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couple of q's with changing look from late to early
djnee - April 30th, 2009 at 11:58 AM

Nearly at the stage where i'm going to buy the parts to convert our 68 to give it an older look, but a couple of quick q's that hopefully you guys can help with!

Our car has 4 stud rims. Am i right in thinking there's some sort of adaptor that will convert from 4 to 5 stud to fit the older wheels or is it more involved?

Petrol tank... will a pre-67 petrol tank drop straight into our car?
Probably sounds daft but i love the way you have to open the bonnet on a pre-67 to fill it up....and if it's as easy as just changing the tank and welding up the flap then i'll probably do it if the older tank will just drop straight in.

Thanks for your ongoing help :)

Neil

Special Air Service - April 30th, 2009 at 08:55 PM

Petrol tank should just drop straight in (I think) someone will correct me if I'm wrong no doubt.

As far as wheels are concerned, yes you may be able to buy adapters to enadble you to go from 4 stud to wide 5 stud, but be aware that technically, wheels adapters are illegal in most states, & the added width of the adapters will increase your wheel track.

The other options is to retro fit earlier model drum brakes to the rear & buy aftermarket front brake setup that is wide 5 stud pattern.

OR there is currently a set of wide 5 front drum brakes & stub axles that fit a balljoint front suspension (which your beetle will have) on ebay. These are fairly hard to come by as far as I am aware. If you go this way you will need to be prepared for the fact that you will be downgrading your brake sysytem from front disks to drums.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VW-Volkswagen-Ball-Joint-Stub-Axle_W0QQitemZ1204114714...

Cheers
Brendan

silver - April 30th, 2009 at 09:22 PM

Buy mine $11K

djnee - April 30th, 2009 at 11:24 PM

Didn't realise this car had discs on front?? Not looked properly but i assumed they were drums all round..??


Quote:
Originally posted by Special Air Service
As far as wheels are concerned, yes you may be able to buy adapters to enadble you to go from 4 stud to wide 5 stud, but be aware that technically, wheels adapters are illegal in most states


Grrr!!! That's not so great :( Why are they illegal?
Do people still use them though and just keep it quiet?

I'm not that tech, so the thought of changing the whole brake system scares me a bit!
Can anyone tell me in simple terms the rough cost of fitting the earlier drum brakes to the rear etc....and exactly which aftermarket front brake set-up i'd need to be looking at.
Really didn't think changing from 4 to 5 stud would have been such hassle :(

Also is "wide 5 stud" just 5 stud?? If not, what is the difference with wide 5 and normal 5? (sorry...where im from they were just called 4 stud / 5 stud and we could just use an adaptor to convert!)

Thanks again for your advice :)