Five Good. Think it s unnecessary to give Project Street Smart Windsor a five-lug upgrade? We give you

Transcription

1 Think it s unnecessary to give Project Street Smart Windsor a five-lug upgrade? We give you Five Good Reasons By Marc Christ Photos by the author no doubt There s that five-lug conversions are popular in the Fox-body community. We ve established in the past that there s not much advantage to five lugs over four (on street cars like our Street Smart Windsor). So why upgrade? Well, here are five very good reasons. 5) Brake Upgrade There s no better excuse to switch to a five-lug setup than a set of new binders. It improves the safety of your Mustang, especially when your hopped-up ride is relying on 30-year-old brake technology to bring it to a safe, controlled stop. What better way to keep you and your passengers safe than an old-fashioned brake kit? The first components we chose for our Street Smart Windsor s five-lug upgrade were the brakes. We went with Baer Brakes Track4 front system (PN R; $1,395). Though not as inexpensive as a simple rotor upgrade, the system is very reasonable for a performance-disc-brake upgrade. It utilizes a modified stock spindle, 12-inch rotors, and four-piston calipers, and comes completely assembled as shown. 80 November MMFP SSW.indd 80 8/9/11 5:02:25 PM

2 five good reasons For SSW, we turned to Baer Brakes, which offers a plethora of five-lug, Fox-body brake upgrade kits. There s everything from its Track4 front system (PN R; $1,395) and SS4 rear kits (PN C; $1,195), to 14-inch, six-piston front kits for $3,195 (PN R). Depending on your particular budget, Baer has a kit for you. It will even supply brake fit templates, so you know exactly which wheels to pick. We opted for the less expensive Track4 front kit and SS4 rear kit with Baer s new Veraslide technology. This allows the caliper to float, preventing pad slap. 4) Wheel Choices This is probably most people s number one reason for doing a fivelug swap. As time passes further from 1993, fewer companies are catering to the four-lug community. Actually, we could only count about five streetwheel style choices available for the four-lug Foxes. 1 In the rear, we went with Baer s SS4 system (PN C; $1,195). It comes with everything you see here, including vented one-piece rotors, completely assembled backing plates, hoses, and parking brake cables. 2 To complete the five-lug conversion, we snagged this 31-spline rear axle conversion kit from Latemodel Restoration Supply. The kit (PN LRS-4204B-K; $429.99) features a Traction-Lok differential; hardened, five-lug, 31-spline axles; and wheel studs. 82 November MMFP SSW.indd 82 8/9/11 5:02:37 PM

3 So you could either go with the same thing that everyone else is doing, or you can step up to five-lug and have an unlimited supply of wheel choices so many that you ll drive yourself crazy over the decision. That s what happened to us when we decided to give SSW the upgrade. After searching long and hard, 3 At Lamotta Performance in Longwood, Florida, Jake Lamotta starts with the front brakes. Since the kit comes pre-assembled, Lamotta simply supports the lower control arm with a jack; unbolts the entire spindle from the strut, control arm, and tie rod; and bolts the new assembly in place. 4 Since the caliper has to be removed to install the new spindle, Lamotta makes sure to put the shims back in their correct locations when reinstalling the caliper. November MMFP SSW.indd 83 8/9/11 5:02:47 PM

4 five good reasons and comparing photos we found on the web, we finally came across Billet Specialties new Street Smart line (ironically enough). Though it offers seven different styles in this line, we opted for the Challenger. Ranging from $310 to $525 each, these carved-from-billet, two-piece wheels give similarly priced cast wheels the long finger. To clear our new awesome (and safer) brakes, we went with 17x8 in the front and 17x9.5 in the rear. Backspace can be specified when you order, so make sure you get yours right before ordering. And since you re upgrading from 15- or 16-inch wheels to 17s or larger, you have to buy new rubber as well. We went to TireRack.com for our new Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500s, 235/45-17 in the front ($123 each) and 275/40-17 in the rear ($146 each). Though we did it the hard way (having the tires mounted and balanced ourselves), we recommend buying the wheels/tires combination directly from Tire Rack, so all you 5 8 We also added a 3.73 gear set (PN M-4209-F373N; $179.95), and an axle bearing and seal kit (not shown; PN M-1225-B; $25). Lamotta then attached the new hose to the stock hard line and clipped it into place. 6 9 The kit also comes with braided stainless steel brake hoses. 7 The stock brake line bracket must be modified with a die grinder to accept the new brake fitting included with the kit. Moving to the rear, Lamotta drained and disassembled the rearend, ditching the axles, differential, and gears. 84 November MMFP SSW.indd 84 8/9/11 5:03:02 PM

