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I have a 1966 Mustang that is a hi-po 302 switched from a 6 cyl. I drive on twisty mountain roads and would like to increase handling. I have 14 inch rims on the stang right now. I have 16's sitting in the garage waiting to be used. I put them on and the lugs spacing is fine but it seems like the rim is hitting the control arm. Is there an easy way to be able to get 16's on this car or am i going to have to put some money into it?
Any advise would be great!
Thanks! Tony
Answer -
You won't like my advise - so click off right now before you get mad.
The Mustang 6 cylinder car (which as you may know is merely a Falcon with a nicer body on it) was not built for high performance driving or hot engines. Your car came with a 6 in it, which means the suspension, brakes and steering gear was designed for that much power and speed. To be safe and to have a car which will be reliable and long lasting, what you need to do is to put the original engine back in it and sell it if you don't like it that way, then look for a car which was built for the kind of driving you want to do.
The car companies paid their engineers a lot of money to design these cars so that they won't get sued, but also so they don't spend any more money building them than they have to. In other words, any "improvement" you make in power, weight, speed or load is going to stress the design beyond its original design parameters, and you are asking for a personal "Columbia" disaster!
Now, don't shoot the messenger.
Dick
OK.... haha ummm... I dont have the original engine. It has gone through 3 owners since the engine was changed. Are you saying the the FRAME will not hold or the current suspension will not hold it. I bought this car hoping for a good project. So I am more than willing to do the work that needs to be done. I bought the car for $2500 so its not like I have put a lot of money into it.
Any thoughts would be great!
Thanks, Tony
AnswerThese cars don't really have a frame, they are unibody cars, where the suspension is just welded on to the underbody on places that are beefed up with extra sheetmetal to take the strain. The 6 cylinder cars didn't have the same suspension as the 8's, so I don't see any way to make this a safe car to drive.
Now I have to admit, I'm certainly not a Mustang expert, and to get better information, you should check with someone who really knows these cars, perhaps on the Mustang club web site, but I'm fairly sure I'm right about this.
By the way, the 6 was a fine engine, and there is no reason to be ashamed of driving a 6 - if you can find one. I'm still driving my 64 4X4 Ford truck with the original 6 in it.
Dick
