wheel fitment question

[dragline]

newbie here, guys. tried finding answers in the faq and by searching but not really finding anything so here goes:

got a turnkey FF roadster that was built 5 yrs ago - not sure what edition it is (Mk II, III, IV? how do you tell?). donor was an '89 mustang gt, 4-lugs (ugh!). i believe the rear end is a standard fox body solid axle unit. measures about 59-1/2" drum face to drum face. i have found some 15" 4-lug halibrands copies (7" front, 10" rear) for a fairly decent price so rather than swap the axles and hubs to 5-lug i was thinking about jumping on them to save a couple of $$$. the backspacing on the 15" x 10" rears is 7", on the 15" X 7" fronts is 5". any ideas on fitment? is there already a good resource on the forum to check out?

[Gordon Levy]

Yes you have a Fox donor suspension. Those wheels should fit fine.
If you know the FFR chassis number we can tell you what generation your car is.

[dragline]

Originally Posted by Gordon Levy

Yes you have a Fox donor suspension. Those wheels should fit fine.
If you know the FFR chassis number we can tell you what generation your car is.

thanks, gordon. i've tried finding some serial number (or similar) identification on the vehicle but no luck. where do you usually find chassis number? bought this vehicle from a dealer - called the original builder who was on the title but he hasn't come across with any build documentation.

[Gordon Levy]

Here are a few places for the chassis number- If it's a mark 3 the number is stamped on the frame just above your left knee. It can be a mark 2 of you have protection bars in the foot boxes. The mark 1 and 2 have a production number welded into the drivers side rear bulkhead 2x3 frame. Knowing that number will help ID the chassis number by adding 1001 to it.

[Big Blocker]

If the steering shaft come into the engine compartment from the right side of the drivers foot box (solid shaft) it's a MKI or II. If it come into the engine compartment from the left side of the drivers foot box (u-joint looking), it's at least a MK3.

Those are easy finds, Gordon has the right answer with "tag" locations . . .

Doc

[CraigS]

If you are dead set to stay w/ 15s that is probably a good way to go. But do a search on this forum about 15s vs 17s first. The problem w/ 15 is the lack of available tires. I should say good tires at decent prices. W/ those wheels you could get these tires
Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels
Run the 26x10s on the front and 26x12s on the rear. A friend w/ a mkI just got these tires for her car w/ wheels similiar to yours.
CooperTiresConsumer - Cobra Radial G/T™
235/60x15 fronts and 295/50x15 rears. The rears are actually a little too wide as they hit the fenders and give a zing sound occassionally but it's liveable.

OTOH, w/ 17s there is a huge supply of both tires and wheels from the mustang guys.Here is one source.
Anthracite Bullitt Wheel - 17x9 (94-04 All) at AmericanMuscle - Free Shipping!
If your car is a MkI or II you could run these on all 4 corners w/ 255 on the front and 275 on the rear.
If your car is a mkIII and/or you do the 315 mod, you could run these on the rear and go to 315s.
Anthracite Deep Dish Bullitt Mustang Wheel 94-04 (17x10.5) at AmericanMuscle 28111 - Free Shipping!
This is a source for cheap 17 tires. They don't have the greatest traction (but definately better than the Coopers) but are good sizes for little money and have no bad characteristics.
Sumitomo*HTR Z
I think what it comes down to is whether you will be happy long term w/ the 15s which are the least expensive way for you to upgrade right now, or, do you want to start an investment in longer term better performance.
HTH

[dragline]

thanks for all the info, guys. craigS, i'm not married to the 15" but do like the classic look and i thought i found some off craigslist but seems like the communication has gone quiet with my seller. hmmmm... my real wish list would be to swap those lousy 4-lugs (insert curses here for whatever beancounter at ford decided this was an acceptable offering for V8 mustangs) for 5-lugs and get some 17" halibrand wheels so my tire options would be better. too much money at this point, i'm afraid.

[steno]

Those 4 lug axels will handle most everything your car can dish out! There are 4 smaller bolts that feed the rear end and BOTH axles!

[CraigS]

I understand. I ran 4 lugs for about 3 yrs first w/ steel 15 inch wheels. Then found a set of 9x17 4 lugs so got them and upgraded to 255 front and 275 rear. Then finally did the 5 lug rear conversion and bought just two 5 lug wheels. Ran w/ 4 lug front and 5 lug rear for 1.5 yrs. Until a little more $ was found and finally did 5 lug front.