Should have 5 lugged when I went Cobra, but I didn’t.

ThinBlue502

Mustang Master
May 7, 2019
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Ohio
Howdy y’all.

A couple years ago, maybe last year, I upgraded my braking setup for my ‘93 coupe.

As the car sits right now, it’s essentially a ‘93 Cobra in regards to the brakes. ‘88 TC rear axle, along with Cobra MC and brake booster. It’s all working great! Huge upgrade, much more confident braking. Stayed 4 lug at that time. Again, I’m happy with my current level of braking performance.

However…

I’ve been running the 4 lug Cobra Rs that are on the car currently, for a long time. I want a more modern looking wheel, so 5 lug it is.

SO GET TO THE DAM QUESTION…

What is the cheapest way I can get 5 lugs on my car?

This is not a track car, only driven spiritedly occasionally.

Thanks for any and all input.

Pics for clicks:

D978588F-4FB8-4FD6-8478-ADF8BF58D46F.jpeg

(Not my car)
 
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There's a few different ways to do this.

Above gets you 5-lug probably the cheapest (short of going junkyard hopping)

SN95 5-lug isn't cheap these days. A set of 94-95 spindles goes for $200-300, and the price of cobra calipers is also up there. At least you can reuse the 93 cobra booster and MC you already have installed.

You are probably in the $1500+ range for SN95 cobra stuff unless you can get some really good deals on used parts.
 
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I do realize everyone is not made of money and people do have budgets.
With that said, this is just not where cheap would be one of my goals.
You have already done it once going on twice, do you really want to leave the door open to doing it three times?

IMO, collect parts and goto sn95 spindles and be done with it. Even if takes months longer, it's still better than worrying about center cap issues and or doing it again.
Yes it surely cost way more than just lincoln rotors.
But the end result is bigger better looking more reliable brakes.
 
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I do realize everyone is not made of money and people do have budgets.
With that said, this is just not where cheap would be one of my goals.
You have already done it once going on twice, do you really want to leave the door open to doing it three times?

IMO, collect parts and goto sn95 spindles and be done with it. Even if takes months longer, it's still better than worrying about center cap issues and or doing it again.
Yes it surely cost way more than just lincoln rotors.
But the end result is bigger better looking more reliable brakes.
This right here. 100%
 
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I do realize everyone is not made of money and people do have budgets.
With that said, this is just not where cheap would be one of my goals.
You have already done it once going on twice, do you really want to leave the door open to doing it three times?

IMO, collect parts and goto sn95 spindles and be done with it. Even if takes months longer, it's still better than worrying about center cap issues and or doing it again.
Yes it surely cost way more than just lincoln rotors.
But the end result is bigger better looking more reliable brakes.
Agreed, but I've gone even further with that thought and I will never do anything less than exactly what I wanted to do the first time... it costs too much to do it more than once. If it's too expensive to do it right the first time, doing it twice or more will be even worse. I get that you're not made of money, but you are worth spending the extra on to make you happy.
 
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Many thanks for all the opinions and options. All of this just confirms my thoughts that SN95 is really the only way to do it right. I’ll just have to set up a search notification on eBay.

Many thanks all!
 
So if that's the route you want to go, a few more questions.

Cobra or 99-04 GT/V6?

Do you want the SN95 offset out back, or retain standard fox offset?


Check out automotive recyclers for the spindles. Most don't charge the insane rate email resellers do. They just view them as a 30 year old spindle and charge a cheap price....if you can find them. 94-95's going to junkyards is not that common these days. This is how i picked up my 96-04 spindles for $40 each.
 
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Try car-parts.com
I did a quick sort by distance search and while none were really that close to me cheap, some a bit further were only $50 each (you do have to search both sides).

For me, using 2 piston pbr cobra's/bullits/mach1s is an easy choice, so is using fox length axles.
 
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+1 on collecting the parts. (Your car looks great and drives great as is, so that’s more of a reason that you can take time collecting). I got a lot of used stuff on eBay. Refinished the spindles, rebuilt calipers…… it all took a while but I enjoyed the work. Granted, I bought most of my stuff 3-4 years ago before the big boom hit with the prices. But if you look for some deals, you’ll find them.
 
