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Yeah, I'm about spent on this. I just got off the phone with Daniel and he couldn't say if the adapter route would work because they are out of stcok. They may have them in a week or so. I sincerely doubt it could work. I can't see how the head of a 4 bolt lug will be thin enough to allow the drum cover to fit. The adapters are 3/8" and I didn't measure the lug bolt head but I feel safe in saying it's thicker that 3/8".

I'll hold out a little hope but I'm losing this fight. I can't justify spending $2300 to put wide 5's on my car. It's really pissing me off because I set out to create the "car I always wanted" and I STILL have to compromise! I'm having a new engine, trans and exhaust done. I've ordered all the necessary trim to replicate a Carrera and I still have to look at those god awful 4 bolt POS wheels! The time and money it'll take to do this is going to put me off so I'm kinda in a lose lose situation. I think it's F'n ridiculous that this is such an ordeal. I mean, does everyone with an IRS on a speedster have to shell out $2300 for a wide 5's?
Mickey, I saw a picture of a 356B or C Carrera (or GS - not sure) with Minilite-style wheels that I though looked spectacular. I think it had been converted to 4-bolt. Panasport has those wheels for ~$900 a set, and Superlite has them a little cheaper. Just a thought. The whole wide-5 thing sure sounds like a lot of trouble. I may do that to my car at some point.

EDIT: My mistake. The car had later model 5-bolt hubs, but that's not really very noticeable. Here's the picture.

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Images (1)
  • Panasport 356
Paul,
Are you talking putting drums all around? I just can't bring myself to bail on discs to go to drums. Not that drums are bad, it's that I still have to take a perfectly functional brake system out and replace it with another. Yeah, it may be half the cost of a new disc set up but at that point we're talking the same time/labor for a slightly inferior setup just to save a couple hundred bucks. Oh, I bought the wide 5 front rotors from Cip1. They are replacement rotors for thier wide 5 disc kit. The thing that really pisses me off about all of this is that I ASKED the guy if I could use them to replace 4 bolt discs when I ordered them "Yeah, no problem" I believe was the response. I should have learned my lesson the first time when they told me the wide 5 15x4.5 stock wheels had the exact same offset as the 4 bolt 15x4.5 stock wheels - WHICH THEY DON'T!!!!!

Larry,
Could elaborate on your way? Even if I could put a new spindle to fit the wide 5 rotor, I still have the issue of the caliper not fitting on. I have NO IDEA what 4 bolt disc set up I have so I can't even say what rotor would fit the caliper even if I did get the right spindle.
The fun continues!!!!!

Hey, guess how much it costs to ship drums, rotors and a set of wheels from Delaware to Washington? If you guessed a $hitload you're correct!!!! $300!
It's looking like no matter what I do now I'm diggin into the wallet again. On one hand I can't justify replacing a perfectly good 4 bolt front disc system, and on the other hand I can't justify spending $300 to ship it all back. I'm trying to find a more affordable way to keep what I have and get it to work. I'll need new calipers at the very least. These are the rotors I have. Anyone know what I have to do to get these to work, without buying a whole new disc set up?

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C13%2D22%2D2962%2DB
When you try to put those rotors onto the spindles that you have on your car, what doesn't fit?

What fits?

Explain the situation/procedure step by step in simple terms.

I'll bet that they can be made to work fine by swapping out spindles or calipers or shimming or even scoring different mounting brackets, but you're probably going to have to break the beam down to the trailing arms and begin anew.

If you're in too deep to bail, it's time to get greasy, no other option other than putting them up on TheSamba or Ebay and noting either "for local pick-up only" or "shipping extra."

Luck ! ! !
Never mind, I know what's up now. Just "talked" with a handful of buddies and you're pretty much doomed. Those rotors, as you mentioned are replacement rotors for a kit, the kit is comprised of some off the shelf and some proprietary pieces. I think that the rotors might be Rabbit even. Anyway, that rotor only fits their set-up.

Obviously, you gonna have to get everything back to them, maybe USPO or Greyhound or even DSL (cheapest but kinda unreliable)and begin again . . . or not. The rear drums and wheels will sell anywhere, the rotors . . . not so much.

