mk3 tire rub

[Wolffbone]

after putting up with a tire rub for about a year and having to baby car to keep from tearing up body , got bmr adjustable rear control arms and moved the rear end a half inch to passenger side and that put tire in a better location as it was sticking out 1" more on drivers side it is now pretty even looking . Got to thinking hey i should check where rear end and body are in location to frame . Found body from wheel wells to frame is off about 3/4" no i'm thinking rear end shouldn't have been moved maybe the body wasn't put on right......any ideas how much of a pain is it to shift the body on a finished car.......

[Wolffbone]

not even one response feel kinda bad reached out for help and .........nothing

[egchewy79]

I have a MK4 but rear adjustability is limited. Make sure rear axle is centered to the frame, not the body. I can't really think of how to adjust rear body without widening the QJ holes and possibly the roll bar holes. You'd need to realign the trunk lid as well.

[Jeff Kleiner]

The rear of the body is pretty much locked in by the quick jacks and roll bar. We’ve discussed this before and the root of your issue is an incorrect rear end and rims with excessive offset.

Jeff

[Wolffbone]

thanks Jeff for your help got rear end centered with bmr adjustable rear control arms trying to get idea how to go forward with a correct rear end appears when i get new rear i am going to need new axles coil over mounts disc brakes and disc brake mounts how much is transferable from 7.5 rear end or will everything need replaced

[Wolffbone]

egchewy adjusted rear to center within 1/16 on frame to axle ends with new control arms before i buy new axle need to make sure length of donor 8.8 isnt same an one i have now the 7.5 is 60.250 from wheel mount face with 5 lug axles

[Wolffbone]

Jeff i had tire shop check my rims they are 10x15 with a 6 inch backspace are those wrong with 275 60 15 tires

[Jeff Kleiner]

Wolffbone,

This is the car, right?

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=142973&d=1613747557

I remember we talked about this last February


As for the tire rub you have at least two, likely three things working against you.


Originally Posted by Wolffbone
...275x60x15bf goodrich radial ta tires...

1. Rear tires that are too tall


Originally Posted by Wolffbone
...the rear end came from 1995 mustang...

2. A rear axle that is too wide


Originally Posted by Wolffbone
..the wheels are american racing 5 spoke....

3. It's very likely that these wheels have the wrong offset and backspace, especially given the fact that they had to use a pretty significant spacer in the front.

As for the poor braking my bet is that when the booster was eliminated the builder failed to do the pedal modification to change it to the proper leverage.

Good luck,
Jeff


If we go back to those points:

1) The 60 series tire is too tall. A 275/60-15 tire is 28" tall; a 295/50-15 runs 26.5" and 275/50-15 is about 25.8"

2) The intended Fox width rear is 59" mounting surface to mounting surface.

3) The Factory Five recommended 15" rim is 9" wide with a 5.48" backspace (note that backspace and offset are not the same thing)

It's all adding up to push the wheel and tire outward beyond the body and with the extra tall tire the rear ride height has to be excessive so that the tires don't contact the body. I know this isn't what you want to hear but that's the way it is...you're going to need to get the correct width rear end (I really wouldn't put the effort into converting the weak 7.5 to Fox width) with proper sized tires and rims. I've built two cars for customers with 15" tires; 295/50-15 on the Factory Five 9" wide Halibrand replicas and Fox width rear ends. This is how that all stacks up:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/Untitled-5.jpg

Good luck,
Jeff

[Wolffbone]

Thanks for the help Jeff means alot do you recall what size tires you used on the front of the above car

[Jeff Kleiner]

Thanks for the help Jeff means alot do you recall what size tires you used on the front of the above car

235/60-15

Jeff