I'm in the process of buying an '86 LTD (4 door Fox Body) & planing to do the 5 lug swap as well. I found it to be cheaper to just find a 94-95 Mustang project that needs engine work. I just picked this up two weeks ago for $600, the engine was taken apart and left to sit but it has almost everything for me to use for a manual & 5 lug swap, brake upgrade, & 17" wheels. Really have to keep an eye out, but it seemed worth it compared to what others out there are charging for the spindles alone. It was listed for $1,000 at first and said he was firm but after getting some new pic's showing it parked and covered in calked on pollen with the engine in pieces with rust on the pistons, cat's cut off & a small dent behind the drivers door I was able to talk him down. Found it on Facebook Marketplace, seems to be the only place that I can find project/parts car's at reasonable prices. Just have to filter through all the sketchy people selling their car's without titles or lack of communication skills.

It's not pretty, but as soon as my ruptured tendon heals I plan to give it a good wash & wax and sell off the rest as a project to someone else to recoup some money. May even keep it and build it as an autocross project.

1995 Mustang V6 Manual.jpg


I was almost tempted to just stick with 4 lug as well, mostly to keep it period correct but cost wise it was just cheaper for 5 lug. The ones I like are the LMR Mesh & TRX, but that would have pushed my budget too high & finding decently priced used 4 lug 16-17" wheels is getting difficult.
 
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Forgive me but FK facebook and Zuckerberg......
I agree, I can't stand social media platforms or that douche Zuckerberg. I've really only kept my profile up due to my wife and only found out about the Marketplace section a few years ago. I never post anything there or bother using it for anything else.

But it's easily saved me hundreds of dollars compared to other outlets when looking for used parts. All other places I looked at cheap Mustang's they tend to run in the $1,500-3,000 for rusted up junkers that are usually already gutted or without titles.
 
I agree, I can't stand social media platforms or that douche Zuckerberg. I've really only kept my profile up due to my wife and only found out about the Marketplace section a few years ago. I never post anything there or bother using it for anything else.

But it's easily saved me hundreds of dollars compared to other outlets when looking for used parts. All other places I looked at cheap Mustang's they tend to run in the $1,500-3,000 for rusted up junkers that are usually already gutted or without titles.
Whats the draw for people to list on Facesbook instead of craigslist?
 
Whats the draw for people to list on Facesbook instead of craigslist?

Volumn of traffic. CL is full of scammers and fake accounts these days. Many folks (especially younger generation have abandoned it) I’m sure a few folks still use it legitimately, but most are using FB marketplace, which has its own issues.

But if you make a listing on CL you might get 50 folks who see it. If you lost it on FB you’ll easily get thousands.

I despise posting on FB In general for various reasons, but the marketplace and some of the Foxbody for sale forums tend to be good for snagging parts
 
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Whats the draw for people to list on Facesbook instead of craigslist?

Only thing I can see that it is better than Craigslist is that you can usually tell if the account is a fake or not & you'll have an idea who you're actually meeting. Given how the world is these day's it's getting pretty sketchy meeting people up with cash in hand. If an account is recently created I give it a pass due to the chance of it being a scam.

Before buying that Mustang, I had found one on Craigslist & the guy accepted a $700 offer but when asked about the title he stated it was in his sisters name & already signed. After insisting she be there for the transaction he ghosted me. Mind you this guy only responded through text's and didn't take any of my calls. The car was obviously painted by the guy but the way he talked he didn't have much info about the car.

Even if the account isn't fake, I can get tend to get an idea what the person is like & if I want to do business with them. Last guy I decided not to buy from had post's about how Covid is a White persons created disease and the vaccine was created to make the black community sterile. Obviously I didn't want to trigger some guy with my "whiteness" so I passed on dealing with him.
 
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Last guy I decided not to buy from had post's about how Covid is a White persons created disease and the vaccine was created to make the black community sterile. Obviously I didn't want to trigger some guy with my "whiteness" so I passed on dealing with him.
LOL.... I woulda gone with you on that one and MR Kimber would go too
 
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