OK, I recall seeing something about this recently but can't seem to locate the post....unless of course it wasn't posted here.....mind as retentive as a stainless steel sieve! Pardon any duplication here....delete is easy....
Much has been said about using (or not) the modern alloy Ford spare rims in the Pantera. (vs the old as dirt collapsible stock spare!)
I'd like to pass on some knowledge of the old rims and the newer style!
The late model alloy rims were used in many large Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Town Cars. They seem to go along with the "alloy wheel" option on these cars. Otherwise they get an equivalent steel wheel.....
I have a small collection of these things as they are 1)cheap 2)cheap 3)they used to be laying all over the place....and 4)it's the only rim that doesn't get removed immediately and crushed at the self serve wreckers these days!!! I use them on a car if I want to (hopefully) send it out for paint etc...and don't want to mess up a set of factory wheels and new tires...sorta thing.
First I want to back up and mention one thing that I saw in another discussion and it went unanswered......regarding "hub centric" wheels....
Kelsey Hayes produced spare wheels for Ford with single valve stems (1968-1970-72-ish) and then the double valve type. These will fit disc brake cars from whenever Ford started the 5x4.5" pattern up thru 1974 when the hub size got LARGER to a "corporate" size.
Our cars got the smaller hub size....or at least "should" have received the smaller size.
These wheels have dates stamped in them.....
So if you have a wheel with the larger hub size that doesn't fit snugly around your wheel hub...check the date.....could be from a 74-75+++ Cougar or LTD II if someone ordered that option....! If you have a 71-73 car and your wheel is dated 74.....someone has been mucking with your car...... (no one would EVER substitute a later part and try to pawn it off as original....would they???)
Also understand that K-H offered these VERY SAME wheels to Dodge for use in Challengers, Cudas etc.
They were offered in 6" & 7" widths....and probably 14" and 15" diameters. (I don't have a 14" handy.....to confirm exact tire sizes...)
I have no idea of the sizes of rubber offered.....go check the various websites...ie Mustang, Dodge..... but as many offered up....would you really try and use one of these 45+ year old things!!!???
OK, back to alloy spare wheels....
So here is the "Ford" equivalent in today's wrecking yards for you to choose from! Keep in mind that almost all cars from about 1994 that are NOT a Crown Vic, Town Car, or Grand Marquis went metric with their wheel mounting pattern! Mustang is still 5x4.5" also....but I don't know if they even come with a spare any longer.....have never found one in a car! Explorers came with full size steel wheels....
Because Ford kept the "corporate hub size" to today....they will not be "hub centric", you will need to have tapered lug nuts to do that job for you....
(These also won't fit in the space that DeT offered up for a spare wheel! Get creative...)
Remember it's only temporary....and yes it can bugger your ZF IF you are a moron and drive 75MPH down the road because you can......figure 45-50MPH to safety....or better "flat bed" spot, and your ZF should be fine! Think of it as driving lots of circles.....
I have found that there are two versions of this style alloy wheel, a 1995 (F5AC)16x4" version and a 1998 (F8VC) 16x4.5" version. The part numbers are cast into the center face of the wheel for easy identification. The numbers follow Ford's normal part number breakdown..... 1st digit "F" is the decade, in this case F=1990. 2cnd digit is the year....5= 1995, 8=1998. 3rd digit is car line that it was originally designed for. In this case, A=Ford (& Merc) Full Size and V=Lincoln full size. In the 60's-70's "A" was the Galaxie....morphing to Crown Vic's etc. It was for the BIG cars in the lineup. Note that Mercury and Lincoln generally have there own numbers for stuff, unique from Ford parts...but some cases you will find the Ford part numbers installed on Lincolns....
Since I had the wheels off of my Pantera recently for work on stuff, I had the occasion to want to put a spare wheel on the front so I could move my jack around....(I wasn't going high enuf to use jackstands...and it is shakin' & bakin' Kalifornia after all.....) I just happened to find one of each of these wheels at the half price sale during Thanksgiving (along with a beautiful 72 351C shortblock!)
First I grabbed the 1995 F5AC wheel and mounted it on the car...but before I could even get one or two lug nuts even close to tight....I noticed the wheel would not turn freely..... "This t'ain't good whus up?" I grabbed the 1998 F8VC wheel and it fit JUST FINE!!!
So take away from this that you want the LINCOLN spare.... F8VC number, 16x4.5". Rubber you can change as desired....
Here is a picture of the two wheels side by side! Without looking at the part numbers you may not notice any difference!
Two different tire sizes can be found on either rim, depending on which car they come from! 1995 on left, 1998 on right.
D130= aprox 24" in diameter T145= aprox 25.5" in diam.
More pic's to follow...one at a time.....
Steve
PS: As a note, before I grabbed these wheels in the wrecking yard.....I tried a 15x5" steel wheel from a 1966 Galaxie to keep the car off the ground....AND IT FIT TOO!!!! Normally these old wheels don't clear disc brakes after 67.... what a coincidence! 67 and earlier disc brakes were NON-floating like the Pantera Girlings are. Maybe this has something to do with it!
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