1965 t bird there is no spare ??? front and rear rims ???

andy2175m4 · Post by **andy2175m4** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 3:14 pm

The 65 has disc brakes in front, drums in rear, and I bought this car 2 weeks ago, no spare in the trunk.

I took 3 different ford tire/wheels from my collection, none fit on the front because of the huge brake caliper. the rear wheels are marked "do not use on front" If they are "normal" rims they won't fit either because the calipers are so huge.

so did this car ever come with a spare ? I see no evidence of spare or jack in the trunk. I guess I will have to scrounge for a genuine 65 front wheel for a spare,

will the front rims fit on the back ? I just hope they do but I got lazy and did not try.

60fore · Post by **60fore** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 4:05 pm

All cars were factory equipped with a spare. If a hardtop, It mounts on the trunk shelf just behind the back of the rear seat. It will work in front and rear positions (it would pretty much have to, wouldn't it?).

redbird1 · Post by **redbird1** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 5:05 pm

If you don't want to worry about which rims to use on the front, get a pair of back spacers and once installed the rim won't rub against the calipers.
I have 1" spacers on mine, and they solve the problem about which rim to use.
Bob.,

tbird · Post by **tbird** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:11 pm

All five of the original rims fit is any position on the car the rims you have on the rear are not correct only 1965 to 67 Thunderbird rims will fit correctly.

fast Ed · Post by **fast Ed** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:21 am

The 66 I bought last year came on aftermarket wheels, and no spare. I wanted to get something for a spare since I do take the car on some longer drives, and wasn't really concerned about having an original style wheel since the car is modded a bit.

If you are also not concerned with originality, I found this Ranger truck steel wheel that clears the front brakes if used with a spacer that is roughly 1/4" thick (my car had spacers on the front already for the aftermarket wheels).

There is also a black version that was used as a spare on the Rangers, that's what I grabbed. It is a 15x7". Rangers also used a 15x6", but it is a different style centre with less caliper clearance. Ford part number for reference is 1L5Z 1015 EA for the argent silver version, or 1L5Z 1015 DA for the black one. They were used on base model Rangers from the early 2000s until the end of production in 2011, so you could likely find a good used one from a recycling yard.

cheers
Ed