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In our last installment, we saw what the five lug '93 Cobra wheels looked like on a '93 Cobra with the M2300K kit and long SN-95 axles. Now let's take a look at it with the Ranger axle/North Race Cars bracket conversion. First, a few words on the axle swap.
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It was easy. I used mid '80s Ranger left side axles from the boneyard, it took the removal of five axles from four pickups and one Bronco II to find two good ones with no brindling to the bearing area and no runout. I bead blasted the axles completely, then went over the bearing and seal portion with a wire wheel to clean them perfectly. I also wire wheeled the polished the machined area near the splines, because polishing smooths the metal, removing possible stress risers, and gives you a stronger axle. I then had both axles magnafluxed to make good and damn sure they were both tough enough, passed both mag tests. The Ranger studs were a little short, so I removed the studs from the SN-95 axles and swapped them in.
Alrighty then, good enough for Cobra work. While the rear end is all apart, it's always a good idea to install new oil seals, because of the labor required to get to them should there be a problem. 4 bucks each from NAPA, and US made (for the time being) so in they went. The NRC brackets are very well made parts, bolted right on with no drama whatsoever. They don't come with instructions, those are on their web site, and they don't say anything about using the Cobra anti-moan brackets. You need them, believe me. Without them, you guessed it, the rear brakes will moan on moderate application. To my surprise, they fit the new inboard location with the NRC brackets just fine, I was planning to have to cut and re-weld the clamp section further outward on the bracket, but it wasn't necessary. Nice.
The intermediate brackets that hold the calipers should be centered on the rotors, and due to manufacturing variation, they aren't always. For that reason, NRC includes a baggie of hardware, including washers to use as spacers for this bracket to center it, if necessary. The driver side didn't need spacers, it was perfectly centered as is. The passenger side did, but the supplied hardware store washers were too thick, they would offset the bracket to the other side. So I used machine shims instead, which, at .030, were about half as thick as the washers. Perfect. The rest went together without a hitch, I had to bend the metal portion of the soft hoses forward and slightly outward to give some slack to the rubber hoses to work in the calipers' new position.
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Note also the flipped quads, needed to clear the 275/40 tires. I also had to tweak the parking brake cable brackets a little to clear the tires. Refilled the rear end with new lube and Ford dealer friction modifier, and hey, everything works perfect. I especially like the new inboard position of the wheels, looks totally stock to my eyes.
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And, of course, the beauty shots with the caps installed, making the car look like a bone stocker with springs:
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I bought this car brand new in '93, and started playing with it almost immediately. I had fun returning it to a stock appearance, removing the "That's so ten years ago" windshield banner and Buick supercharged emblems from the hood, and the "That's so five years ago" clear headlights, swapping the originals back in. Long ago, I painted the louvered part of the cowl grille and the door handles a matching teal color, but I don't know if I should go back to black on them or not, it's the last non-stock touch on the car. Probably leave them like that for the time being, at least it's tasteful. I think.
Lastly, I'm not the only one who has these wheels on a car, am I? Post up your rides!
-MJS
It was easy. I used mid '80s Ranger left side axles from the boneyard, it took the removal of five axles from four pickups and one Bronco II to find two good ones with no brindling to the bearing area and no runout. I bead blasted the axles completely, then went over the bearing and seal portion with a wire wheel to clean them perfectly. I also wire wheeled the polished the machined area near the splines, because polishing smooths the metal, removing possible stress risers, and gives you a stronger axle. I then had both axles magnafluxed to make good and damn sure they were both tough enough, passed both mag tests. The Ranger studs were a little short, so I removed the studs from the SN-95 axles and swapped them in.
Alrighty then, good enough for Cobra work. While the rear end is all apart, it's always a good idea to install new oil seals, because of the labor required to get to them should there be a problem. 4 bucks each from NAPA, and US made (for the time being) so in they went. The NRC brackets are very well made parts, bolted right on with no drama whatsoever. They don't come with instructions, those are on their web site, and they don't say anything about using the Cobra anti-moan brackets. You need them, believe me. Without them, you guessed it, the rear brakes will moan on moderate application. To my surprise, they fit the new inboard location with the NRC brackets just fine, I was planning to have to cut and re-weld the clamp section further outward on the bracket, but it wasn't necessary. Nice.
The intermediate brackets that hold the calipers should be centered on the rotors, and due to manufacturing variation, they aren't always. For that reason, NRC includes a baggie of hardware, including washers to use as spacers for this bracket to center it, if necessary. The driver side didn't need spacers, it was perfectly centered as is. The passenger side did, but the supplied hardware store washers were too thick, they would offset the bracket to the other side. So I used machine shims instead, which, at .030, were about half as thick as the washers. Perfect. The rest went together without a hitch, I had to bend the metal portion of the soft hoses forward and slightly outward to give some slack to the rubber hoses to work in the calipers' new position.
Note also the flipped quads, needed to clear the 275/40 tires. I also had to tweak the parking brake cable brackets a little to clear the tires. Refilled the rear end with new lube and Ford dealer friction modifier, and hey, everything works perfect. I especially like the new inboard position of the wheels, looks totally stock to my eyes.
And, of course, the beauty shots with the caps installed, making the car look like a bone stocker with springs:
I bought this car brand new in '93, and started playing with it almost immediately. I had fun returning it to a stock appearance, removing the "That's so ten years ago" windshield banner and Buick supercharged emblems from the hood, and the "That's so five years ago" clear headlights, swapping the originals back in. Long ago, I painted the louvered part of the cowl grille and the door handles a matching teal color, but I don't know if I should go back to black on them or not, it's the last non-stock touch on the car. Probably leave them like that for the time being, at least it's tasteful. I think.
Lastly, I'm not the only one who has these wheels on a car, am I? Post up your rides!
-MJS
