Uhhh... Which wheels?
Sorry about that. Go back to page 2. Pic didn’t take the first time.
Loudspeaker: “It looks like Car #8 is out of the race.”
See pathetic story below ...
So Today I called Paradise VW, no go on Narrowed trailing arms. I called SoCal imports. No leads on a shop who could do the work,. Left a message at Coolrydes. Old Speed would do the work, but no more than 1” each side. $650. Then they said I would need the shortened axles, $300 a pair. The guy at Old Speed said I should swap - out the IRS for swing axles. Nobody here is gonna let me do that. There is an ad on The Samba from Valley Autowerks who will do the pair at 1” for $300 plus shipping. Anything over an inch would be an extra $150. Prolly gonna go that route at the 1.5” rate. Mooreparts has the short Empi axle with cv boots for $108 ea. Last resort: If I pie cut along the top of the rear fenders, as was suggested, by the time I got another 1.5” where the wheel rubs, there would be a 4” gap at the back end of the car. Really don’t want to mess with the original lines of the car if I can help it.
BTW, took the Coupe out on it’s maiden voyage last night to grab a coffee with my wife. Had the car running and then she gets in and tries to recline her seat. She said she felt like she broke something in front of the seat. So I reach over to the side of her seat and pull the handle up. Works great. On our way out we stop at a station for gas. Put 5 gals in and we are ready to go! Turn the key, No power to anything. No starter, no battery, no lights. Check the battery connection, tight as can be. Must be at the starter or a fuse. We were 2 miles from home and it was nearing 9pm. Call a tow truck and wait another hour. Get home and now I am totally tweaked. Go to Speedster Owners to find suggestions. Second hit on my search shows “ Battery disconnect location”. Wait a minute! I run out to the car and right there in front of the passenger seat is a plastic key for a Battery disconnect (Aka the “Thing” my wife broke). Look under the seat, there it is. Then it dons on me, we were driving on alternator power all the way to the Gas station, the disconnect had been switched off after I had the car running. The car is trying to kill me. I am certain of it now ...it’s the madness, right?
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Have you enquired about having the rear wheels simply widened? It has got to be cheaper and easier to do than what you are contemplating... just saying
IaM-Ray posted:Have you enquired about having the rear wheels simply widened? It has got to be cheaper and easier to do than what you are contemplating... just saying
Hey Ray,
The wheels on there now are positive offset, so even if I were to widen these, the face of the wheel is just too darned close to the fender edge. Any aftermarket wheel would already be rubbing. If I had a 5.5” wheel with 5” of backspace, yah I would have more room inboard, but the face would still be right up against the fender edge. John at JPS said he sends the Coupes out with just enough room to pass a folded dollar between fender and tire. I think there are going to be a lot of folded dollars passing through to get a decent 5.5” tire in there.
Thanks for the reply,
Brian
Brian-
Yes. This is the madness. You've had your gimme'-- leave her stranded again, and this will become a solitary pursuit. Getting everything "just so" for Mrs. Brian will help you know your car better than you imagined possible.
To everybody,
The proximity of the face of the rear hub on a pan-based car with IRS to the wheel opening lip is just about 0" with an EMPI 4-lug rear disc-brake conversion. Re-centering the wheels is possible-- but to get enough space, the wheel selection will be limited in the extreme. There is a limit to how far out the center can be pushed, and a 4-1/2" wheel is already there-- and there isn't enough room to slide a credit-card between the sidewall and fender-lip.
Guys who have dealt with it successfully are the ones who understand that form follows function. Terry Nuckels outlined what he did to get 5-1/2" wheels under his 4-lug IRS classic body. Mahle gasburners are pushed out as far as a wheel can go. If you don't like the look, your other choices are... bumkis.
Pie-cutting the rear is MAJOR surgery-- and if the paint is good, it's pretty aggressive for what is trying to be accomplished.
Narrowing the trailing arms, and going with shorter axles is the way to do this. The prices quoted are pretty darned cheap in the big scheme of things.
Stan Galat posted:Brian-
Yes. This is the madness. You've had your gimme'-- leave her stranded again, and this will become a solitary pursuit. Getting everything "just so" for Mrs. Brian will help you know your car better than you imagined possible.
To everybody,
The proximity of the face of the rear hub on a pan-based car with IRS to the wheel opening lip is just about 0" with an EMPI 4-lug rear disc-brake conversion. Re-centering the wheels is possible-- but to get enough space, the wheel selection will be limited in the extreme. There is a limit to how far out the center can be pushed, and a 4-1/2" wheel is already there-- and there isn't enough room to slide a credit-card between the sidewall and fender-lip.
Guys who have dealt with it successfully are the ones who understand that form follows function. Terry Nuckels outlined what he did to get 5-1/2" wheels under his 4-lug IRS classic body. Mahle gasburners are pushed out as far as a wheel can go. If you don't like the look, your other choices are... bumkis.
Pie-cutting the rear is MAJOR surgery-- and if the paint is good, it's pretty aggressive for what is trying to be accomplished.
Narrowing the trailing arms, and going with shorter axles is the way to do this. The prices quoted are pretty darned cheap in the big scheme of things.
