85 Capri - updated front suspension experiences.... wheel dimensions?

[Cougarmanjr]

Folks,

Getting ready to get back to work on my Capri project and wondering if anyone else is running a similar setup:

- Max motorsports k member
- 96-04 spindles
- Max Motorsports 96-04 forward off-set control arms

I am planning on running 245/40/18 tires out front. I know I have to deal with fender clearance with the suspension being moved forward, but I am wondering if anyone else is running this setup and if so, what are the specs on the wheels you are running.....

Thanks in advance,
Steve

[fatcat]

Are those the arms that move the wheel forward 3/4" or 1.5"? I am getting ready to buy the kit with the 3/4" arms for my '86 notch and Ive been talking to MM some, the guy I talked to said a 275 tire on a 9" wide wheel with a 6" back spacing will require trimming the inner fender for clearance but anything smaller wont cause an issue. This is all with the 3/4" move I don't know about the 1.5" not sure if that helps any.

[wraithracing]

The Forward offset arms plus the MM K member will move the front wheels forward @ 1.5" total. The arms are 3/4" forward offset and the K member moves the mounts forward 3/4" too.

Fitting a 9" front wheel with the SN95 longer Arms will require major work to the front fenders or flares to fit them properly. You can run a 9" up front with the stock Fox arms and generally @ 24mm offset and be fine. That is what I run on the front of the PC with stock 79 fenders and a stock K member.

Cougarmanjr, Are you planning on running an 8" wheel?

Trey

[Cougarmanjr]

Trey

Thanks for the response. I am planning on running the rim width that is best for the 245's. It is very obvious on the gender modifications that will be required. I have what I am terming "project Frankenstein-fender" to try to move the flare and wheel opening forward to center over the tire again. Not going to be easy but have to give it a shot.....



Not the best shot.... Have a pic of the car sitting down and the fender sits in the front edge of the tire...... Pretty much going to try to make the fender fit the new tire location once I get the right rims up front



Steve

[Cougarmanjr]

Forgot to add I sized the tires to be as close to the same diameter as the original/stock tires....

Steve

[Cougarmanjr]

[wraithracing]

Ok, fixed your pictures so no one has to either flip their heads or their screens to see them better. If you are using an iPhone to take the photos, I would recommend turning your phone on it's side with the volume buttons up and your pictures should come out correctly rather than being rotated when you post. them. Otherwise you can rotate them on your computer so they post better.

As for your project, I would recommend running an 8" wheel with the 245 as that is what they appear to be currently mounted on. Besides a 245 on a 9" wheel is a bit of a stretch.

Personally I see two ways to fix the wheel well opening on the Capri fenders. The first is to make a cut and widen the actual opening and then fill in the gap at the top middle. This will require some shaping of the metal to work, but otherwise a reasonably easy fix. If you haven't seen this thread go to post #98 and you will see how BMW Rider did it on a set of Mustang fenders to accomplish the same thing you are wanting to do. http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...-crosser/page4



The other option is to cut out the entire opening and move it forward the 1.5" and then fill the back of the fender gap with new metal. This might be easier on shaping the metal as the back fill piece should be relatively flat and easy to patch, but I am not sure how this will ultimately look with the Capri fender bulges/eyebrows since now it would be not be centered on the wheel opening. Of course, you could do the same thing with moving the whole bulge/wheel opening, but that may be very problematic in getting everything welded back up and preventing warpage and other issues.

Trey

[Cougarmanjr]

Trey - thanks for the pics fix - posting from my phone - and the tip on the buttons up!!!

My idea is to cut the opening off of the Capri fenders and graft to donor mustang fenders - cutting out the mustang fender using the Capri piece as a template, but moved forward. That way the back is already filled since it will exist on the flat mustang fender already. I saw someone had a link and referenced what Kevin Tetz did on Trucks - that is what I want to try to do. I am hoping to keep the wheel opening dimensions the same and not just open it up.

The wheels on the car are spare '02 mustang GT I had to allow the car to roll around since Ihad the 5 lug spindles on already.

I'm concerned about the offset/backspacing of the wheels - have to go with 18" to fit over the brakes I have...... Will be buying new wheels when I can figure out specs and finally pick out some I like - and can afford!!!

