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Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:27 pm

Im pretty new to this stuff and was wondering if anyone can tell me if the front disk brakes off a 67 Ghia will swap onto a 68 beetle... I would be getting the spindles, calipers, backing plates, rotors etc... pretty much complete. Thanks in advance Tommy D

Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:30 pm

Bolts right on. You may run into an issue with the tie-rod ends though.

Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:32 pm

I was just worried that the ghia might have been kingpin style versus my ball joint style spindles..

Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:59 am

Tommy D wrote: I was just worried that the ghia might have been kingpin style versus my ball joint style spindles.. 1967 was the first year for ball-joints on the Ghia. It's a direct bolt-on.

Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:06 am

Icy wrote: Tommy D wrote: I was just worried that the ghia might have been kingpin style versus my ball joint style spindles.. 1967 was the first year for ball-joints on the Ghia. It's a direct bolt-on.

Doesn't the '67 ghia have a wide 5 bolt pattern?

As for the tie rod ends, just use ghia tie rod ends.

I am running '68 ghia setup on my '70 beetle. I replaced the tie rod assemblies. Local VW shop swapped out the outers to the smaller ones. Works great.

Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:50 am

Mark33563 wrote: Icy wrote: Tommy D wrote: I was just worried that the ghia might have been kingpin style versus my ball joint style spindles.. 1967 was the first year for ball-joints on the Ghia. It's a direct bolt-on.

Doesn't the '67 ghia have a wide 5 bolt pattern?

As for the tie rod ends, just use ghia tie rod ends.

I am running '68 ghia setup on my '70 beetle. I replaced the tie rod assemblies. Local VW shop swapped out the outers to the smaller ones. Works great.

No. 1967 was the first year for the 4-bolt pattern. And I may have been incorrect regarding the first year for ball joints. I think it was 1966 even though 1966 was still wide-5 with drums.

Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:35 am

My 67 Beetle had 4 bolt rims and front disk brakes, as well as ball joints. It was a stock German home market model 117 (Deluxe Sunroof Beetle). BTW, six volt system.

Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:43 am

Jeckler wrote: Bolts right on. You may run into an issue with the tie-rod ends though.

IF you have a late 68 you might have this ^ issue. 68 was a "split year" and they changed the diameter of inner wheel bearings ( not an issue for you since your using complete spindles/rotors from the donor Ghia) and the size of the "tie rod end shank" went from early/"skinny" to late/larger in mid year.

The 67 Ghia spindles would have the smaller tie rod end holes on them.

Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:36 pm

'67 US-spec Beetles still had 5-bolt wheels (with the "sausage" slots) and front drum brakes.

'67 Euro-spec Beetles were available with a 1300 as well as a 1500cc engine; the 1500 got front discs which required the 4-bolt wheels.

'67 Ghias with any engine (actually I think they always got the most "powerful" one from the Beetle range) also already got front discs and therefore 4-bolt wheels. This applied to all world markets that got the German-built Ghia. Brazil had their own design Ghia which had many different details from the Karmann-Germany built one.

So- '67 Ghia disc brakes would indeed bolt right onto a '68 Beetle (with the tie-rod caution).