Paul Schil's Ford powered MGB V8 Wheels

BMC · January 12, 2011, 12:45:32 PM

I just purchased a set of rims like Paul has on his B. These are the 2005-2009 Mustang V6 and I understand common for that Eleanor Mustang appearance.

My plans for these are to be used with a stock wheel well front and rear, CCE front hubs and our rear axle. For the rear axle, it will be narrow enough and the wheels have a +39mm offset so I think we will be able to space the rear out well enough to not worry about interference.

I see Paul has added spacers to his CCE front and speculate that this was done for two reasons. He has Headers in the wheel wells and he took advantage of his flares. Since our car has neither of these, I'm hoping Paul, or someone can tell me if they know of any issues to be aware of.

-BMC.

psmg · January 12, 2011, 02:48:10 PM

Brian,

The history behind using the Mustang wheels is as follows;

I always liked the look of these wheels as they do closely resemble the Eleanor, but are less expensive by far.

I wanted to install flares and found what I wanted at Lilves Racing.

After installing the flares, I determined how much to shorten the width on the Mustang 8.8 rearend. I wanted to fill the wheel well and determine what tire diameter I needed.

I needed to add spacers in order to get the right look in front and fill out the flare. Adding the spacers gave me more room for the headers, but motor location indicated I really didn't need the extra clearance.

I don't know how the wheels will fit a stock configuration.

I am using 205/55/16 Continental tires for a 24.9" tire diameter.

Paul

rficalora · January 12, 2011, 03:33:50 PM

I have similar wheels but they're closer to the original Eleanor (Mustang from the fast & the furious) style. They're from American Racing wheels from their "Carrol Shelby" series (http://www.americanracing.com/browse_carroll.asp). They can be ordered in either painted center or polished center & come in 15, 17, & 18" diameters & widths from 7 to 10". There's also a good range of offsets from +25 to -38 (depending on diameter/width combination). In addition they'll do custom offsets as well.
2006-10-04 New wheels on Car for Look See 001.jpg

2006-10-04 New wheels on Car for Look See 001.jpg

BlownMGB-V8 · January 13, 2011, 09:53:32 AM

Rob, how much do those wheels weigh?

JB

rficalora · January 13, 2011, 09:31:24 PM

Ha! You probably don't want to know -- they're for show, not go... fronts are 15x7 & weigh in at 20.5lbs & rears are 15x8 and are 21.2lbs. They'll be fine for daily driving but won't win any rallys or autocrosses.

MGB-FV8 · January 13, 2011, 09:44:11 PM

Rob, are you talking about the wheel minus tire only? That's sounds extremely heavy.

rficalora · January 13, 2011, 10:21:07 PM

Yep. That's the wheel weight. Tires extra.

MGBV8 · January 13, 2011, 10:40:31 PM

Ouch!

BMC · January 14, 2011, 01:14:56 PM

Paul,

Did you ever try to bolt the rims direct to the hubs to see how they fit? Did you ever try the same with the rubber installed?

Rob,

Can you give offsets and more info on the specific wheels that you installed on your B?

Carl,

I'm not sure how much these OEM wheels but they are not light. My unofficial scale shows 18lbs. but that may be on the high end.

-BMC.

rficalora · January 14, 2011, 02:18:08 PM

I'm pretty confident the Mustang wheels are going to be in the same weight range. Those wheels weren't out when I bought mine but I checked a few other OEM wheels in similar sizes (most were narrower but 17") and they were all a good bit heavier than light weight wheels targeted at enthusiasts. Like I said, they're for show, not winning an autocross.

Brian, my wheels/tires are as follows:
- (front): 15x7 w/3.5" backspace (equates to 0mm offset); 205/55/15 tires
- (rear): 15x8 w/4.5" backspace (equates to 0mm offset); 225/50/15 tires

My front end is 2" wider than stock. I'd have to double check, but off memory, my IRS is 52 3/4" & I'm running about 1/4" spacers (the bottom of the uprights didn't fit inside the wheel barrel so I had to space them out a little)

Note, based on this pic, the fronts still wouldn't fit inside the stock fender unless they were ordered with more backspace. American Racing will do whatever backspace you want within the limits the wheel design will handle.
2006-10-04 New wheels on Car for Look See 004.jpg

2006-10-04 New wheels on Car for Look See 004.jpg

RockyMountainMGB · January 14, 2011, 02:58:41 PM

I'm surprised you could fit an 8" wheel in back.
I'd like to put 17x8's on mine, but have been told by everyone and their grandma that 7" is about the threshold.
What axle are you using? Banjo?

Mark

rficalora · January 14, 2011, 03:36:56 PM

Actually Marc, I have a custom IRS built by Todd Budde. It is wider than stock & I have flares to cover the wheels -- Omni flares that I added onto in order to make them even larger (the black metal in this pic is the Omni flare; the silver is the extension I added...
2008-11-14 Omni Flare Install (12).jpg

BMC · January 16, 2011, 02:16:45 PM

QuoteI
Brian, my wheels/tires are as follows:
- (front): 15x7 w/3.5" backspace (equates to 0mm offset); 205/55/15 tires
- (rear): 15x8 w/4.5" backspace (equates to 0mm offset); 225/50/15 tires

My front end is 2" wider than stock. I'd have to double check, but off memory, my IRS is 52 3/4" & I'm running about 1/4" spacers (the bottom of the uprights didn't fit inside the wheel barrel so I had to space them out a little)

Note, based on this pic, the fronts still wouldn't fit inside the stock fender unless they were ordered with more backspace. American Racing will do whatever backspace you want within the limits the wheel design will handle.

From what I see on Paul's car and from what your numbers are, I am fairly confident that I'm going to be able to do something that I want. If you have a 0 offset and have a wheel that hangs out about 1.5", then the 39mm offset (1.54") should be just about right to place it at the edge. Looking at my 5.5" rims with 40mm offset according to SAAB websites makes me think this is going to be nearly perfect. Being 16", I think it will clear steering and shocks so knock on wood but I'll let everyone know and maybe get an update for this site on our profile or article. Anything to save a buck on rims may give plenty of people an excuse to update the rest of the system- I know it's been one lingering issue with our project car- it must be done within the budgetary constraints. That and... I plan no flares for this car. Sebring kit- maybe. Flares- no.

-BMC.

MGBV8 · January 16, 2011, 05:35:33 PM

Brian, if you are on a budget (and I know you are with 4 kids) 16 is not a good number. 16" tires tend to be pricey.

I'm shooting for 15X7s with 225/50s. Someday.

BTW, I started the gold center wheels trend over 20 years ago.

http://www.britishv8.org/MG/CarlFloyd.htm

BMC · January 19, 2011, 03:53:15 PM

Yup but the wheels are cheap and 5 lug like everything else I have. I would prefer 15" only because for my car, I would like more sidewall to give a softer ride or should I say that the idea of having no give in the rubber and relying 95% on suspension makes the car feel dated, not bad but just a little bit worse for the wear. Frankly, I have tried 16" on MGBs before and it's not bad so I hope no one gets the impression of Ox Cart here.

-BMC.