RHD 83 Heritage

Topic: RHD 83 Heritage (Read 25301 times) previous topic - next topic

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #45 – August 16, 2011, 06:41:29 PM

not much has changed yet, but took it out to a show on the w/e, lots of attention with no one knowing wtf it is.

researching how i can get away with a 5 lug conversion, trying to see if any local parts might assist.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #46 – August 18, 2011, 12:29:00 AM

Do you have Rangers there?

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #47 – August 18, 2011, 06:37:54 PM

Pretty sure we've only had them for the last 5 years or so.
before that we had the 'Fort Courier'

although i think they're all based off a Mazda.

we have our falcon based utes which were always the more popular option

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #48 – August 19, 2011, 12:20:31 AM

If you can find length info on those axles, then cross reference them with the info over on CoolCats.net for 5 lug swaps, i bet you can find out what parts will work.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #49 – August 19, 2011, 06:10:10 PM

Yeah, I've been meaning to do some measurements on the local Falcon Axles.
my Falcon's all have 28 spline axles, and are 5 lug.
so theres potential there.

then just sorting out the front end.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #50 – October 18, 2011, 07:52:15 PM

Been a productive few weeks.
The Thunderbird is now Regsitered on a 'Club Permit' which entitles it to limited use (90 days a year) at a much reduced cost to normal registration.

and with that i took it out to 2 events on the weekend.

First up was a Car Club that i'm heavily involved with (I run it) for Modified Falcons.
Our annual Cruise for Charity, with approximately 270 cars in attendance.
I put the Thunderbird on display whilst my main falcon is off the road.
99% of people had no idea what it was, so there was a bit of interest.

On the sunday, another Show n Shine was on, so i loaded up the family into the Tbird and took it for a drive.
A good mixture of cars were in attendance, with a lot of american muscle.
One other Fox based car (A Mustang) but again, hardly anyone knew what the Bird was, so it sparked quite a few looks.

Next to an XB Coupe

Later in the day, next to a Friends LS1 powered VZ Calais

The other Fox

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #51 – November 03, 2011, 08:05:52 PM

My 10" Ranger Rotors arrived yesterday, pulled out a centre for the wheels that will be fitted to ensure the centre hub would clear.

as you can see, all good :D
hopefully the offset is all good once i assemble the wheels!

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #52 – November 13, 2011, 06:31:06 PM

Pulled the axles and drums off on sunday, will be taking them down to the diff place to get them redrilled to 5x114.3

also swapped the rotors over the ranger set i got, so i've got 5 stud on the front.
just need to get hold of some slightly larger dust caps, and some wheels to suit, not quite sure if the AJR's (above) are going to work yet, due to the offset and width.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #53 – December 04, 2011, 05:28:59 PM

Finally got my axles back and installed.

so its now 5 stud :D
its also a bit lower.

now to find me some wheels

may potentially use these for a while, they're 17x7.5" off a Ford Territory (basically our version of the Explorer)

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #54 – December 04, 2011, 10:20:42 PM

If you can find someone local(at least in your own country) that builds 3pc wheels, you can build those AJRs to any width and offset your heart desires.
I easily found MANY places in Europe that would build lips and barrels for my Desmond wheels, but shipping was a deal breaker. Finally found a couple places that would build them in the states here and settled on a guy in Florida. Amazing results and decent price!

Those AJR's look alot like the Kinesis SuperCup wheels. Are those centers cast or forged?

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #55 – December 04, 2011, 11:20:20 PM

Not sure if they are cast or forged, they were only on the market for a few years before they were discontinued, they were made in a few different designs and sizes (all 3 piece wheels)
I've got a fair collection of inners/outers/centres for them, in 17" and 18".

Which is one of the reasons i've got a set that *should* fit :P
+20 offset is a pretty uncommon fitment over here, but +5 and +35 are very common, i've got AJR's in both offsets so by mix and matching parts i'm hoping to get something right in the middle.

main issue being that they're 9" wide.
on the rear this isnt an issue.

on the front, the rim is within 5mm from the strut, and i don't have a tyre on it yet so i've got no idea what clearance to the guard is like.
I might look at getting some Mustang Lower arms to bring the wheels in a little bit if i need some more clearance.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #56 – December 05, 2011, 12:19:32 AM

Mustang arms won't help you anyway. You already have fox mustang length arms in that year car. 87/88's had the longer arms, and from experience know that if you put a shorter arm in, you will have even less clearance to the strut. My 17x9's on my burgundy car were less than a 1/4" from the strut in the front, and never had rub issues even with 295/35/17's up there, but it did require a 1/4" spacer for those tires too. Was fine on 275's.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #57 – December 05, 2011, 12:39:57 AM

Thanks for the tip.
Guess i can s that idea :P
I won't have very wide tyres on the front, so assuming they clear the guard, it should be fine.

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #58 – December 13, 2011, 04:46:29 PM

took it out last night, loads of looks/comments, with people calling it all sorts of incorrect things

good times lol

RHD 83 Heritage

Reply #59 – May 28, 2012, 07:32:36 AM

Picked up a set of Bonspeed Royals tonight, not 100% sure if they will fit yet, i think they are 8" wide, and should be somewhere between 0 and +6 offset, as they came off a Falcon.

will test fit them tomorrow and find out!