So I got a wandering eye, and stumbled on these old American Racing wheels for the lowered Bricknose F150… super cheap & super local. 15×10, mega-low offset, old-school 3-spoke style. Curiosity killed the cat, and I copped ‘em!
TIRES: Cooper Cobra Radial GTs in 295/50/15
The market for 15-inch tires is dwindling. Basically at this point you have 1) 90s econobox pizza-cutter fitment, 2) off-road MTs, or 3) race tires for Miatas. So thank God Cooper still makes the Cobras… a wide, meaty, manly, muscle car era tire. Even the name is badass.
PAINTing Wheels…
Before the Cooper Cobras got mounted, I decided to paint the wheels to blend into the patina of the truck. I sanded ‘em down by hand, and used 3-4 cans of SEM Trim Black (Charcoal Metallic #39033). This stuff was recommended to me years ago by a professional SEMA-level painter… for shade-tree type stuff. It lays down really evenly, and has proven to be durable in other applications where I’ve used it. I kept patient, and let the freshly-painted wheels cure for a week before I had the tires mounted… and the tire machine didn’t scuff the paint at all.
WHEEL ADAPTERS
1.5-inch spacers/adapters were used to adapt the bolt-pattern from Ford’s 5×5.5 to the wheel’s 5×4.5.
FLARES
Fenders & quarters were gonna have to be cut… no question about it. I wanted a JDM-style, simple plastic flare. And after trying a couple different sets, I felt like a concave flare fit the profile of the truck best. These are 60mm wide on the front, and 80mm on the rear.
Downsizing to a 15” wheel gave the ol’ lowered Bricknose F150 about another inch of drop…
And a more period-correct vibe in my opinion. It also took a lot of rotating mass off the truck, which you can definitely feel in acceleration.
SUSPENSION
DJM dream beams & rear axle flip kit
Defiant Motorsports frame notch
Hey man love the truck! Just wanted to ask you a question, I’m looking to do a JDM style truck with my 86 f150, just wanted to ask you how is the turn radius with your set up anything rubbing?
Nah no rubbing. But I’ve cut-out a lot of the OEM fenders & 1/4 panels, and removed the front inner fender liners.
What kind of running boards are those? Love the style you have done with this truck!
Hey I just found a set of OEM running boardsfrom that era on Marketplace & then painted them with SEM trim black.