I have been all over the WEB and looked at thousands of photos, just looking for any real life experience.

I put the tires from my 2001 Bullitt on the boys 01 V6 car with some craigslist GT wheels, and the wheels for the Bullitt were only made in 01-02 (different color than others, so I have them stored. All this as an excuse for the ability to go by wheels and bigger/wider tires, better off-set to fill the wheel wells.

The stock wheels and tires:
17x8 with 5.68 BS and 245-45-17 tires (25.68" tall)

I know MS said he had put a set on his daughters car that had no issues that were 17x9 , 275-40 front and 17x10.5 315-35 rear. This is an extremely popular choice and looks great, but the fronts all appear to stick outside the wheel wells and the rear look odd unless you lower the car (my bullitt sets 1" lower than a standard GT).

The second popular choice is 18x9 265's and 18x10 295's, same issues as well as a lot of people talk about rolling the fender lip and I dont want to do that.

I also worry about the front tracking with the tires too wide.

I am thinking 18x8 (stock back spacing)with 245-40 front & 18x9 (5.94" BS and 1" wider, sets the outside lip 3/4" further out) 285-35 rear, a 285 setting out a little further should be a noticeable change from the 245, and I could always use a 1/4"-1/2" spacer.

 

I over the years had three different motors in my 66, all of which I built.
First:
a 89 model 5.0 long block (302), stock rebuild, Ford E cam, 1.7 rockers, long tube headers, 600 cfm carb, and a 3.80 rear gear, and T-5 (2.95). The car had nice throttle response and was reliable and made decent usable power.

Second:
a 80's model 351w long block, with a stroker crank and better forged pistons, .030 over bore (393 ci, and 10.5 compression), roller cam conversion, AFR 185's, about .580 lift, long tubes, and a 750 cfm carb. seemed to make great power on the upper end 5000-5500 rpm, didn't seem to respond well off idle, hard to keep cool.

Third:
An 80's model 351 long block with the AFR heads, roller cam w/.540 lift, 9.0-1 compression, JBA mid length headers, 650 cfm carb. Ran and idled great, very flat power curve, never ran hot, tons of seat of the pants grunt.

They all had the T-5 with 3.80 rear gear and 2.95 first gear.

I guess what I'm saying is I defiantly think the 351 is worth the extra effort over to 302 for the torque you pick up. I also think the 351 with a well chosen cam and smaller carb makes for all the motor you need in a 65-70 mustang unless you have a lot of other wok done to the car, so it can make use of it. The 351 MS had in his car originally was the basis for the last motor I had in my 66, and I think it was perfect.

I just don't know what to say about this,????????

https://jalopnik.com/i-dunno-about-this-1997-miata-thats-been-converted-into-1822554208
 

Yea guy I agree with the idea of just driving the 02 until it dies, but mine has the 5.4 2wd 3.73 gear and has never seen close to 16 mpg even downhill with a tail wind, but I don't care about mpg that much, I figure with no payment i can buy the fuel.

One thing though is that I don't mind driving older, I kind of enjoy it. For a couple years I drove a 79 F100 every day and loved the fact that no matter what happens I could fix it on the road with minimal tools. It was a great truck, 2wd SWB, 351w. C6, bullitt proof. Then one day i got the great ideal to stick a crown vic front end up under it. It was a great project, and drove great, but no longer good at getting in and out of construction sites, and the second mistake was I sold it.

Ok, please bare with me, I am going to go way out on a limb here. I know we are a Mustang Group, and at least Ford Group. But you guys are some of the most automotive knowledge / experience based guys that I know, especially compared to the young guys I work around (I'm 52).

I am about to replace my day to day work truck, which I drive about 35k miles a year, and make my living with. I am an inspector and trouble shooter for a consulting engineering company. While most of my miles are on the Hwy, I must have reasonable ground clearance to get into and out of project sites. I haul my three boys daily as well.

My last several vehicles have been F150 2wd Crew Cabs and they have done great (one lost transmission). My issue is due to the cost of late model trucks and how quick I run the miles up on them, I have never been able to convince myself to buy new or even late model. I typically buy somethin 10 + years old with 124-150k miles. But then I have a real high mileage truck real fast. My present truck is a 02 F150 Supercrew with 225k miles.

My issue is that these newer model high mileage trucks aren't the easiest to work on, troubleshoot, and some parts can be expensive. My wife says go buy a new truck, and I say $40K dollars and in four years it has 150k miles on it and i'm in the same spot.