5 have to do is bolt them right on. 3) Rearend Upgrade One of the biggest challenges of swapping to five-lug for most do-ityourselfers is the axle swap. You have to remove the bolt and pin to release the C-clips, and you always risk that pin being jammed. So when life 10 He uses a special tool to measure pinion depth. 11 He then installs the assembled differential, and sets backlash using a dial indicator and shims. 12 He then removes and discards the rear drum brake assemblies. 13 After removing the original equipment, Lamotta installs the new axle bearings and seals. November MMFP SSW.indd 85 8/9/11 5:03:17 PM

6 five good reasons 14 Up Next month Using stock hardware, he then installs the pre-assembled backing plate and parking brake assembly Now that SSW is safe to drive, we ll be track-testing it next month in preparation for a complete suspension install. The stock hard lines must be bent as shown to fit into the supplied brackets, which clamp to the axle housing with a large hose clamps. 16 The new stainless steel brake hose then attaches to the caliper and hard line. 17 To wrap around our new wheels, we chose these Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500s, 235/45-17 in the front ($123 each) and 275/40-17 in the rear ($146 each) from TireRack.com. We had the tires mounted locally, but you can just order your wheels and tires of choice, and Tire Rack will ship them already mounted and balanced. 19 Here s a shot of the wheel/tire/brake combination completely assembled. IN THE CLUTCH Since we have yet to upgrade the stock clutch on SSW, we took this opportunity to install this Ram clutch. Since we recently replaced the flywheel (when we installed the engine), all we needed was the clutch, pressure plate, and release bearing. We opted for Ram s Powergrip kit (PN RAM-98794; $299.99) from Latemodel Restoration Supply. Lamotta made quick work of the install, and it was back to work on the rest of the five-lug swap. Our wheels of choice are these Challenger wheels from Billet Specialties Street Smart line. We went with 17x8 in the front and 17x9.5 in the rear. 86 November MMFP SSW.indd 86 8/9/11 5:03:50 PM

7 hands you lemons, you use it as an excuse to rebuild your rearend. With the stock 28-spline axles out, what better time than then to do a gear swap, or say, a differential upgrade. Why not go ahead and upgrade to 31-spline axles? Mouse in hand, we went directly to FRPP s website for a set of 3.73 gears (PN M F373N; $179.95) and an axle bearing and seal kit (PN M-1225-B; $25). We also hit up Latemodel Restoration Supply for its five-lug conversion kit (PN LRS-4204B-K; $429.99), which includes 31-spline, five-lug axles; ten wheel studs; and a 31-spline, FRPP Traction-Lok differential. 2) Interchangeability Let s face it few of your friends still have the four-lug stock setup on their Fox-body (or they have a later-model Mustang), so if you need to bum a pair of drag radials, you re pretty much screwed. And when it comes time to upgrade your wheels or brakes later on, you don t have to change everything on the car to make the latest and greatest parts work. 1) Street Cred Without a doubt, this is the best reason to do a five-lug upgrade. You can t have street smarts on a set of 16-inch Ponies. You can t be a baller when you re rolling with drum brakes out back. And you probably won t be bragging about your stock diff with 2.73 gears and stock 28-spline axles. So if you want to kill five birds with one stone, check out what we did to the Street Smart Windsor. Sources Baer Brake Systems 602/ Billet Specialties 800/ Ford Racing Performance Parts Lamotta Performance 407/ Latemodel Restoration Supply Ram Clutches 803/ Tire Rack November MMFP SSW.indd 87 8/9/11 5:03:50 PM