I know this won't be simple but what ever is!?!?!

Steve

[wraithracing]

The issue with using a Mustang fender as the donor is that the shape is totally different. The wheel arch shapes as well as the general shape around the wheel arch/opening are not the same. I don't see that being much help IMHO. If you are going to cut the entire wheel arch off the Mustang and graft all of that onto the Capri fender it might work, but I am not 100% sure again due to the huge difference in shape.

The backspacing and offset don't really change much if at all when going from a 17" to an 18" wheel. The offset/backspacing don't really change due to the offset control arms and K member mounts either. What is going to affect your offset/backspacing is your wheel width, spindle choice, brake choice, and your control arm choice.

If your plan is to run the longer SN95 control arms you are going to be more limited on wheel width or at least if you want to fit them under stock width fenders. Generally a 9" wide wheel is very difficult to fit under the stock fenders with the longer control arms. I won't say it can't be done, but it will be difficult and most likely you will have to sacrifice turning radius and have rubbing issues inside due to the offset to fit a 9" wheel.

You stated that you wanted to run what fits a 245, well an 8" wheel does that just fine and will be much easier to fit up front. I would recommend posting up what your complete front suspension will be made of and hopefully we can help point you in the right direction in regards to the required offset/backspacing.

Trey

[Cougarmanjr]

Trey,

Thanks again, greatly appreciate the feedback - really appreciate it.
As to the fenders, I will have to take a much closer look, but was planning to cut the capri fender around the break at the top and use that as the grafting point. Only really part left of the mustang fender would be the top of the fender and the flat section between the back edge and where the flair starts on the capri fender and the very front edge of the fender........ I am thinking I would have to shorten up the arch/flair at the front to make it fit 1.5" forward...... and would results in the rear of the flair ending about 1.5" ahead of the back of the fender...... At least that is what is working in my head...... I feel I am going to have to sacrifice a capri fender and lay it on top of the Mustang fender to validate......

On the suspension:

- Max motorsports k member
- 96-04 spindles
- Max Motorsports 96-04 forward off-set control arms
- MM caster/camber plates
- Koni struts w/MM coil-over conversion
- factory style sway bar
Not sure if I am missing anything else........

I have had the car at my buddy's shop for a few months and the project stalled with not being able to get over to work on it. Hoping to get it back to my shop so I can get back at it. Also going to be ordering a hoist soon so that will help working underneath it.......

Steve

[wraithracing]

Steve,

What brakes are you using since you stated you had to run 18" wheels to clear them. I am assuming they are 14" rotors, but you haven't stated.

I am still having trouble visualizing what you want to do with the fenders, so I am not sure how to make it work or if it even will. In my mind doing what BMW Rider did is the simpler solution that doesn't necessarily require cutting up another pair of fender either Capri or Mustang. You will have to do some small fabrication, but that's about it.

Trey

[Cougarmanjr]

for brakes - I have a set of Rousch-Alcon, 14" rotors.....

Agree on BMW Rider seems a bit simpler but I am hoping to keep the wheel opening the same size as stock. Filling in the arch/buldge would require a few more bends for the capri obviously...... Plus, already have both the capri and mustang fenders...... I will start with one side...... I had a chance to buy another capri fender that was rusted out at the bottom but passed...... looking back that would have been a good one to start with, at least to cut out the arch/buldge and see how it fit on the mustang fender before cutting up a good Capri fender..... knowing how it was trying to find what I did..... I may go that route if I can find another sacrificial Capri fender (I have kept my original fenders and wont touch those....)

[84StangSVT]

Ok, fixed your pictures so no one has to either flip their heads or their screens to see them better. If you are using an iPhone to take the photos, I would recommend turning your phone on it's side with the volume buttons up and your pictures should come out correctly rather than being rotated when you post. them. Otherwise you can rotate them on your computer so they post better.

I don't have anything to help with your project but for the picture thing with an IPhone, it works best with the buttons down, not up. otherwise the pics tend to be upside down.

There is a lot of good information in this thread though, will be watching.

[wraithracing]

I don't have anything to help with your project but for the picture thing with an IPhone, it works best with the buttons down, not up. otherwise the pics tend to be upside down.

