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  •  » Bullitt

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    1/23/2018 3:58 PM  #1

    Kar
    FYI Addict

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    From: Lexington, Kentucky
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 238

    Bullitt

    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.

     

    1/23/2018 5:37 PM  #2

    MS
    Forum Originator

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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,355

    Re: Bullitt

    On my 98, I ran 275x40/17 on the stock 8" wheels.  You should have no problem at all with a 9" and 285. 

    On my daughter's 2001 Mustang, we had 17x9 on the front with 275x40/17 and 17x10.5" on the rear with a 315x35/17.  Perfect fit and no rubbing anywhere.

    I bought a package deal on ebay brand new with tires for about $850, but that was a few years back.  She was the envy of the high school parking lot.  Her 6 cylinder black Mustang with Cobra brakes and those wheels and tires really made the car.  This part won't work on a spoilerless car, but the 2001 had a unique rear spoiler.  I redrilled the trunk and moved it rearward 2" and it turned it into a whole different car.

    And then she totaled it on the freeway and left it for the pound to impound the car, never to be seen again.
    Kids...

    I always liked those Bullitts like yours.  I test drove a new one and my backside was just a tad too wide for the seat!  But I definitely remember the sound of the exhaust.  Sweet!

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    1/23/2018 9:01 PM  #3

    wsinsle
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    From: Belle Vernon, PA
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 1,732

    Re: Bullitt

    WOW 19K miles. That's a new car!

    If this forum can't fix it, it isn't broke.
     

    1/23/2018 9:45 PM  #4

    Kar
    FYI Addict

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    From: Lexington, Kentucky
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 238

    Re: Bullitt

    Hey Steve,
    I have agonized over the wheel and tire size to death, the 275's on front worry me about tracking and following every groove in the road and I really don't mind the 245's up front, I was thinking the 255 would give me the same height front and rear as well as fill the wheel well out some. I love the look of the 315 on the back with a 10.5" wheel, but the bulge in the tire appears to be even if not slightly outside the fender, so that's why I thought the 17x9 with a 285 would work. 

    On a second note I just picked up a extremely clean 2001 V6 for my 15 year old, soon to turn 16. I grabbed some 17x8 Bullitt wheels of craigslist for it as well.
    Here's one i found online that has the 10.5" wheels and 315's on the rear and the 17x8's up front.
     

       •Thread Starter
     

    1/24/2018 3:37 PM  #5

    MS
    Forum Originator

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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,355

    Re: Bullitt

    The 10.5’s fit nside on her car. The 275 up front did not cause her car to follow grooves. My new Shelby does terribly, though.
    You are right it will probably drive better with the 245 or 255 x 45.

    If your son’s 2001 has a factory spoiler, you will want to move it rearward until the front of the spoiler just covers the existing front holes. The whole job takes twenty minutes and completely changes the look of the car.  And the o ld abandoned holes are outside of the trunk seal, so no need to seal them up and they are totally hidden. Makes it look like a Saleen.

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    1/24/2018 4:34 PM  #6

    50vert
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    From: QLD Australia
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 1,446

    Re: Bullitt

    I'm jealous ... the closest I'm gunna get to a bullit, is the calipers i just picked up.

    "Those telephone poles were like a picket fence"
     

    1/24/2018 6:08 PM  #7

    Kar
    FYI Addict

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    From: Lexington, Kentucky
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 238

    Re: Bullitt

    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.


     

       •Thread Starter
     

    1/24/2018 6:14 PM  #8

    Chaplin
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    Registered: 3/14/2015
    Posts: 1,027

    Re: Bullitt

    That’s a great car, nice find.

     

     

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