit the brakes (mid 70's Torino).

[rmk57]

If anyone's interested I'm running P235 70 15 T/A's on 6 inch steelies on the rear 225's on the front. They have 9.5 section width with lots of room.
Think Im going to spring for the Mickey T's for some track time.

[JimNolan]

Jim
I am looking for a "stock looking" 14" wheel to use for a spare. The wheel I have now won't fit the brakes (mid 70's Torino).

When I started looking for Stock Wheels (14") so I could run my wheel covers and fenderskirts with my disc brakes, I resorted to paying a (look for parts) place out of Chicago. They found two wheels in Arizona. The guy said they came off of an early 80's Mercury or Ford full size car. (best I can recall it was 80's). They could only find 2 in the country at salvage yards. I called them back because I was so happy with the condition of the 2 I got and they couldn't find 2 more. Wheel Vintiques series 62 wheel won't fit either in 14". I've sort of hung on to these 14" wheels like they were made of gold. I had them powder coated too. The other 2 I had I came by accidently. I figure they came off a 60's disc brake Mustang. Sorry, I can't help you on OEM 14" wheels that fit disc brakes. Jim

[canadian_ranchero]

the wheels i am using are from a 77 granada,14x6 with 215/75/14 white wall tires

[lalessi1]

I certainly can appreciate that! I was considering buying a 14" Vintique to try so I am glad to find out they won't fit. I have a 7.50-14 Firestone spare so a wheel that fit over the brakes and looked more or less correct would be ideal. The Granada wheels are like hens teeth. Always looking for alternatives....

When I started looking for Stock Wheels (14") so I could run my wheel covers and fenderskirts with my disc brakes, I resorted to paying a (look for parts) place out of Chicago. They found two wheels in Arizona. The guy said they came off of an early 80's Mercury or Ford full size car. (best I can recall it was 80's). They could only find 2 in the country at salvage yards. I called them back because I was so happy with the condition of the 2 I got and they couldn't find 2 more. Wheel Vintiques series 62 wheel won't fit either in 14". I've sort of hung on to these 14" wheels like they were made of gold. I had them powder coated too. The other 2 I had I came by accidently. I figure they came off a 60's disc brake Mustang. Sorry, I can't help you on OEM 14" wheels that fit disc brakes. Jim

[JimNolan]

lalessi1,
   I bought a Crager cheap 15" wheel and bought a 15" tire that had the same tire height as the 14's that I run on the car. I put importance on having a spare because I was putting over 10K miles on the car a year. James Potter asked me " Jim, when's the last time you had a flat, don't think you even need one". Well, after 11 years of driving the car and well over 50K miles I can honestly say that remark he made was spot on. I've never needed a spare and the spare I put in my car is just to take up space in the tire well I guess. So what I'm saying is, if it's for safety reason's, don't put a lot of effort into worrying about a spare. Jim

[JimNolan]

lalassi 1,
   My experience with front back spacing is this, have as little backspacing in front as possible. Back spacing in front is directly proportional to how much acreage you've got to turn around in. I go for a stock 2.75" ---3.25" BS. But then again I won't run over a 6" wheel in front either.
   The reason I went with the 5" BS on the 8" wheels I ordered was because I KNOW I can put a 10" section width tire in it. I'm running 4.75" BS wheels now with a 9.75" section width tire.
Special order: Yes they had to be special ordered. The stock 62 series wheel comes with a 4.25" BS and they charge $25 per wheel for custom backspacing. I wanted a stock looking wheel because they won't let me on the track at the Meltdown Drags without 1966 or previous dated style wheels. These cost $286 delivered with a 30-45 day wait. You can't find a 15 X 8 wheel with 5" backspacing that looks stock and will hold a 57 Ford dog dish hub cap. Wheel Vintiques does make a Genie Wheel with 5" backspacing but you can't put a Ford Hub Cap on it. Besides, it's multi lug and I'm sick of those. Hope this helps. Jim

Guys,
I sent Wheel Vintiques an email and I'll call them also to get my backspacing changed from 5" to 5.125". It's only been three days since I ordered them and with that long a wait to begin with I don't think they made them yesterday. My figuring shows that a 5.125" BS puts me dead center of the wheel opening. When I get the wheels I can mount them before I buy tires and if I need less back space I can shim them the 1/8" I used as a safety net. This way I'll be able to use the M/T Streets with the 10.5" section width. If not, I'll just order the 10" section width Hoosiers. I really want that M5 compound and sidewall for a heavy car. Jim

[lalessi1]

I agree about the actual need for a spare tire. I am looking for a "straight out of the factory" look but with upgrades for function that are very subtle to most folks. The repro tire has a repro paper tag on it and I probably wouldn't use it even if I had a flat. The fact that it won't fit the front is a problem of it "not working" as intended....I know to "each his own" is the name of the game and I really appreciate everybody's vision, whether its a gasser, a custom, retrorod, restoration, etc. 

[canadian_ranchero]

the wheels i am using are from a 77 granada,14x6 with 215/75/14 white wall tires

these wheels and tires will just clear the 1 1/8 after market sway bar[have granada type disc brakes]