17" Mb Wheels On A 65 Stang?

Scrasauge

Active Member
Sep 24, 2003
118
5
29
Reserve, La
ok so ive been sitting in front this computer for 4 hours looking at different forums but i guess ill ask the question. Ive found a wheel made by mb wheels that are 17 x 8 with a 4.5" back space. will that fit on my 65 mustang with a 235/45 tire without all kinds of clearance issues and if so exactly what issues will i have with it? or does anyone know of anyone running these wheels on there car?
 
  • Sponsors (?)


I believe that will work. I plan on doing the same thing with American Racing Torq Thrust Ms. You may want to go with 17x7 in the front, just to ensure you will have no clearance problems. You may have to roll the fenders if you go too big. If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at dodgestang's compilation of wheel and tire combos: http://www.dodgestang.com/Tire Fitment Guide 65-6.pdf
It should have all that stuff you are looking for. Backspace, wheel and tire sizes, suspension setups and whether you will have to roll the fenders.
 
Ive seen the chart as stated above, but i havent seen anything on it about using a 17 x 8 with the 4.5 bs, but ive ran across other peoples post here and there that say they are running that but havent seen if they had to make any type of modifications, or will the only thing that i have to modify is the wheel wells because if thats the case then thats no big deal ill roll with that, i just dont want to order the tires and rims and they come in and dont work at all..
 
It shows some with 4.5 BS but they are on the rear. And since it even shows up to 5.75 BS, I don't imagine you will have any trouble with those wheels in the rear. The only problem I can see is the potential to be really close to the spring in the front (i believe 17s are big enough to be out of the way of the control arms). If you have the UCA Shelby drop, it will be even worse, but would make your outer fender clearance better. When I do mine, if I run into fender clearance issues, I plan to do the drop so that the tires will lean in around curves instead of out. That should be enough to fix that problem.

But I do see some 17x8s with some pretty thick backspacing on there and with the shelby mod. If those can clear the spring, you should be ok.

I talked to a wheel knowledged guy at Summit Racing here and he told me as long as I don't go any wider than 8s, I shouldn't have much trouble. But he did recommend putting 7s in the front. Just in case.

I have a buddy that used to have some sweet rims on his 64.5 back in highschool. I'll ask him tomorrow what he used to have on it. He used to drag it, but it was also his daily driver (until someone nailed his rear quarter). I'm thinking they were 16 inchers, though. So, not sure how much help that will be.

If you do get 8s all around before I get my rims, I would love to know how it works and if you run into any problems. Like you, I've been looking for awhile but still haven't made the final decision.
 
ok so i found another wheel fitment guide on mustang barn or something like that, but it states that the 17 x 8 with the 4.5 offset will actually fit, so i will be ordering the wheels i checked out tonight as soon as i get home from work.
 
ok so my wheels came in and so far so good. i ended up with the 17x8 up front and a 17x 9.5 in the back and looks good so far but i need to get some stock shakles for the rear since who ever had the car before me put some long 4x4 looking things with some ole jacked up air shocks for that 70s 50 series look on it but now i have a slight issue with just the front driver side tire rubs the fender slightly but i dont have that issue on the passenger side?
 
It can be alignment issues that have one side sitting different than the other. I am in the same boat as I have a 65 FB with 1" lower all round with the arning drop and need to get wheels n tires soon. But, I will not roll the rear lips, I just spent all winter getting everything squared away and painted.

Also I am going with 7" wide up front because I have manual steering and the wife likes to drive.
 
The 9.5 fit good with no rubbing but I will probably have to roll the fenders once I lower the car a ill more since it feels to high for me still. But as soon as I can figure out how to post pics from this Mac computer I will post some pics.
 
The 9.5 fit good with no rubbing but I will probably have to roll the fenders once I lower the car a ill more since it feels to high for me still. But as soon as I can figure out how to post pics from this Mac computer I will post some pics.
We haven't forgotten about you, Scrasauge. Still hoping to see pictures. And curious to see how well the 9.5s look and fit back there.
 
I have 17 inch with 4 1/2 backspacing and only had to cut a small piece out of the bottom of the front fender since they rubbed when I turned. The back one fit great.
65 mustang 010.JPG
65 mustang 013.JPG