There is a lot of good information in this thread though, will be watching.

You know what I think you are right and I screwed it up. The buttons are down. Oh well, if that's my worst mistake for the week, then I am doing pretty well I guess!

Trey

[BMW Rider]

Another problem I see with the Capri fender is the marker light opening. Not sure how it is going to work out with moving the wheel opening forward. You may end up having to modify the light to work.

[Cougarmanjr]

BMW Rider.....
Yeah, I figured on that one too..... I am planning on modifying a set of extra marker lights i picked to fit.... hopefully they will turnout and not look shabby... also have to extend the trim behind the wheel opening.

This is turning into A LOT of custom fab...... but I figure it is worth a try and if all turns out as I am envisioning, it will be pretty cool. Hopefully not too noticeable to a quick passer-by..... It is always fun to dream

Steve

[Cougarmanjr]

duplicate post removed.......

[Cougarmanjr]

So, from what I have gathered, for a 245 tire, the reco is to look at 8" wheel, and 24mm offset to fit the suspension setup?

Hoping to get the front rims ordered soon so I appreciate the input.

[Cougarmanjr]

Does anyone have, or can anyone do some measurements of a stock 225/60 and the clearances to the fender and strut? I found a pretty cool website that can compare measurements on different wheels/tires.....
a few measurements that they can help check clearances with are the tire to suspension and tire to fender

http://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?whee...=30mm&scl=50mm

Steve

[wraithracing]

Steve,

I am not sure that will really be of much help unless the vehicle is setup with the same parts as your vehicle. Changing out your lower control arms, the brakes, the spindles, K member, etc. change the whole dynamics of the car and how and what fits. Comparing that to a car that has different parts will not be of much benefit IMHO. If you are comparing to a vehicle with similar modifications that may be helpful in getting you in the ball park, but again alignment, ride height, tire size, tire brand, and wheel choices will all affect your clearances and fitment.

As for a starting point, I have done several of these cars using the Fox control arms, but not really any with the longer SN95 control arms since I normally want to run as wide a wheel as possible up front such as a 9". I know with my setup a 17 X 9 with a 24mm offset works well up front. I also know that a 17 X 8 with a 30 mm offset works too. Going to the longer A arms will require changes to both since this moves the wheel out @ 3/4". I can tell you that a 17 X 9 with a 24mm offset doesn't fit under the fender with the longer arms. I have a set of the SN95 17 X 8 wheels on my 84 SVO that although not exactly the same setup as yours it is very similar and that fits just fine too.

You might also consider something like this to help you out. http://www.jegs.com/i/Percy's/760/01...0hXRoCzkvw_wcB

There are several different versions of this some relatively cheap and then there is this one that gets expensive, but can save you the headaches of buying the wrong offset wheels. http://www.thewheelfit.com/

Trey

[Cougarmanjr]

Trey,

Thanks again!!! This post started with asking on anyone running what I have, but guess nobody really is.......... I was looking into those measurement tools..... heard mixed reviews on the 1st one and the 2nd is pretty expensive for doing one setup - but still cheaper than buying the wrong wheels......

Tempted to buy the 2nd tool to be very sure, and then will end up buying full custom wheels.... Nothing simple or cheap with this.

May be better off just buying the standard control arms and not going with as much of a forward offset - probably easier and cheaper in the end. But I just hate taking the easy way on things..... Would the .75" extra forward offset/wheelbase really be worth it on a car that is intended to be a fun weekend racer?

Steve

[Cougarmanjr]

Forget the easy route....... my buddy gets racer discount at Summit so he is getting me the WheelFit kit. He has the other, cheaper measurement tool and said is is "OK".... sort of a bugger to get the wire to be the same profile as the tire, etc.

So, I will let you know what I come up with for dimensions and how the tool works. Always looking for reasons to buy a new tool and guess this is one of them :-)


Steve

[Cougarmanjr]

This will finally settle things......

[wraithracing]

That is SWEET!!!!

I have been wanting one for years, but just never could justify the cost. Maybe someday as I will definitely need one for a coupe of projects such as my 69 Mach 1 and my 69 Firebird!

Let us know how it works out for you.

Trey