datsunfreak Posted March 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 I mean, for fuck's sake, just look at this... 😗 4 Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted March 28, 2020 Report Share Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) I love vintage American on super fat meat like that. My buddy has a late 70s caprice (both sedan and wagon versions) lowered like 3 inches and sitting on 235s with a 15 inch rim. Looks mean. I know that's not quite a 295 (well because Dayum!) but just trying to say I'm a fan. Edited March 28, 2020 by Lockleaf 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) On 3/27/2020 at 11:04 PM, Lockleaf said: My buddy has a late 70s caprice (both sedan and wagon versions) lowered like 3 inches and sitting on 235s with a 15 inch rim. Looks mean. I know that's not quite a 295 (well because Dayum!) but just trying to say I'm a fan. Honestly I was looking at my buddy's Torino today with 235s on the back and they do look killer. It helps they are on wheels with a deep offset so it's fairly flush with the fender. A 255/60-15 is also available, and while not quite as insanely wide, they are the same height. And they look pretty beefy on an 8" wheel... Edited March 31, 2020 by datsunfreak 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 29, 2020 Report Share Posted March 29, 2020 Grokking the picture at the top of this page, I suddenly remembered that at one time I wanted to do an insane "Bigs and Littles" on the Chickenhawk using 295/50-15s. I say you should gopher it! Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Apparently i don't know what I'm taking about... My buddies car copied this cars wheels/tires (bangshifts project buford) Which it turns out is a 275/40R17. Maybe he had 235 R15 before this setup. Regardless, carry on. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 16 hours ago, Lockleaf said: Which it turns out is a 275/40R17. Yeah, that's kinda the way I was headed, but looking at a 255/50-17 on the same Cragar Soft 8s as Buford, but in 17x8 instead of 17x9. The 275/40-17 is tempting, but a little too small of a diameter for this car. Edited March 31, 2020 by datsunfreak Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 15 hours ago, datsunfreak said: The 275/40-17 is tempting, but a little too small of a diameter for this car, unless I dump the hell out of it... Fixed. 😁 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2020 (edited) So, I had always assumed this car had the regular Ford 9" diff in it, as all of them did up until this point. Well, last week I was doing some reading and found out that starting in '67, all the straight 6 and most of the 289 cars had an oddball 8.75" diff. And this is one of the cars that got it... And you can't get parts for it, not even rebuild parts, so there are definitely no options to change ratios in it. As you may recall, this currently has a shitty 2.80:1 gear ratio in it... So what to do? I bought an Explorer 8.8" diff with 3.73 gears and disc brakes. 😁 If we can make this work, then that gets me a diff with tons of aftermarket support, and big disc brakes all around... 😁 Edited April 3, 2020 by datsunfreak 4 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted April 5, 2020 Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 To "quote" the late, great Freddie Mercury, "You've got mud on your face, and big disc brakes, waving your banner all over the place." 1 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 TL:DR, sometimes old cars are very frustrating. I tried to get some work done on this on Saturday, so I started with stripping down the left side spindle of all unnecessary bits. That went well, until we got to the seized-in-place upper ball joint... 🤔 If you recall, the right side upper ball joint was also seized, but we were able to get it out fairly easily with a mix of heat and hammers. This side was having none of that... Tried heat and hammers for an hour, got nothing. Tried to press it out with the big hydraulic press for an hour, got nothing (and bent three tools in the process). Tried drilling out the center of it to see if it would release after that, got nothing. I finally said screw it, asked Tim to see if he could find a tapered reamer at the nearby auto parts supply, and starting drilling it all the way out to the size of the ball joint. At this point, I was thinking that if it was this stuck in there, we might as well just make a "new" hole for the ball joint. I clamped it in the drill press with the hole centered and started drilling with progressively bigger bits until I got to the size of the tip of the ball joint, with the intention of then remaking the taper to fit the joint. As it turns out, on the very last drill bit, I got about 90% through and noticed what looked like a huge piece of metal shavings fly off the bit. That "metal shaving"? Yeah, it was what was left of the old ball joint. So as this point the hole is good, and the new joint slides in and fits fine. The ass kicker is that this one tiny job took up basically my whole day at the shop, and afterwards I realized that if I had just started with the drill press, it would've taken 10 minutes to do... 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Got the left side spindle cleaned and painted, and spent the rest of the evening grokking this Wilwood big brake kit... Looks pretty straightforward. We will find out on Saturday... 😁 Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Hows the explorer axle wms compare to stock on this car? Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 20 minutes ago, Lockleaf said: Hows the explorer axle wms compare to stock on this car? It is favorable in my opinion. Stock axle is 61.0", Explorer is 59.75". That means the wheel mounting surface moves in 5/8" per side, but I checked and I do have the clearance for it. I am also planning to use some 1.25" spacers I have to push it back out even further than I am now. Also, this front brake kit moves the wheel out 1/4", so that coupled with the 3/4" spacers I have for the front should have me about as flush as possible all around with the current set-up (17x8 +0 with a 245/45-17). Current wheel set-up is not set in stone obviously. I am looking at a few different things. The front can fit a wheel up to 10" wide and a tire up to around 285, wider if I remove the inner fenders. The rear can take up to an 11" wheel with a tire around 305. 4 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 And of course the weather did not cooperate, as it rained on and off all day Saturday. Here's hoping for better odds on Wednesday... I did at least get the strut rods and new urethane bushings installed between downpours though... 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted April 13, 2020 Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 7 hours ago, datsunfreak said: I did at least get the strut rods and new urethane bushings installed between taking the tools out of Tim's hand and downpours though... FIFY 😝 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) Found a pic online of a 245/60-15 on a '67 Galaxie (moredoor, but still), and that is good and bad. For the same reason... After seeing that (and what's below), I think I am leaning heavily towards 15s and the widest tires I can fit and just going full blown race car with this... Also spent way too much time down the rabbit hole of late 60s Trans Am cars, which I lust after mightily... Edited April 14, 2020 by datsunfreak 2 Quote Link to comment
Chopper Jim Posted April 14, 2020 Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 This on the rear of my Chevelle. 255/70r15. Chopper Jim Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Chopper Jim said: This on the rear of my Chevelle. 255/70r15. Chopper Jim Pic not working for me? Will try on a different computer when I get home... Quote Link to comment
Chopper Jim Posted April 14, 2020 Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 From the 12th SWDP B B Q shot by PCD. Chopper Jim 2 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted April 14, 2020 Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 There is a local ford 500 wagon air American racing 5 stare classic that is gangsta Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 2 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said: There is a local ford 500 wagon air American racing 5 stare classic that is gangsta This post is worthless without pics. 😁 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted April 15, 2020 Report Share Posted April 15, 2020 Torq Trust wheels i still have a Obamafone when I took the photos Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2020 (edited) On 4/14/2020 at 7:10 PM, banzai510(hainz) said: Torq Thrust wheels... ...is what they used on the earlier Mustangs they raced in Trans Am. And what I will most likely buy... Edited April 16, 2020 by datsunfreak 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Got the right side back together at least... Mocking up the bracket and rotor... The kit comes with shims to level the bracket to the rotor face. Fortunately, only needed one on the top and none on the bottom... And got all that screwed together with loctite and the rotor on... And yes, that pic was taken before greasing the bearings, installing the rear grease seal, and installing the dust cap, which I did, but did not take a photo of... 😁 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Got the rear bumper off finally, so I was able to remove the tail lights. Gonna start on the LED conversion hopefully this weekend... Quote Link to comment
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