Luck
I appreciate your insight TC. Nothing is out of the question yet. It may come to drums, we'll see? I have been on this project since May. All the time gathering info and parts to be able to knock it out quick once started because I hate not being able to drive my car. I was looking to do the rear work (new arms & axles), the drums & rotors and adjust the ride height as needed all within 2-3 days. I'm fortunate to have a friend that has a repair shop and he lets me use his tools, equipment and expertise, but the last thing I want to do is be in the way of the other guys when they're trying to make money. Being that this has taken as long as it has I feel OK about waiting a little longer. My guess is it'll take at least this week to figure out what direction I have to go and then at least a week or two to get what I need. Which will probably be right around the time my engine and trans arrive. So who knows, it may all fall together nicely?
As I mentioned, I'm gonna take a long hard look at it monday and should have pretty good idea of whether I can make these rotors work. And I still plan to get the rear narrowed up and the drums on back there. So I should have enough to keep me busy until the necessary parts for the front arrive, whether they be a new drum set up, calipers, new kit, whatever it turns out to be?
I'm pretty sure that those are Rabbit calipers that come in the kit. They were when the kits first came out anyway. Now that I look at the images, those rotors are two piece assemblies aren't they? Most likely a collection of parts that work together and fit the spindles, neither Rabbit not Ghia alone.

I thought that the problems were in the rotors not fitting the spindles?

If you're still bent on making what you bought fit what you have, you'll need to talk with a tech at CIP1 (or wherever you got the parts) and see if you can find out what they sold you, where the parts originated, and what additional brackets or whatever they will sell from their kit in order to make all of what you have fit together and work correctly.

You know that CIP1 isn't manufacturing anything, they're either shelf-shopping or buying these from someone who is. A caliper from here, a rotor hat from there, a set of inner bearing from one place and outers from another. If you plead your case, you might get the info necessary to mix and match your own kit together.

Otherwise . . . . SEND 'EM ALL BACK ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! And consider it a costly lesson well learned.

Oh, you know that you're only gonna gain a smidge by narrowing an IRS and it's not an easy procedure, right?

When I put the rotor on I'm pretty sure it fit OK once I removed the backing plate. It was the caliper that was the issue, so the spindles may be alright. The rotor IS supposed to be for thier ball joint kit.
The plan is to try to get them to send me the parts I NEED and not the entire kit. I know Cip1 isn't doing anything but selling stuff. That's kinda why I'm where I'm at now, I asked, what I thought, were all the important and relative questions and still got inaccurate info. So it's safe to say they aren't intimately familiar with their product. I've pleaded my case, so much so, they know me as 'Mickey, the front rotor guy'.
As far as the narrowing the rear goes, I'm supposed to pick up 1.5" on either side when it's done. I'll be happy if I can get the 4.5" wide 5's on with a decent size tire. It remains to be seen what I'll get away with as both sides are not equal.
What's the probability of successfully completing a mix-n-match job? Anyone out there ever do anything like this?
Thanks Alan. I'll be making lots of calls tomorrow. The latest in the 'fun never stops' log is it seems most places are out of stock on front disc conversions. So even if I do figure out what'll work I won't be able to get parts for who knows how long? Boy, I just can't stand all the learning I'm doing! Learning is so much F'n fun!
If I have to I'll send the rotors back and take the $70 hit. Then I'll just order a new kit from CB or So Cal. I think I'm done with Cip1 when it comes to anything other than accessories, ect.... we'll see how they do tomorrow before I give up on them completely.
Larry just posted this link in answer to someone else's posting:

http://www.cncbrakes.com/prodgroup.asp?grp=dbk

Looks like your rotors may have come from these folks. Click around and check out the kits and such that they offer, they may have the brackets that you need for the calipers.

Luck!

