TheSamba.com :: View topic - rear drum swap-ability?

Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:38 pm

ok, lets see if i can explain this:

I got a rail i'm re-doing, that has the wide-5 pattern and swing axle rear. i'm going to be swapping in an IRS trans that is 4-lug............are wide 5 rear drums useable on the IRS?

was told by a buddy that there are 2 styles of wide 5 rear drums, 1 which would work and the other would need machining?

any and all ifno greatly appreciated!!

and happy gobble gobble day to all

Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:29 pm

Hard to tell if they'll work w/o knowing what year your 5 lug is. Usually, it's the last of the wide five type bugs that will work for you. (65ish, 66ish, etc)
Hope that helps.

Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:57 pm

You can use Thing brake drums, they are wide five and made for IRS, plus they are huge compared to Bug drums. I am not sure if you need to use Thing snub axles or not? I have not personally tried bolting those (Thing drums) to a stock Bug rear end. Plus they are available every where.

Man Irwindale Speedway is really loud tonight, I can hear those engines screaming from my house and I live 3 miles away. Sorry, got a little off topic…. My bad…

Sun Nov 28, 2004 5:35 pm

suntour wrote: You can use Thing brake drums, they are wide five and made for IRS, plus they are huge compared to Bug drums. I am not sure if you need to use Thing snub axles or not? I have not personally tried bolting those (Thing drums) to a stock Bug rear end. Plus they are available every where.

Thing drums are a direct bolt on to the type 1 setup (stubs and all).

The only experience I had with trying to fit wide 5 type 1 drums on an IRS was not a good one. They can be made to fit with proper width shims but you loose braking surface becasue the drums are not as wide as the late 4 lugs. I didn't like the overal fit either when I swapped so I ditched the T1's and got some 181's.