Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

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Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

May 29, 2013, 03:07:29 PM

I bought 94/95 mustang spindles for the front of my 87 Cougar. They came with the big twin piston PBR brake calipers. I ordered old school 15 inch Cragar rims to fit a 95 Mustang, but they won't fit over these big fat calipers. I really don't want to buy new rims so can I just buy normal 95 brake calipers and put them on? Since it's a 95 spindle I'm guessing a normal 95 caliper would bolt right on? The rotors are 11 inch. Would the normal 95 caliper give me more clearance?

This 5 lug conversion is starting to become stressful and expensive. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a link to what I bought

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #1 – May 29, 2013, 03:53:30 PM

Nope, that's it. Those ARE the stock calipers. Get bigger wheels. FYI, 95 Mustang came with 16's standard, 17's optional. 16's on V6 cars, 17's on V8 cars. You should probably have done more research.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #2 – May 29, 2013, 05:36:02 PM

Quote from: TheFoeYouKnow;416218

Those ARE the stock calipers. You should probably have done more research.

Thanks for the quick reply, but I think the PBR dual piston calipers are stock on the '99-up Mustangs only (V6 and V8). The '98 and older still used the old single piston set up. I've read hundreds of posts about the 5 lug conversion and, as with many things on the internet, some people say 15 inch rims will fit and some say they won't. If you click the link I posted above even the guys at MPSAutosalvage, who specialize in mustang parts, say that a 15 inch rim will fit over these. When I went to Summit Racing and asked for Cragar Super spoke rims for a 95 mustang the guy that sold them to me said they would fit. I was just curious if the single piston caliper was a bit smaller and might give me a bit more wiggle room.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #3 – May 29, 2013, 05:40:19 PM

Quote from: TheFoeYouKnow;416218

Nope, that's it. Those ARE the stock calipers. Get bigger wheels. FYI, 95 Mustang came with 16's standard, 17's optional. 16's on V6 cars, 17's on V8 cars. You should probably have done more research.

Not quite right.
Yes, those are the stock calipers for ’99-’04 Mustangs & Mustang GT’s, but not for ’94-’98 Mustangs. Also ’94-’01 base Mustangs came standard with 15” wheels, it wasn’t until 2002 that 16” wheels were standard.

zozsha,

You will want to get calipers from a ’94-’97 Mustang (except Cobra/Mach 1/Bullitt of course) and they should give you the clearance that you will need. Those larger calipers were used on the ’99-’04 Mustangs, however the rotor from ’94-’04 stayed the same so just swapping out the calipers and pads should take care of it as long as those Cragar’s are indeed designed to clear the ’94-’98 Mustang standard brakes.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #4 – May 29, 2013, 05:54:03 PM

Thanks for the info BCA. The calipers aren't that expensive. I'll buy one side and see if it solves my issue. I've read that some grinding might have been done to the spindles in order for mpsautosalvage to get those big PBR's on there. Hopefully it won't complicate things too much. I'm not very mechanically inclined, but I'm slowly learning.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #5 – May 29, 2013, 06:04:54 PM

Quote from: zozsha;416224

Thanks for the info BCA. The calipers aren't that expensive. I'll buy one side and see if it solves my issue. I've read that some grinding might have been done to the spindles in order for mpsautosalvage to get those big PBR's on there. Hopefully it won't complicate things too much. I'm not very mechanically inclined, but I'm slowly learning.

Yes, in order to fit the PBR's on the early spindles, some minor grinding needs to be done. But those single piston calipers will bolt right up since they were made for them.

BTW, you will need the caliper pins/bolts as they are different as well.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #6 – May 29, 2013, 10:57:12 PM

Can you exchange the wheels? I'd rather have stopping power over bling "rims"...

Or, on another note, I'll trade you my '94-'95 front brakes for those PBR units...and pay shipping both ways.
I'm serious..

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #7 – May 29, 2013, 11:09:56 PM

Here's a better question: Why 15's? 17's look really hot on our cars without being overly without sidewall. I mean I have 15's, but I've still got 4 bolts. I've got some 245/45ZR17's I'm saving for my 5-lug swap, just because 245/45R17 seems to be the optimal tire size for our cars. And honestly, it seems easier to find anything in 17 these days than 15. My 225/60R15's for the turbines I just picked up are ridiculously expensive for what they are AND they're hard to find. Everybody stocks at least 5 varieties of 245/45R17, and the're almost the same price as the 15's.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #8 – May 30, 2013, 02:38:53 AM

I upgraded from 14" rims to 15" because I could buy ten holes and tires for less then 14" tires.

my buddy has stock v-6 rims on his 2001 gt without issue btw...

I really like the 235/60 size on 15" rim.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #9 – May 31, 2013, 10:40:21 AM

My first car was an 88 Cougar LS that I bought in 1990. My son's first car is this 87 Cougar. So many people slap on those Cobra replica rims that I feel it's a much too common look. I'm aiming for an old style look that brings back memories of my first car. Nostalgia.

I'm just going to make it look good for my son. I know the look I am trying to get because I used to have it with my Cougar. Plus now he'll have a great rear and a decent front. He will also have a lot more rim choices when he's old enough to buy his own rims. I will hold onto the PBR's in case he does eventually move up to a larger rim.

Rims won't fit over caliper, need advice

Reply #10 – May 31, 2013, 12:06:26 PM

Let me check my garage to see if I kept any of those single-piston 94-98 calipers.