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Ok, first let me say that being the pioneer of this procedure...I did so because I wanted to be different, therefore putting these wheels on my SVO knowing it would be difficult for others to duplicate. I did the same thing by putting '03 Cobra wheels on my Mark VII(something NOBODY in their right mind would repeat!).
Anyway, I get so many emails and phone calls on this and though I don't mind helping people out I just don't have the time to repeat it constantly over email and phone...so to save people the trouble and to clear up some misconceptions I'll give a breif overveiw here
First....I DID NOT modify the wheel itself....doing so will eliminate your chances of EVER installing a center cap. They are NOT a direct bolt-on and require work and expense.
The rear wheels bolt right on so no mods are needed there...however you may need to roll your fender lips for tire clearance.
Option 1...stock suspension/brakes: The front rotor is machined down outward of the bearing race to the same thickness as the dust cap and down far enough to clear the wheel(don't ask me the exact dimensions as I do not remember). You will have to remove the lug studs and do this on a lathe. The machined area being outward of the bearing race has no structural effect on the rotor(I have road raced mine for years now).
Should you choose this route then your next problem will be center caps. I had my center caps custom made by a member of this club and this required the use of the original center caps to cut up plus his labor and fiberglass fabrication using a mold he made himself. You can expect to invest nearly $300 into this if you do not have center caps and have to buy new ones...otherwise you can expect a $250 price tag to make these as it is VERY labor intensive.
Option 2: Modify the front suspension for SN-95 brakes. You can either machine the spindle to fit the larger SVO ball joint and replace your original struts with SN-95 struts or you can replace the lower control arms/spindle/struts with SN-95 parts. You will need to replace both the inner and outer tie rod ends with SN-95 parts. If you try to use the stock SVO struts with SN-95 lower control arms then you will have to "rig/modify" the control arm by cutting a hole and building a pocket for the strut to clear.
Tires....I don't care what anyone says about 245/45 17's clearing...they DO NOT completely clear without ever rubbing somewhere. I have found a better choice is a 235/40 17 which is nearly the same diameter of the stock SVO tire size. We installed a set of 17X8 3 spoke GT wheels on Bud Mortons lowered SVO with the 235/40 size tires and then proceeded to load his car with a spare set of wheels and tires and he experienced NO rubbing at all during any type of driving. We DID roll his rear fender lips for added clearance though. On my own car with the Bullitt wheels, I experienced rubbing before modifying the rear fender lips and the car is not lowered...however the only time the tires scrubbed was with a full load(as in loading the car down for a trip to a Reunion).
Again, I went through this trouble/expense to make my car different...so if a bunch of SVOs start showing up with Bullitt wheels, you can count on me taking them off mine and looking for something else...but next time I won't give away the secrets
Anyway, I get so many emails and phone calls on this and though I don't mind helping people out I just don't have the time to repeat it constantly over email and phone...so to save people the trouble and to clear up some misconceptions I'll give a breif overveiw here
First....I DID NOT modify the wheel itself....doing so will eliminate your chances of EVER installing a center cap. They are NOT a direct bolt-on and require work and expense.
The rear wheels bolt right on so no mods are needed there...however you may need to roll your fender lips for tire clearance.
Option 1...stock suspension/brakes: The front rotor is machined down outward of the bearing race to the same thickness as the dust cap and down far enough to clear the wheel(don't ask me the exact dimensions as I do not remember). You will have to remove the lug studs and do this on a lathe. The machined area being outward of the bearing race has no structural effect on the rotor(I have road raced mine for years now).
Should you choose this route then your next problem will be center caps. I had my center caps custom made by a member of this club and this required the use of the original center caps to cut up plus his labor and fiberglass fabrication using a mold he made himself. You can expect to invest nearly $300 into this if you do not have center caps and have to buy new ones...otherwise you can expect a $250 price tag to make these as it is VERY labor intensive.
Option 2: Modify the front suspension for SN-95 brakes. You can either machine the spindle to fit the larger SVO ball joint and replace your original struts with SN-95 struts or you can replace the lower control arms/spindle/struts with SN-95 parts. You will need to replace both the inner and outer tie rod ends with SN-95 parts. If you try to use the stock SVO struts with SN-95 lower control arms then you will have to "rig/modify" the control arm by cutting a hole and building a pocket for the strut to clear.
Tires....I don't care what anyone says about 245/45 17's clearing...they DO NOT completely clear without ever rubbing somewhere. I have found a better choice is a 235/40 17 which is nearly the same diameter of the stock SVO tire size. We installed a set of 17X8 3 spoke GT wheels on Bud Mortons lowered SVO with the 235/40 size tires and then proceeded to load his car with a spare set of wheels and tires and he experienced NO rubbing at all during any type of driving. We DID roll his rear fender lips for added clearance though. On my own car with the Bullitt wheels, I experienced rubbing before modifying the rear fender lips and the car is not lowered...however the only time the tires scrubbed was with a full load(as in loading the car down for a trip to a Reunion).
Again, I went through this trouble/expense to make my car different...so if a bunch of SVOs start showing up with Bullitt wheels, you can count on me taking them off mine and looking for something else...but next time I won't give away the secrets
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