Ballin on a budget.

[1trickpony]

$0.00 in my 5 lug swap. Need to finish brakes. What do you guys (and gals) think?

[Barry Donovan]

nice. I still beeline my eyes to 5 or four lug to determine integrity of the mustang builds. I grew up with that in the 80s. They are actually nightmares for a non-welder.. good work, looks nice.

[1trickpony]

Bad pictures but it looks good. Gonna put as big a tire I can on back. TallxWide. Also going to powder coat the wheels. Not liking chrome. Anybody know anything about lugnut key locks? The back two tires have 10 locking lug nuts and no key. I have ordered three different sets and no luck.

[Beagle]

as in, you're trying to remove existing ones? 13/16 , BFH.

[200WINS]

Looks good, I like it!!

[DanStokes]

How did you do it for so cheap? I never did mine just because of the $$. Skule me, pleze.

Dan

[1trickpony]

Long story short. Have your parents pick an awesome god father. 20 some years later his wife (insurance lady) gets deal on wrecked mustang. He cuts it up for a hot rod build. 10 years go by wants to go a different route. Dad and I run into him at car show, he says stop by and pick up 5 lug swap and wheels.


I used a 95 gt and it's a direct swap. There are drawbacks but I'm fine with them.

[BOOOGHAR]

I was gonna ask if you did the ford ranger / areostar axle swap

[1trickpony]

Honestly I really don't see the point in pulling axles out. This how I would have done it if I sourced the parts through the junkyard.
We used the spindles and lower a arm. Now the lower a arm is a bit longer on the sn95 and it puts the wheel out flush with the lip. Not 100% sure it's gonna work yet. We cut a coil out of the old springs and we like where it sits. Might go a size or two smaller up front on tires. Now the back. The rear end is the same 3.08 trac loc as my 84. On 3/4" wider per side and a 8.8. We have all the brake work to so yet. A couple fittings and a little relocation. Also parking brake cable. I believe there is a replacement cable that will work. Also would like to go from 225 to a 245 and go a little taller in the rear.
So far I really like it. I don't know if I like the chrome yet. Need to get wheels off the car somehow. Need to figure out why my t5 puked its guts all over the garage too. I hope I can solve those problems and keep going forward. I like how the wheels fill out the wells for only being 16"s.

[Beagle]

I'm still lost - are the rear wheels locked lugs and you can't get them off?

[Dan Barlow]

I'm also getting the feeling that you did this work with the wheels attached to the suspension goodys. Just take it to a tire store and tell them you can't find the lock tool. They usually have a special socket for that.

[Beagle]

I've removed Mcgards with a 1/2" 13/16 deep and a BFH. Okay, I used two and they both went back to Sears with the brazen request that they be warrantied. You beat that MF onto the lock, and hope it doesn't split.

The tires stores should have a kit that includes a taper socket that you lean on with a big impact and it will friction the lock off. Dan's probably right, it's easier to have them do it. I personally take it as a two prong challenge. Getting the locks off then getting the sockets replaced. I feel even less bad about that now that Sears uses the Craftsman name on chinesium sockets.

[Sleeper 6]

I am with "Beagle" .. Benn doing the socket thing for years.. Real men wouldn't lower themselves to take it to someone else to do ;-)

[DanStokes]

This Dan uses my cheapo impact sockets. So far so good.

Dan

[1trickpony]

We have tried that idea but we are dealing with a different problem. There are TEN locks between two wheels. Someone went through a lot of trouble to secure knock off cobra r's. After searching online and looking at a lot of locks it looks like gorilla lugnuts are similar in design. Going to call them Monday and see. The actual holes for the lug nuts are very small. So we would have to grind a socket down. Not saying we are scared of grinding down a craftsmen, we just thought with 10 it might be easier in the long run to find the correct key.
We did put the rear end in with the tires on. Do you guys think there is any money in selling the extra stock control arm? Stock 7.5 rear? Or just put in scrap pile for the next metal run?