I am considering going in the other direction, buying something mid to late 80's, that yes will have maintenance, maybe more than what I have been buying, but would be much easier and most likely much cheaper to work on. Here is where I really stir up things, I have considered a mid to late 80's Suburban. 

Have I lost my mind, I need/want reliable, I must have (I'm 52) comfortable.

I have only driven it a about 150 miles, I'm here in Kentucky so it's put up for the winter, way too much salt on the roads. This car is all about style and driving, it's only rated at 265 HP and 305 TQ, but it is really well balanced, and drives very well for a Fox/SN95/New Edge, really just a better Fox chassis. I plan to leave the mechanical's 100% stock, even down to the air intake. I may change out the gearing, the stock are 3.27's and these 4.6's like to rev a lot more than our old 5.0 (302). I will only do things that can easily be undone. I got bored with it up for the winter so I added a MACH I chin spoiler and GT fog lights.


 

I bought myself a new toy back before Christmas, I had been looking for either a 03-04 Mach I, or a 01 Bullitt. I wanted something unmolested and 50k miles or less. I know mechanically the Mach I is the superior car with the Cobra motor, but I really liked the stealth/clean look of the Bullitt. I bought #703 Highland Green Bullitt with 19K miles, and all stock with the exception of a Hurst shifter. I truly love driving the car. It has the Cobra brakes, factory sub-frame connectors, factory lowered 1", koni struts.

My only issue with the car is the size/width of the wheels and tires, NOT the style. I want to keep 17" Bullitts but would like more tire up under the back end. All the sources i read say a 10.5" wheel and 315 tire which is right to the edge of the fender lip, which I think is a terrible ideal. I like a wheel and tire that never rubs or causes damage.

I'm thinking stay with the factory size 17x8 on the front and bumping up from a 245-45 to a 255-45, 26" tall. and on the rear changing the wheel size to a 17x9 and a 285-40 tire, also 26"tall. The main issue I see is all the tire companies say a 285 should be on a 9.5"-11" wide wheel. Any thought?

I remember the days when we would throw 275's on a 7" steel wheel, but I was much younger, and the tires were probably worth more than the junk cars.

This is the car when I picked it up from the guy I bought it from, needless to say he took care of all of his cars.

This as close as you get to a brand new 17 year old car.

OK, I have put the Falcon on the side burner for a bit, my boy has got me involved working on this VW Beetle, and I have to say I/we are having a blast. We started with a nice car with a lot of previous owner issues, but we have just about worked through them.

Things we have done:
It has a four wheel disc brake kit on it that was installed very poorly, we have that straightened out and it stops fantastic.
We have Narrowed the front beam and installed adjusters to lower the front end along with drop spindles.
We lowered the rear.
New wheels and Tires.
Tuned and adjusted everything.

My question is I would like to install a MECHANICAL oil pressure gauge, but with the motor in the rear, this means about 10' of oil line. The longest i have found braided line is 6', which would require a coupler in the middle. Do you think this is a bad move, and do you see any other issues running the oil line that far? Just not wild about an electric gauge.

This is what we started with


This is how it looks now

TKOPerformance you have a PM, Thanks

I have a trusted friend that has been in the process of building a Fox body for sometime and the intended use was going to be more for strip use than street. Due to life he has decided to sell the project and it is about 90 % complete. Anyway he has determined that he can make more money selling the car as a roller, and selling the drive-train separate. The motor was his weak link as at this time the car has a base 5.0 with a nice cam and carb. He had planned for the future and bought and installed a new TKO-500 5-speed, and while it has seen some spirited driving, it has not been abused and I can drive all I want before removing it.

He has offered me for $1000:
TKO-500 5-speed
Shifter
Quick-Time Bell Housing
Cross Member
Clutch Assembly
Drive Shaft

My plans for my 90 Fox 5.0 would never involve more than a set of heads and cam swap. My Fox would always be on street tires (no sticky tires). The stock T-5 shifts fine with no issues. 

Do you guys feel that the my car would warrant the money and time for the swap, it seems like an extremely good deal.

 

Thanks for the advice,
I love this car even though I hate the interior, the body is extremely straight, and zero rust or previous paint work. I know interior work while not necessarily cheep is easier than body work.

I;ll send you guys some photos of what it looks like now, I would prefer all black, but it may be easier and more cost effective to make it blue.