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 Post subject: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:26 pm 
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Bullits for the cause of Liberty

Rationale:
My 05 Liberty came to me pretty much barefoot. And I wanted to go 8” wide on the rims before buying tires.
I wasn’t put off by the look of the stock 5-spoke aluminum wheels, in fact I looked diligently for some of the “unicorn” 16x8s to no avail.

I finally settled on late Mustangs as my source. I selected the “Bullit” style from an 05. They are 17x8. I would have preferred to stay with 16s, I just couldn’t find any I liked.
There are some later Mustang rims that look very similar, but I passed them over because the spokes protrude past the rim, and I’m not lucky enough to avoid the curbs.

Image

I wanted to retain stock diameter, so I selected 255/60-17s. Same height, about an inch wider.
With the 255/60s installed, the rear clears perfectly, but the front is very close to the upper A-arm.
Also, the Mustang hub (70.3mm) is slightly smaller than the Jeep hub (71.5).
My old lathe will not swing rims, so I elected to go with hub-centric spacers.

Image

A ¼ inch spacer would be plenty, but I couldn’t locate any that were hub-centric, which I wanted. I bought a set of 12mm spacers to fit the Mustang. The I.D. fit was slightly sloppy, so only about a .020 pass was needed to slip them onto the Jeep.
Wheel Spacers Adapters 5X114.3 5X4.5 70.3 CB 1/2-UNF 12MM 0.472MM

Next problem: Lugs too short. Only 3-4 threads catching.

I found that you can’t just step into “The Zone” and grab longer studs.
No Sir. Here’s what I found. Your mileage may vary…

Image

Front:
The Dorman 610-287 will fit, provided that you slightly flatten the head on one side.
It provides about 3/8” more thread than the stock lug, plenty provided that you use the lugs cited below.
Some off-roaders have had some broken studs, if that is your experience take a look at the Dorman 610-389. It is slightly longer than the 610-287, and is 9/16 vs.1/2. It is fitment for a ¾-1 ton Dodge pickup. It will be necessary to disassemble the hub to fit the 610-389 for sure.

Rear:
I couldn’t find a normal source for this. I ended up with ARPs intended for the rear of a late Mustang. These are part # 100-7705, and are intended for racing. They are 3” long, so I cut 7/8 off of each stud. I spun them in the lathe & whacked ‘em with a cutoff wheel. If you leave them any longer, you will have to pull the axles to get them in.
Unless you have a fancy stud tool, figure on wasting at least 1 lug nut for every stud you pull in. Lube ‘em up good….

For lug nuts I ordered from ebay:
20pc Silver Chrome 1/2" Lug Nuts - Acorn Conical Seat ET Style Closed Ended

Note: You will have to slightly drill the wheels to accept these lugs. As I recall 5/8"...

Image

I am quite satisfied with the result.. The ride, steering, and handling are all noticeably improved. I worried about the plus-1 ride, but losing the Badyears made up for the reduced sidewall.

Image


Prolouge:

After all that, I fell into an 18” Cobra rim. Due to a couple of anomalies, the Cobra rim bolts right on with no mods!

Image

1. The Cobra 18x8 has slightly more offset, so spacers are not needed.
2. The Cobra 18x8 has a bigger bevel on the hub, causing it to clear the Jeep hub entirely. Note that you won’t be hub-centric, but it might not matter.

I sure hope this posting works… I'm no IT guy… :ALONE:


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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:14 am 
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Location: NJ
You need a bigger tire with those 18s lol

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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:06 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:12 am
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I liked the look with the Bullitt rims better, but that's just me. Those 18's need much larger tires!

Good research and modding to get this to work how you wanted.


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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 3:56 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:58 pm
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that Cobra 18 was a gift, and had a Mustang-sized tired on it.
I just wanted to verify the fit.
I too prefer the Bullits, although it could be due to the color.


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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:11 pm 
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Did you check American Racing Wheels? Their torque thrust line is very similar to the mustang wheels. I'd be surprised if they didn't make a 16x8. I wouldn't know the backspacing/offset though.

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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:07 am 
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For 18 inch rims you would need 255/55R18 tyres to keep them the same diameter as stock (29 inch)...And you wouldn't get far taking your KJ rock crawling with such low profile tyres, especially on alloy rims! One good knock against a rock with such a tyre could easily crack an alloy rim, and badly dent a steel rim so bad that it becomes unrepairable. If your not planning on going off road, ever, then fine, but it kind of defeats the object of having a 4WD Jeep, if you turn it into a vehicle that can't go off road!


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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:26 am 
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jeepsterkj wrote:
For 18 inch rims you would need 255/55R18 tyres to keep them the same diameter as stock (29 inch)...And you wouldn't get far taking your KJ rock crawling with such low profile tyres, especially on alloy rims! One good knock against a rock with such a tyre could easily crack an alloy rim, and badly dent a steel rim so bad that it becomes unrepairable. If your not planning on going off road, ever, then fine, but it kind of defeats the object of having a 4WD Jeep, if you turn it into a vehicle that can't go off road!


Who said he had a 4wd KJ? There are plenty of 2wds ot there...

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 Post subject: Re: Bullits to defend Liberty
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:38 pm 
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jeeptorino68 wrote:
jeepsterkj wrote:
For 18 inch rims you would need 255/55R18 tyres to keep them the same diameter as stock (29 inch)...And you wouldn't get far taking your KJ rock crawling with such low profile tyres, especially on alloy rims! One good knock against a rock with such a tyre could easily crack an alloy rim, and badly dent a steel rim so bad that it becomes unrepairable. If your not planning on going off road, ever, then fine, but it kind of defeats the object of having a 4WD Jeep, if you turn it into a vehicle that can't go off road!


Who said he had a 4wd KJ? There are plenty of 2wds ot there...


Really? Why would anyone buy a jeep that doesn't have 4WD??? That also defeats the object of getting a Jeep!


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