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| 1965 Mustang GT; GT gets some new skins & spools | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 12 2012, 11:47 AM (503 Views) | |
| Mike C | Jun 12 2012, 11:47 AM Post #1 |
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Well, the time had come for me to finally upgrade the wheel and tire combo on my 1965 Mustang GT Fastback. The reproduction 14" stilled steel wheels are now over 17 years old (yikes...) and showing their age. Many years of outdoor, non garage storage coupled with a cat who really really loved these wheels resulted in chrome pitting and rust along the surface. I have no complaints as these fine quality repos served me well over my ownership and the car always looked great. The tires seem to have lost that soft rubbery ride from the passing time and uv rays. These too will be swapped out in favor of some fresh new rolling stock. The tires I installed back then were Dunlop radials which are no longer in production as of this writing. Daring to be different, I wanted something other than the traditional BF Goodrich which was a great tire & popular but commonplace on vintage vehicles of the late 80's. Back then there were many choices in raised white letter tire selection for classic hot rod street cars that were attractive & performed extremely well. Today, if you want vintage look with high quality radial construction and white letters, the choices are slim. I really like the Firestone Fire hawk Indy 500 tires but sizing is limited. Cooper makes a quality product that is priced well with multiple sizes available but I'm not fully sold on the white letter font used on the Copper sidewall. It looks more at home on a 70's Trans Am or Camaro then a 60's ride, but again that just my opinion. I decided on the tried and true BF Goodrich TA radial. Yes, I finally gave in. It’s a great tire with a proven track record of durability. With the new Cragar Aluminum wheels and raised white letters out, the car should regain a muscular period stance. The original front wheels were 14x6 with 205x70x14 tires. The rear were 14x8 with 245x60x14 and this gave the car a stock but slightly rodded up look from the back. I'm a big fan of staggered sized tires on muscle cars so I decided to keep to the design theme but with 15" wheels. The new Cragars are 15x7 and 15x8 respectively with front tires measuring 225x60x15 tires & Rear 245x60x15. The look is similar but the Cragars give the Mustang a decidedly aggressive look and really enhance the Muscle aspect of this car. The tire diameter for the 205x70x14 & 225x60x15 is almost the same. You will notice a greater contact patch as the 225x60x15 is wider then the 70 series. While the rear tires are the same width, the 15" tires are 1" taller when comparing the 245x60x14 to the 245x60x15. I'm very happy with the new look and the car drives beautifully. I guess the 15 year old dried out rubber made the mustang ride quality suffer. Noisy and choppy over rough road, the car now cruises smooth and true with a regained confidence at speed. I never expected the car to drive so well after a simple tire change. Although I will always love the stock look, it was time for a change. Change is good... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
Edited by Mike C, Jun 13 2012, 08:27 AM.
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| Hot Rod Richie | Jul 22 2012, 09:45 AM Post #2 |
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Looks good. Wish you got the AR TQ thrust though, my fav! |
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9:36 AM Jul 11