Mercury Grand Marquis HPP Mesh Wheels on 1st Gen Ranger?

[TABrinn]

Does anyone have experience running the deep dish (Pre-2003) MGM HPP Mesh wheels on their Rangers? I just got an 87 STX Supercab and had them laying around from another project but went ahead and mounted than with 225/60/16 tires to keep the OEM outer diameter the same, accurate speed, etc. Even at stock 2wd ride height it looks perfect... Way better than the MGM ever looked sporting them!

My only real question is... there appears to be a slight gap between the wheel center bore and the front hub snout. Is this supposed to be this way? My research is mixed, some saying these 1st gen Rangers are supposed to be lug centric while others saying bearing the weight on the lugs alone is suicidal. IS there a spacer available to fill this gap to make it hub-centric?

I know... I need to get some pics posted!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

First gen Rangers are lug centric, the center bore should not be tight to anything.

I knew there was some discussion on those wheels recently, I dug it up for you but it doesn't have much to do with a first gen.

Post in thread 'What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)'

Sep 24, 2026

Next load going to the highschool.
The ranger will get the wiring smoke put back in.
The small engines are getting donated to the automotive course to get fixed and sold, proceeds to go to the race truck that was donated last month.

• alwaysFlOoReD

• 

If the wheels are lug centric you are done, you can't do both.

The lugs don't really bear the weight per say. When torqued correctly they clamp the wheel to the hub and the friction between the wheel and hub is what really carries the weight.

It has been working great for over 100 years.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I will be mounting these rims onto a 1977 Ford pinto once I change from 4 lug to 5 lug. I ran these on my 93 work ranger for years with no problems. But mine are 15". They are lug centric.

 

[Ranger850]

I grabbed these from a '93 or '95 Mercury, put them on my '97 Lincoln TC after finding center caps at a JY, and then put them on my '01 Ranger Edge. No issues at all.

 

[TABrinn]

First gen Rangers are lug centric, the center bore should not be tight to anything.

I knew there was some discussion on those wheels recently, I dug it up for you but it doesn't have much to do with a first gen.

Post in thread 'What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)'

Sep 24, 2026

Next load going to the highschool.
The ranger will get the wiring smoke put back in.
The small engines are getting donated to the automotive course to get fixed and sold, proceeds to go to the race truck that was donated last month.

• alwaysFlOoReD

• 

If the wheels are lug centric you are done, you can't do both.

The lugs don't really bear the weight per say. When torqued correctly they clamp the wheel to the hub and the friction between the wheel and hub is what really carries the weight.

It has been working great for over 100 years.

Those are not quite the same as mine. The Pre-2003 MGM HPP Mesh wheels have a much deeper dish with almost zero offset. They were made by Enkie for Ford but look look like the old-school BBS mesh wheels that were all the rage with Euro tuner crowd through the 90's... perfect for a 87 Ranger street truck build.

Good to know they should be fine supported by the lugs alone... "Lug-Centric." Just seems strange, but it is a very light truck with 5-lugs, so it should be strong enough.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Good to know they should be fine supported by the lugs alone... "Lug-Centric." Just seems strange, but it is a very light truck with 5-lugs, so it should be strong enough.

Hub centric didn't really start becoming a thing until the late 90's, everything before that was lug centric. Even now it isn't across the board, my wife's 2022 Bronco is still lug centric.

 

[pjtoledo]

unless it's a press fit there is at least some clearance between the wheel & hub on all wheels.
the center bore just helps locate the wheel, lugs & friction do all the real work.

of course this assumes you don't have bent studs.