TC
YIKES! I just got off the phone with CNC, their set up is $1100!
I have the guy at Cip1 trying to get me JUST the calipers and brackets for the rotors I have now. He said they're an Empi product (yuck) and he may be able to get them seperately.
I think for now that's my only realistic hope. Otherwise it's shipping the rotors back and buying a the complete kit from So Cal or someone else.
I think TC is right. The Rabbit calipers look very similar to the ones for the kit but it's the bracket that's be the tricky part.
Mickey
according to the link on CIP1 for the Wide 5 Discs. you posted, these Discs are replacement discs for thier C13-22-2885 kit.
The C13-22-2885 kit states that it's for DRUM brake ball joint spindles.
If your car has ball joint DISC brakes now, all you should have to do to use your wide-5 discs is to replace the ball joint DISC spindles with ball joint DRUM spindles to make your new wide 5 parts fit.
Of course if that is the answer, You still have to come up with the calipers, brackets, etc. as shown for the C13-22-285 kit. Which means you need to buy the kit sans rotors to make it work
OR
see if they make the same kit to work with ball joint DISC brake spindles.
I have some stock DRUM brake spindles if you want to see how/if they fit. They're yours if you want them.
It'll cost you a beer for me to bring em down to your place. Make that two beers. I'll bring the spousal unit with me.

Greg
PS
I also have a new set of ball joint DISC brake spindles from CBPerformance that are 2.5 in. dropped if you're interested.
Greg, you could be a savior! Let me wrap my head around this and see where I am with Cip1 and I'll let you know.

How can I tell what spindles I DO have?

I know I have a ball joint front end and I know there are 4 bolt discs on there.
As far as the spindle/rotor thing goes - I took the 4 bolt rotor off, removed the races, put them in the 5 bolt rotor, put the 5 bolt rotor on the spindle and it DIDN'T fit. Then after I took the backing plate off the 5 bolt rotor seemed to fit fine, seals in, snugged up, no looseness. Then I grabbed the caliper and try to slide it on the rotor and that's when I realized I was screwed.

Can anyone decifer from what I just wrote what kind of spindles I would currently have?

Greg,
If it turns out I need those you can bring the WHOLE family down for dinner and as many beers as you want, all on me!
If you had four lug rotors on there, they're Ghia disk brake spindles, rotors and calipers, no doubt !! Other than the new rotors being non-standard items, I don't know why you would need to remove your backing plates to mount the new spindles.

You're most likely going to HAVE to opt for the ball joint Beetle drum spindles to correctly use your after-market rotors and whatever adapter brackets you can get off of CIP1. That will just leave the caliper itself. Maybe try Autozone or your local version for a pair of loaded Rabbit calipers. Bring the splindle/rotor and adapter with just to be sure that the kit actually uses the Rabbit unit. That really hasn't been confirmed as yet.

Maybe?
Mickey:

Drum Brake Spindles:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D4165%2DFG

Disc Brake Spindles:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D4166%2DFG

Note the mounting holes for calipers on the Disc brake spindles
Thats why that wide five CIP1 kit for DRUM brake spindles comes with separate caliper brackets. (I'm not sure what caliper comes with that kit)

Greg
PS
Exactly what Carey Hines said at the top of this thread.
OUCH! MY HEAD HURTS!
I never heard back from Cip1, maybe tomorrow. I spoke with Shaggy at So Cal (very nice guy with lots of info) and it looks like this; apparently both places sell replacement rotors for their kits but NOT calipers, brackets, ect.... Soooo, in order to be absolutely certain of what I have, and what I need, I'll take the wheel off again tomorrow and see what I have in there. Once I KNOW what I have I can proceed with 'confidence' as to what to order.
I looks like no matter what I do I'll need to replace spindles, and most likely buy a wide 5 front kit from one place or the other. I'm holding out for a small miracle with hopes that Cip1 will send me calipers and brackets. However, with the way things have gone to this point I think it's gonna be the new kit. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal.
I'll say this though, anyone reading this thread thinking about converting from 4 bolt to wide 5 on a IRS should count on a budget of somewhere in the area of $1800-$2000. That's including the narrowing of the rear, which a conversion would otherwise be impossbile without doing, at least on my car (old IM). To also include new drums, front disc kit, drum covers, and wheels (tires sold seperately). Not a penny for labor because I'm doing the work.
Knowing all of this ahead of time I probably wouldn't have done it. That's just too much money for such a thing. Being stuck with all the parts already and getting killed on return shipping if I return them, it leaves me looking at the lesser of two evils; take a $400 hit on shipping (out & back) with nothing to show for it. Or getting the right wheels / period look for an astronomical price.

Greg,
I may take you up on those spindles. I'll let you know tomorrow. It'll be awhile before I need them as both places are out of stock on the kits now anyway.
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