'03 Crown vic wheels on '02 Crown vic

[Mutt's37Buick]

Here's my latest idea for my '37 Buick.
I'm evaluiating grafting a '02, or older, Crown Vic front suspension onto by '37 Buick. '03 crown vics have 2" offset wheels with matching 4 x 4.5"
Does anyone know if I can run '03 of newer wheels on a '02 of older crown vic front suspension to narrow the wheel track by 4 inches?
Thanks

 

[rainman]

I own a 02 C/V and I know they changed wheels in 03. But I always thought they went metric between 02, and 03! I could be wrong though.
Mine has 17 inch wheels and 16's wont fit because of the brakes. I think even if the pattern is the same, that might be the problem you run into!!

 

[Mutt's37Buick]

I did find in several internet places that the CV wheels for 02 & 03+ have 4x4.5" pattern same as Mustangs. I believe '02 CV wheels have zero offset and '03 wheels have 50mm (2inch) offset or more backspace. '02- & '03+ have wheel tracks 63.4 front and 65.3 back for so the mount surface on '03+ must have shifted out 4" side to side. That is why I think I could put '03 wheels on a '02 front suspension and pull it in 4 inches side to side for a front track of 59.4". My question is will the '03 wheels interfere with the steering & suspension of the 02. Hoping some one has done this so I could verify. This still may not be enough, but it is a lot closer if it will work.
Thanks

 

[rainman]

What type wheel are you planning on running? Steel, aluminum, factory, aftermarket?
My C/V is a sport model has 17's, most are 16's, also the police cars with steel wheels seem to have wider wheels with a little more offset!!!
So what type wheel you want to run is probably going to dictate whether you can do what you want!!

A better way of explaining what you're talking about is, (backspacing).
That is what you'll need to know!!

What you're saying sounds reasonable, but I know noone who's tried it!!

 

[Mutt's37Buick]

Not sure on wheel type yet. 16" preferred, 17" would be ok. Learned that 05 mustang wheel has back space of 6.296 on an 8" wide wheel which I believe adds up to 59.91 front track. This is getting close to the original Buick front track of 58.3. Still not sure if there will be adequete clearance inside. Still hoping someone else has tried this and can validate for me.
Thanks

 

[rainman]

The way mine is made, I would think brakes would be the biggest issue, not steering!! I'm assuming, and only assuming that mine has bigger brakes than some. So that will also have to be watched! Good Luck!!

 

[sgtpontiac]

I've got some 16 and 17 inch cop wheels here

they all seem to have a large offset and are 8" wide.... if you'd like, I can measure them and see exactly what the offset is...the 16's are off 05's and the 17's are off 08's.... they are all 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern...even if they are metric measured they still fit 4.5.... I was going to use them as trailer wheels but they have too much offset..... let me know, i'll give you the exact measurment of the wheels.....