Help!!

Mike Amato

Active User
Nov 9, 2016
22
1
13
Does anyone know a good mechanic in the South Florida area? I bought a 82 Mustang from Cali and it has a bad tire rub all around I rolled the fenders and it didn't help upon further inspection I see it has one air bag in the left rear but not the right. Also the gap between the left front and right front are night and day. Also if you look at the car from the front the right tire is outside the fender noticeably more then the left. Any help would be appreciated
 
IMG_0914.webp
IMG_0911.webp
IMG_0911.webp
The rears are 255/40/18 the fronts are 225/40/18 and yes one air bag inside the spring you can see the difference in gaps and the front shot is hard to see but the right front is clearly out more then the left
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0906.webp
    IMG_0906.webp
    271.2 KB · Views: 142
How far south? Are there spacers between the wheel and hub?
You don't need a mechanic, You need different wheels.
Take one off and measure the back spacing, lay the wheel on its face take a straight edge accross the LIP of the rim measure down to the stud holes. Report back here and someone will tell you your backspacing. I think you subtract that from half the wheel width, someone will correct me, probably not that easy,
 
I'm in Deerfield Beach hard to tell here but if you look close the left wheel is even with the fender the right is out a bit and angled the gap from the wheel well to tire is much smaller on the right side
IMG_0914.webp
 
From the gaps in the hood line your nose may be pushed over a little to the drivers side, major problem is the wheel spacing, too much off set or wheels to wide, I run stock pony wheels, someone will chime in and tell us the proper wheel size/back spacing .
No spacers behind the wheels?
 
I can't think of anything 'structural' that will make the wheels stick out too far, one sticking out farther than the other is likely the nose pushed over, look at your hood gap and fender gaps all the way to the windshield, evenly spaced, straight lines?
 
No the ride side gap between the hood and fender is smaller but why would he use one air bag in the spring just one?


Drag springs. Usually the rear right has the bag. On launch, the car will squat and torque to the passenger side, so the air bag tends to help with the weight transfer.


In order to properly diagnose this, you really need to get under the car and look around and post pics. Any modifications to the suspension? Stock OEM brakes with drums in the rear?

Those wheels are pretty big for an '82. not a lot of pre-90 Mustangs can get away with that combo at all without rub. Still, that one side is sticking out pretty far, but without poking head in the fender, hard to say why
 
It may not be frame damage, although they are pretty flimsy, our cars are called 'flexable fliers' and be'n lowered don't help with the crap you encounter on the roads these days.
Previous owner probably either doesn't know or will not admit to any damage.
My car had an encounter that damaged the the lower core support in front and shows evidence of minor miss alinement but it matches the rest of the car, I've thought about calling it 'raggity andy'.
 
I'll get under it tomorrow but it has all kind of bracing and :poo: underneath I think he built it for the track but never got their the front sway bar is as thick as a palm tree. And your right the wheel and tire combo is unusual im more concerned about the suspension
 
Car looks nice, but we really need ot see the underside of the car, and inside the wheels wells. If you could pull that front wheel off, even better.

Shots of the subframe alignment, core support, maybe the control arms/spindles/struts, etc.