Stan, Thank you for that! This is what I have been trying to express, but you nailed it. Believe me, I am super happy that there is a solution at all. Yes, it boils down to accepting a wheel of the 914 type that is flat faced or taking that extra step. Gracias
Brian
These aren't 15-52's?
Bill Prout posted:These aren't 15-52's?
I really believe they are. The wheels are distributed worldwide and some of those dealers must modify them (?). I didn't notice the country where these were offered. Not on the Mainland.
When the fit is too close for a good night's sleep I've used a belt sander to slowly remove 1/4 " to 5/16" from the body lip. Leaving 50% of the lip maintains the rigidity that is needed.
Alan Merklin posted:When the fit is too close for a good night's sleep I've used a belt sander to slowly remove 1/4 " to 5/16" from the body lip. Leaving 50% of the lip maintains the rigidity that is needed.
There you go, right from the masters mouth/fingers.
Thanks Stan for reminding me that my comments were completely related to a non- pan based car.... Sorry Brian up here we only know IM’s and it never dawned on me about the pan 
Ray
Stan Galat posted:Brian-.
Pie-cutting the rear is MAJOR surgery-- and if the paint is good, it's pretty aggressive for what is trying to be accomplished.
If you need to put 8” wheels on the back, you need to pie cut.
Otherwise, don’t even think about it, because it is a major undertaking. 
Technomagmesio wheels are 5" wide and the offset is a bit different than a Mangles steel wheel.
What is it that we are trying to accomplish again?
Okay, re-read post 1. The simplest fix here is to go back to drums in the rear. If you have quality discs up front, rear drums are fine for the rear. You aren't going to be flogging this thing so hard that rear discs are really going to matter.
Going with narrowing the rear axles? How big ofna tire do you want back there?
TRP posted:Technomagmesio wheels are 5" wide and the offset is a bit different than a Mangles steel wheel.
What is it that we are trying to accomplish again?
Okay, re-read post 1. The simplest fix here is to go back to drums in the rear. If you have quality discs up front, rear drums are fine for the rear. You aren't going to be flogging this thing so hard that rear discs are really going to matter.
Going with narrowing the rear axles? How big ofna tire do you want back there?
I have 4.5” wheels with 185/65’s and as I say, the tire is right there against the body. I would like 5.5 - 6” wheels that arent flat faced and maybe 185/60’s at the most. Since the rear discs are ghia units, how much will that bring the wheels in per side by switching to drums?
"rear discs are ghia units" - The front could be Ghia sourced or the reproduced versions but the backs are something else as the Karmann Ghia never had rear discs. The rear disc conversions usually require accommodation for a hand/emergency brake so a normal front caliper won't work. I don't think aftermarket rear 4 bolt disc add to width?
I know there are different width rear brake drums - T3 had wider ones T1 (its a popular conversion for better rear brakes). The 68-on IRS rear brakes also have a wider ~1 5/8" brake shoe than the 1 3/16" wide earlier swing axle shoes." So 7/16" or near 1/2" difference each side!. The brake shoes too are narrower so less rear braking. Not sure what it would take to fit older drums (shoes, backing plates, machining of snout?). Here's photo of Thing vs bug rear drums - you can see width difference but snout 36mm bolt area is same.
Bill Prout posted:Alan Merklin posted:When the fit is too close for a good night's sleep I've used a belt sander to slowly remove 1/4 " to 5/16" from the body lip. Leaving 50% of the lip maintains the rigidity that is needed.
There you go, right from the masters mouth/fingers.
I saw an interview with Rod Emory and Jay Leno. Rod was explaining that when they lowered his Black 356 Coupe, they radiused the wheelwells by 2” for clearance. Have to visualize that possibility.
TRP posted:You aren't going to be flogging this thing so hard that rear discs are really going to matter.
That’s a BIG statement.
Perhaps you won’t drive hard enough for it to matter, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
I’m also wondering why there is such amazing resistance to something that is not all that uncommon in the larger VW community. What Brian is talking about will clearly work, and it’s exactly what I would be doing in his situation.
Stan Galat posted:TRP posted:You aren't going to be flogging this thing so hard that rear discs are really going to matter.That’s a BIG statement.
Perhaps you won’t drive hard enough for it to matter, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
I’m also wondering why there is such amazing resistance to something that is not all that uncommon in the larger VW community. What Brian is talking about will clearly work, and it’s exactly what I would be doing in his situation.
Well I am not in a hurry to de-tune some of the cars features. There are a couple of areas near me where I might do some mountain driving ( Motor willing). It would be nice to know they are there if needed.
Brian
I guess it all boils down to how crazy do you want to get.
Good luck with your decision.
Ted
TRP posted:I guess it all boils down to how crazy do you want to get.
Good luck with your decision.
Ted
We’ve now established that Brian has been afflicted with the madness. Now it’s just a matter of spending his money for him in the most rapid way possible.
If you wanna’ play, ya’ gotta’ pay.
MUST BUY THIS, MUST BUY THAT. I hear and I obey ...
Really, Thanks to all guys that replied. I think I know what I need to do and everyone has been truly helpful. Appreciate it.
Brian