Aftermarket Wheels for 1983 Mirada

moreada

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Hello all,

I am considering new wheels for my Mirada, as new tires are a must. I have seen many photos of Mirada's with factory wheels off of other Chrysler's and Dodge's but not many aftermarket wheels. There are a plethora of beautiful wheels out there, but have a hard time picturing them on my burgundy red 1983 Mirada. While I may consider some factory wheels, I am also looking for ideas and suggestions on aftermarket wheels.

What aftermarket wheels do you folks like? Has anyone gone up to say, a 17" wheel? How did it look? I am hoping to get my car to sit a bit lower as well, nothing crazy. Tasteful like some of the others on this board - I understand this isn't done by wheels and tires necessarily, just giving an idea for the look. Thanks in advance.
 

moreada

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Those are really nice. I like them. I am unsure how 17's would look on my car. I just pulled it out and its gonna need some work, so it won't be a huge rush, but still requires some careful planning. I have to say, the pricing on those are quite appealing. The lip on the wheels is a must I think. Looks very choice.
 

kkritsilas

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If I can ever get the money together, the Thrashstars will be going on my CMX. I'm putting the Chrysler snowflakes on my Cordoba, and 5 on 5s on the base Mirada.
 

Joe12459

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I've posted a few photos here somewhere, of my Mirada with OE Wheels 17" Bullitt style wheels, 245 45 17 front and 275 50 17 rear. They look pretty good and fit well.
 

moreada

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Joe, Looking good. I see you have a Hemi. Rad! Did it require lots of cutting etc? Got a build thread?

kkritsilas - I'm jealous, would love to find some 5 on 5's. In the meantime, my friend offered up a set of 225/55/16 tires, and since money is tight, if I can find cheap 16" wheels to mount them on, I may use them as a stopgap.
 

Joe12459

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Joe, Looking good. I see you have a Hemi. Rad! Did it require lots of cutting etc? Got a build thread?

kkritsilas - I'm jealous, would love to find some 5 on 5's. In the meantime, my friend offered up a set of 225/55/16 tires, and since money is tight, if I can find cheap 16" wheels to mount them on, I may use them as a stopgap.

I posted some build details on a previous thread, started by another member looking for gen 3 Hemi info. My goal was to complete the entire build without making any permanent, or non-reversible mods to the Mirada. All of the cutting and modification was done to the Charger parts. I used an AlterKtion front suspension and mounted the engine about 4 inches forward of the stock small block location, which allowed me to use the NAG1 trans with no tunnel or firewall modification. The only actual body/structural mod I did was in the passenger side front floor pan. I cut and flattened the hump in the floor where the factory catalytic converter was. The car is otherwise all original body and structure.
 

slant6billy

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Maybe some BBS with some offset. Modern wheels tend to hide all the offset with deep seated lug holes or have no offset (No wheel lip to the outside). Too much outward offset and you wreck your turning radius on the front and you get rubbing. too wide out the back- rubbing. Mirada's have an elegance and refinement
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, so you have to go with some nice wheels. Billet specialties, Boyd, Foose, Big money, but the Mirada deserves some other than run of the mill PEP boy's specials that any kid with a mazda can buy. Centerline Auto drag (Solid with no holes, just bolts) could be the cheapest and still keep the Black tie elegance, but still get some meaty tires on them. Recommend you stay with 15 inch dia rims unless you installed some massive 4 piston brakes, you don't need the extra clearance. 15 inchers have a good selection of rubber and won't brake the bank. Your car's wheel arch is better with a 15. That's my too cents, if it made any sense.

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mirada80

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I have the '71 Ralley Wheel on mine, and here is a mirada with what looks like a newer style 16" or 17" Torque Thrust
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moreada

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I have to admit... because they're Mopar, the Rallye wheels look quite nice. Not sure about the 15 vs 17 argument. Some good cases for both. I've seen some Auto Drag and American Racing wheels that look similar come up, but unless its a crazy deal I may hold out for 5 on 5 or CMX wheels. I've tried to find 15" Rallye but they're few and far between. The 17 Rallye from Year One look boss on older Mopar cars.

I am curious the offset of our wheels? What should I be looking for? And width wise, do you have any suggestions for staggering etc?

My friend offered me up some pretty new 225/55/R16 tires for a six pack, so I have those as a temporary option. I'm eyeing up some American Racing 16s for cheap... they will be a stop gap for now.

Another option is to just put new tires on my steels and go from there. Not sure if the tires I buy for them would swap over to any other 15, but that is my hope. Way back, these hubcaps were Pontiac, as one of the turbine covers went missing. I had a vinyl place cut me up a set of PentaStar centre decals... still going strong after 10 years. Apologies for the sideways photo... phone is not so smart i guess... or im stupid for taking a vertical shot :p

So should I just throw new rubber on the existing wheels and put my money into the rest of the car, waiting till a pair of ideal 15x7 come up?

Sorry for all of the questions... kind of compulsive question asker.

Thanks for your help so far. Keep up the nice builds.

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moreada

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What is the Offset of the wheels you can put on these cars? I know the pattern is 5X4.5" but am unsure what offset to look for in used wheels? Many sites say they offer nothing for my car, but I find it hard to believe, and just assume the computer is not as smart as the crowd at FMJ Bodies ;) Thanks
 

Miradaman

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You can make cheap rally wheels from an old set of cop car wheels. Repaint them in silver metallic, an chrome lugnuts, and a set of trim rings from the parts store. BTDT
 

Cordoba1

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I have a set of 5 on 5s that I had powder coated in grey. They aren't really for sale, but if the right offer came along.... I have a set of black lug nuts for these, too:

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